London Walks has found its entelechy
The Ultimate London Walk starts on September 6th and ends on October 5th. Fourteen walks in total. Each walk covers two to three miles – you do all 14 you’ll have walked all the way across London, from Hertfordshire to Surrey. It’s like that first Everest ascent – no one has done this before.
Here’s the terrain breakdown – here’s where you’ll walk
20 percent is through Woodland (ecologically, London’s classified as a forest)
20.8 percent is through Open Ground
17.6 percent is through Parks
9.7 percent is along Unpaved Lanes and Paths
23 percent is along Side Streets and Roads (fab Sides, all of them)
8.8 percent is along Main Roads (and they’re Mains you want to walk along!)
And if you’re looking for a series of private walks for your group or club – well, book The Ultimate London Walk… Get all 14 of those feathers in your cap and you’ve got yourself the most magnificent plume – “Ultimate” bragging rights!
HERE’S HOW IT WORKS – THE PRACTICALS
The Ultimate London Walk explores the city from north to south. Split into 14 individual sections, it goes all the way from Hertfordshire to Surrey. This is London like you’ve never seen it – exploring every ring of its growth.
Three of the walks will be guided jointly by Charlie and Dr Ann. And five of them will be guided jointly by Charlie and Mary B. Three world-class guides for the price of one!
Full disclosure. The Ultimate London Walk began as a one-guide show – Charlie. It doubled in power when Dr Ann joined the team. Dr Ann’s a born-and-bred North Londoner. She and Charlie will team up for several of the northern stretches.
And now? The South steps in. Mary B. – South London through and through – has come on board. She and Charlie will lead you across several of the southern legs.
Three guides. Two halves of the city. One unforgettable journey.
London Walks at its best. It’s been over half a century in the making but – this bears repeating – with The Ultimate London Walk “the premier walking tour company in the entire world” has achieved its entelechy.
Here are the 14 sections. With links baked in.
The Ultimate London Walk – Section 1: Hadley Wood to High Barnet
The Ultimate London Walk – Section 2: High Barnet to Woodside Park
The Ultimate London Walk – Section 3; Woodside Park to Mill Hill East
The Ultimate London Walk – Section 4: Mill Hill East to Golders Green
The Ultimate London Walk – Section 5: Golders Green to South End Green
The Ultimate London Walk – Section 6: South End Green to Marylebone
The Ultimate London Walk – Section 7: Marylebone to central Westminster
The Ultimate London Walk – Section 8: central Westminster to Stockwell
The Ultimate London Walk – Section 9: Stockwell to Herne Hill
The Ultimate London Walk – Section 10: Herne Hill to Sydenham Hill
The Ultimate London Walk – Section 11: Sydenham Hill to Anerley
The Ultimate London Walk – Section 12: Anerley to South Norwood
The Ultimate London Walk – Section 13: South Norwood to Addington Hill
The Ultimate London Walk – Section 14: Addington Hill to New Addington
FURTHER PARTICULARS
1. The Ultimate London Walk starts the first weekend in September and goes through to early October. Two sections of the walk will run each Saturday, Sunday and Wednesday, one in the morning and the next that afternoon. There’s a choice of two dates for each section so you can complete the whole walk just at weekends.
4. Morning walks will start at 10.30 a.m. and most afternoon ones at 2.15 p.m. This is the best compromise to give people enough travel time at either end without the walks finishing in the dark.
5. If you do both the morning and afternoon walk on the same day, there will be a long enough break between them to get lunch and some rest.
6. London Walks are usually 2 miles – these are longer, 3 miles on average. On top of this there will sometimes be a short walk from the meeting point to the actual route. So there’s more walking, and a little less talking from the guide. Each section should take a little under 3 hours to complete.
7. Two-thirds of the route is off-road. There are some rough paths, one or two steep climbs, and if there’s been rain, there might be a few muddy patches. It has been designed so the walking is not demanding.
8. These walks cost the same as other London Walks. If you are doing more than one section it will be worth having a London Walks Discount card (costing £5) making the price of each walk £15 or £10 for concessions. If you complete all the sections you will get the last one for free!
Here, below, is the London Calling announcement.
This sequence of 14 walks, takes you right across London including many of its most beautiful landscapes and green spaces. It would work just like other London Walks. You book in the same way, you pay the same price. You don’t have to commit to anything more. These walks would have the usual guided commentary The difference is that there would be a bit more walking and a bit less talking. The walks would average three miles each instead of the two miles you would expect on a usual London Walk. So each section would take a little longer – between two and a half and three hours.
The walks are designed in pairs so that if you want to do a full day’s walking the afternoon session will start where the morning one left off. There will be places to rest and have lunch. On the other hand, if you want to do just one walk, there will be a rail or tram station not far from the end of each section.
Click here to see a map showing our route – what the journey across London looks like. Its corollary, the itinerary, complete with dates, are set out in the table above.
