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Reclaim the streets with our guide to ten great city walks. Simon Jenkins
describes “the greatest walk in London” – 12 miles from Kew Gardens through
Richmond Park “past marsh, oak and deer” to the “quiet façade” of Syon House
across the river; there's a stroll through the Lanes of Brighton; or a
circuit of York’s magnificent city walls. You can check out the statue of Dr
Johnson’s beloved cat Hodge on Joanna Trollope’s tour from the South Bank to
the Trafalgar Square, and join Ian Rankin on his favourite Edinburgh walk...
All map references are from the OS Explorer series
1 South Bank to Trafalgar Square - 2½ miles, 3 hrs - Grade: easy -
Map: OS 173
CATCH A BOAT at Millbank Pier, opposite Tate Britain, writes Joanna Trollope,
and be carried down the river, past the London Eye, to the Bankside Pier for
Tate Modern. Move slightly east downriver to contrast what you have just
seen with the engaging exterior of the Globe Theatre. Then turn your back on
Shakespeare’s theatre and cross Sir Norman Foster’s wonderful, silvery
Millennium Bridge to the river’s north shore, with a spectacular view of St
Paul’s Cathedral ahead of you. Perhaps confine yourself to a visit to the
south chancel and the tomb of John Donne, poet and dean of the cathedral.
It’s terrific – Donne is sitting upright, neatly wrapped in his shroud.
Leave the cathedral and walk west, down Ludgate Hill and along Fleet Street,
pausing to turn up Bolt Court to Gough Square, to admire the façade of the
house where Dr Johnson (and his beloved cat, Hodge) lived. On down Fleet
Street, past Aldwych, turning up Wellington Street to Covent Garden, see
that other St Paul’s, the actors’ church. Then leave along Long Acre and
dawdle down Charing Cross Road until you reach Trafalgar Square in all its
new public-space glory. Time, by now, for a little something. The National
Gallery’s Sainsbury Wing has a good restaurant and café, and, once revived,
you might contemplate a lovely little finale. Go up that magnificent stone
staircase to the main gallery floor and seek out my favourite Annunciation.
It’s on a fan-shaped panel, painted by Fra Lippo Lippi, and the Virgin has a
ray of golden light piercing her belly, and a look of the most intense inner
concentration.
2 Ely, Cambridgeshire - 2½ miles, 1½ hrs - Grade: easy - Map: OS 226
ELY people know about wetness, having been an island race, hunting and fishing
on stilts until the Fens were drained in the 1600s, writes Brian Pedley .
On my last visit, rain poured down, and the timbered front of Oliver
Cromwell’s House, where the Ely City Trail begins, was streaming. Next door,
at St Mary’s Church, a tablet commemorates 19th-century farm-workers hanged
for rioting. Close by is the mighty west doorway of Ely Cathedral. Going
right into a lane called the Gallery, you can marvel at the soaring
octagonal tower that defines the church known as “the ship of the Fens”.
Turning left through Porta Gate, you pass round the cathedral’s eastern end,
through Sacristy Gate and right into High Street and Fore Hill, down to the
Ouse with its ducks, barges and willows. Cross Jubilee Gardens and then
Broad Street for the uphill stroll through Ely Park, past grazing sheep in
the medieval Dean’s Meadow and back to the Porta Gate. Near by, The
Boathouse restaurant serves eels from which the city was named.
3 City Walls, York - 2½ miles, 2 hrs - Grade: moderate - Map: OS 290
YORK’S CITY walls are the longest and probably the best preserved in England, writes
Jill Turton. For 2½ miles the honey-coloured limestone circuit provides
four river crossings, a short course in bloody English history and classic
views into this ancient city. Begin at Bootham Bar, the first of five main
gateways to the city. Head clockwise around the Deanery Gardens for a
peerless view of York Minster and its handsome outbuildings. At Monk Bar,
look for stone carvings of soldiers about to pitch stones on the enemy
below, and for the portcullis, last dropped in 1914. At Layerthorpe Bridge
the wall stops, so pick up the pace and remount the wall at the Red Tower.
At Walmgate are bullet holes and cannonball scars.
