The Great Outdoors: Cycling, Walking & Outdoor Activities in London

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The Great Outdoors: Cycling, Walking & Outdoor Activities in London

London, one of the greenest capital cities in the world, has over 3,000 parks, heaths and commons open to the public, many of them with sports facilities. There are also numerous organisations and associations which provide information for hikers, cyclists and swimmers; there are also facilities for horse riding, boating and fishing within the city. Many of the activities are documented with books and maps and there are numerous, informative websites.

• See also AngloINFO INFOrmation Page, Parks and Gardens of London

Walking in London

London is a great place for walking, not just in all its many parks and open spaces, but along the popular Thames Path, which runs parallel to the river throughout most of Greater London, from Hampton Court in the west to the Thames Barrier and beyond in the east. The Thames Path is a marked walk continuing most of the way to the river's source. There are many guide books available on walking the Thames path. 

Within London, there is also a network of lesser-known waterside walks, with over 40 miles of tow paths, for example between Camden Lock and Little Venice.

The Ramblers is Britain's walking charity, created to safeguard footpaths, the countryside and other popular walking places, and to encourage more people to take up walking. The organisation provides information about walks, public footpaths and walking groups.

• Ramblers website

The government-run website Transport for London (TfL) details many popular London walking routes, and has a Journey Planner for more suggestions and information.

• For information on walking routes in London from TfL: Click here 
• For more detailed information about walking routes in the City of London: Click here

There are a great number of walking groups which meet up, usually at the weekends, for organised walks, either in the Greater London area or venturing out by train to the surrounding countryside.

• For more information about walking groups, see The AngloFILE Walking, Hiking & Climbing

Cycling in London

London is becoming increasingly cycle-friendly. The Barclays Cycle Hire scheme provides rental bikes with docking stations all over the capital. In addition to normal cycle lanes on main roads, and shared bus and cycle lanes, Transport for London is rolling out a number of Barclays Cycle Superhighways (BCS). These are specific cycle paths, marked in blue, running from outer London into central London. There are currently four BCS open, and another four planned for 2013.

• For more information about Barclays Cycle Hire/Boris Bikes: Click here
• For more information about Barclays Cycle Superhighways and to download maps: Click here

Popular leisure routes include The Thames Path, which provides long stretches of traffic-free cycling between Hampton and the Thames Barrier. There is also the Greenways scheme, marked with green lines, operating safe, traffic-free routes through canals, waterways and parks. Free guides are available through the Transport for London website:

• To download the cycle guides: Click here

Cycling permits may be required on some of the towpaths owned by British Waterways, however, these are not required within London. They are issued free of charge.

• For information about cycle paths along London's waterways and canals: Click here

There are cycle paths in or alongside Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park, Green Park and St James's Park, which form a continuous green corridor running from West to East across the West End.

Richmond, Bushy and Greenwich Parks are also excellent places to cycle and can be reached by the Thames path.

There are a great number of cycling clubs in London to suit cyclists of all ages and abilities. 

• For more information, see The AngloFILE: Cycling & Mountain Biking

The London Cycling Campaign works with businesses and communities and provides information on all aspects of cycling in London, from routes to maintenance classes and information about local cycling groups and clubs.

• See the London Cycling Campaign website

Swimming

There are over 500 indoor and outdoor swimming pools and lidos in London, some in the main London parks. Many are managed by local government authorities. Some of the better-known ones are:

• Hyde Park Serpentine Lido: Freshwater swimming is open daily to the public during the summer months, while members of the Serpentine Swimming Club swim every day, with a race on Christmas Day
• Hampstead Heath: Open-air swimming takes place at the Men's Pond, the Ladies' Pond, the Mixed Pond and the Lido on Parliament Hill
• Tooting Bec Lido: The largest freshwater, open-air swimming pool in England with a paddling pool for children. Both are open during the summer months
• Brockwell Lido: Southeast London open-air pool which also has outdoor yoga, tai chi and meditation

Boating in London

Pedal boating and rowing is possible in many of London's parks, notably on the Serpentine Lake in Hyde Park, the boating lake at Regents Park and in Battersea Park and Greenwich Parks, where pedal and rowing boats may be hired.

• See The AngloFILE: Sailing & Boating
• See AngloINFO INFOrmation Page, Sailing & Boating in London

There are many rowing clubs based on the River Thames.

• See The AngloFILE: Watersports

Horse Riding

There are many riding stables in London, including Aldersbrook, Dulwich, Wimbledon and Richmond. It's even possible to ride in Central London; Hyde Park has a specialist horse riding arena as well as two designated routes for horse riding.

• See The AngloFILE, Equestrian: Horses & Riding

Climbing and Mountaineering

London might not have any outdoor climbing or mountaineering locations, but there are many indoor ones, as well as clubs which organise trips away for hill-walking, scrambling, climbing and mountaineering.

• London Mountaineering Club 

London's biggest indoor climbing venue is the Westway Sports Centre, which has over 300 top-rope and lead-rope climbing routes.

• Westway Sports Centre

Adventure Playgrounds

There are a number of adventure playgrounds in London suitable for kids. The most popular is the Diana Princess of Wales's Memorial Playground in Kensington Gardens, which is centred around a pirate ship and inspired by the novel, Peter Pan. 

There are four children's playgrounds in Regent's Park and three in Hyde Park. Facilities in the playgrounds include climbing nets, rope bridges, aerial runways, sand pits, swings and much more. Some of the playgroups are also accessible to children with disabilities, for example The Log Cabin in Ealing and ELHAP in northeast London.

• For information on adventure playgrounds in London: Click here

Further Information

• See AngloINFO INFOrmation Page, Sailing & Boating in London
• See AngloINFO INFOrmation Page, Fishing & Angling in London
• See AngloINFO INFOrmation Page, Golf in the UK
• For details of London's public transport to reach these various locations, see The AngloFILE directory Public Transport: Buses & Trains

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