By Foss Bridge you have to drop to street level again but with the
compensation of a succession of York’s defining monuments, the Castle
Museum, the mighty Assize Courts and the extraordinary cone of Clifford’s
Tower, scene of a dreadful atrocity against the Jews in 1190. Cross the Ouse
by Skelder-gate Bridge and remount the walls for a long peaceful loop around
neat, terraced housing. Brutal history returns at the mini-fortress of
Mickle-gate Bar where Richard, Duke of York, was displayed on the business
end of a pikestaff in 1461. Opposite York’s magnificent curving railway
station you’re now starring in the city’s most famous view: the walls, the
ramparts and the glorious Minster, the biggest Gothic cathedral of northern
Europe. Cross Lendal Bridge, leaving Museum Gardens, the romantic ruins of
Marygate Abbey, and the City Art Gallery to your left, and there is Bootham
Bar again.
4 Kew and Richmond - 12 miles, 5 hrs - Grade: easy - Map: OS 161
LONDON is not a city of villages but a city of walks, writes Simon Jenkins.
None is more majestic than the “greatest walk in London” – a circuit of a
dozen miles almost entirely on grass, across some of the capital’s best
countryside. You start at the entrance to Kew Gardens, and snake past the
Palm House, the Temperate House and the Pagoda. Resist all temptation to
divert from the path. You walk out of Lion Gate through pleasant suburbs to
King’s Ride Gate into Richmond Park. You walk across the great expanse, past
marsh, oak and deer, to the summit and a glorious view over London to St
Paul’s. Continue through Ham Gate to Ham Common. A long lime avenue
culminates in the jewel of Ham House. From Ham the towpath passes the fields
of Petersham to Richmond Bridge. The new “PostModern classical” waterfront
is acquiring stateliness. Now all is bustle, boats and people. Peace
reasserts itself beyond the site of old Richmond Palace and As-gill House.
Ahead is the long walk through the Old Deer Park, with the sight of Kew
Pagoda to the right and the quiet façade of Syon House over the river. This
is precious countryside and the walk ends as it began, amid mighty trees.
5 Brighton - 3 miles, 3 hrs to a day - Grade: easy - Map: OS 122
BRIGHTON is a splendid blend of fine old buildings and freaky young culture, writes
John Naish. The first of the city’s four 40-minute walks takes you
around the famous Lanes – the original fishing village of Brighthelmstone –
a souk of jewellers and antiques emporia crisscrossed with skinny
passageways called twit-tens. Squeeze down Ship Street Gardens and there’s
New Age, heritage and bondage: among the ancient buildings, a fetish
lingerie store sits opposite one of the town’s burgeoning Buddhist centres.
Another route takes you past the house built for the Prince Regent’s secret
wife, Mrs Fitzherbert, then whisks around the Royal Pavilion. Then it’s up
to the North Laines, a line of narrow pedestrianised old streets: mind your
fingers on the cutting edge of counter-culture. Lastly, the trail takes you
into the old posh bits – quiet streets and squares of stucco-fronted
palaces. Pause in peaceful St Nicholas churchyard to see the tomb of Phoebe
Hessel, who pretended to be a man to fight in the Napoleonic wars with her
husband.
6 Edinburgh - 1 mile, 30 mins - Grade: easy - Map: OS 350
HERMITAGE of Braid in Edinburgh is my favourite walk: a well-kept secret that
can shift a hangover faster than a bottle of Irn-Bru and a brace of aspirin, writes
Ian Rankin. The main entrance is a discreet break in the wall on one
side of Braid Road (just south of Morningside). It’s hard to believe, once
you have wound your way into the middle of the wilderness, that you’ re
still in a city. The main walk follows the banks of the Braid Burn. This bit
is easy on the legs, with various resting places along the way, including
Hermitage of Braid House, which has displays of local flora and fauna and is
popular with kids. The Hermitage itself is a steep-sided glen, and routes
lead away from the main paths uphill into forested areas towards
neighbouring Braid Hills golf course. The more adventurous can clamber up
Blackford Hill, the summit of which affords panoramic views. There are
stories here waiting to be told. One of my own, Seeing Things, is set there.
One warning though: there’s no café, so take a flask or a picnic or repair
to the nearby Braid Hills Hotel.
7 Christ Church Meadow, Oxford - 1½ miles, 45 mins - Grade: easy -
Map: OS 180
STARTING at Carfax tower, walk down St Aldates past the town hall and the big
oak doors of Christ Church College, writes Amy Barry. At the iron
railings turn left into the war memorial gardens. To your left the
pinky-grey walls and castellated roofs of the college, ahead a broad path
between fields. The Meadow stretches from the imposing college buildings
down to the Thames. Turn right down the Long Walk, lined with poplars, to
the river where you will see rowers practising in term time. Turn left along
the river and left again where it joins the Cherwell. A quieter waterway
this, with ducks, swans and punting parties in the summer. Follow the path
to more wrought-iron gates and exit into Rose Lane. Just before the High
Street are the Botanical Gardens with roses, irises and hothouse exotics.
8 Ludlow, Shropshire - 3 miles, 1 hour - Grade: easy - Map: OS 203
A GENTLE stroll for foodies and lovers of fine architecture, writes
Katherine Swift. Start from Castle Square (car parking), keeping the
wall of the castle on your right. Dogleg down Din-ham to the River Teme
below. Cross the river by Din-ham Bridge and turn left along the far
riverbank for views of weirs and water birds and wooded cliffs. Follow the
path to Whitcliffe Common, with views over the castle and the red roofs of
the town. Continue along Whitcliffe down to Ludford, looking out for fossils
in the cliff on the right. Turn left and reenter the town by the
15th-century Ludford Bridge, with its huge triangular breakwaters. Ahead is
Broad Street, the finest street of 18th-centu-ry houses in England, with De
Grey’s tea rooms. At the top of Broad Street is the 18th-century
Buttercross, and behind it the medieval parish church where Housman’s heart
is buried. Turn left to return to Castle Square.
9 Meanwood Valley Trail, Leeds - 5 miles, 2 hrs - Grade: easy - Map:
OS 104
WITH all the fuss about Leeds being perfect for shopping and clubbing, it’s
easy to forget its parks, writes Jill Turton. It’s possible to follow
the Meanwood Trail waymarked from central Hyde Park, close to the
universities and city centre, through leafy suburbs to lush countryside and
stay green. The best section is a two-hour, five-mile stroll from Meanwood
Park, which has a car park by a children’s playground. Follow the winding
beck north until you reach Hustler’s Row, an isolated terrace of Victorian
millstone cottages. Detour either side of them on clear paths. The higher
route is pure woodland strewn with mossy boulders and an ancient quarry,
bats and owls, woodpeckers and nuthatches. The lower route offers little
humpback bridges as you crisscross the beck and a detour into the Hollies,
an enchanting arboretum which has seen better days but remains a great
adventure fantasyland for kids. The paths converge at a ruined mill weir.
Stay right of the beck and follow it until you cross the ring road via an
underpass, and plunge back into Scotland Wood. From here it’s a straight
line until you surface at Adel Moor and drop down into Golden Acre park with
a lake brimming with water birds. Bring some bread for the ducks and geese
and catch a bus back into the city that you’d forgotten existed.
10 Winchester - 2 miles, 2 hrs including museum visit - Grade: easy -
Map: OS 132
A MODEST plaque off Winchester Square commemorates Lady Alice Lisle, “executed
on the roadway, September 2, 1685”. She was convicted of harbouring
traitors, writes John Naish. Amid the ancient piles is a modern town,
its tranquillity a tribute to the power of by-pass and pedestrian precinct.
King Alfred guards the high street; he made the city England’s capital in
the 8th century, and its crannies are a respite from the house-crowded
South. It’s a heritage hotspot: the nation’s earliest high street; England’s
oldest public school – Winchester College; a Norman cathedral; and King
Arthur’s (fake) Round Table. Keats called Winchester “an exceeding pleasant
town”. The Gurkhas’ regimental museum is a bloodthirsty antidote to the
apologetic take on colonial history. You can continue the military theme by
crunching through nearby Peninsula Barracks. The City Museum is more
politically correct – a quick and clean account of the best of Winchester’s
history. As you head back, look up to the statue of Queen Anne upon the Old
Guildhall wall. The hall also houses the city’s Curfew Bell, which has hung
there since 1361 and is rung each day at 8pm. Lunch: The Wykeham Arms, near
the college, is crowded with paintings and collegiate memorabilia.
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