A circular walk from Wimbledon Underground and Mainline Station, Zone 3. The best way of reaching the start is by taking the District Line to Wimbledon from Central London, or by changing to the District Line Wimbledon Branch at Earl's Court. The walk is 3.8 miles long. This is a charming, picturesque, historical and interesting walk on high ground through Wimbledon Village and around the Common. There is also a chance to visit the Wimbledon All-England Club, home of the most famous lawn tennis tournament in the world. We first climb Wimbledon Hill from the railway station, and pause at St Mary's Church. This is the fourth place of worship on this site extending back more than 1,000 years. The present church was opened in 1843. It was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott. In the chancel are wonderful mediaeval painted beams and a memorial to Sir Joseph Bazalgette, the engineer of London's sewerage system. His mausoleum is in the church yard. We then pass through Wimbledon Village and then along the south side of the Common with its large Georgian houses. After taking some refreshment at one of the many charming pubs around the Common and walking into the Crooked Billet, we walk up the west side where the houses are even bigger and grander. The largest is Cannizaro House (pictured) which is now a hotel. The grounds are owned by the London Borough of Merton and can be visited. Here you will find over 400 species of trees and shrubs. The collection of rhododendrons and azaleas is said to be one of the finest anywhere in England. From a little enclave of houses built on the Common and a preparatory school associated with William Wilberforce who owned a house nearby before starting his campaign to abolish slavery, there is the chance to take a diversion to look at an iron age hill fort or the Wimbledon Windmill Museum. There are also many other rides and walks throughout the Common. Finally the walk returns to the starting point across the Common and down several tiny alley ways, crossing the line of a prehistoric path and back to the new town centre. Files for your GPS: GPX

History lovers and those who are fond of spooky alleyways and secret spaces in the mediaeval City of London will love this walk. It covers the same territory as the City walk west of St Paul's a couple of years ago, but there are only two places we visit again so this is genuinely a new delight. Mind you, it will be essential for you to have your wits about you when you do this walk - we dive in and out of tiny entrances almost invisible to tourists, and walk through part of the City you would never find without a guide. During the walk, we see a memorial to ordinary folk who gave their lives to save others and who would be forgotten except for the good offices of the symbolist painter G F Watts. We walk underneath the Old Bailey and visit St Sepulchre where there is a stained glass window dedicated to musicians and especially the father of the Proms Sir Henry Wood. His ashes are interred in the floor. In the same church is the bell tolled the night before executions in Newgate Prison and a poem exhorting the condemned souls to repent. After walking through run down and abandoned parts of the old Smithfield Market ripe for redevelopment, we walk into a private road of elegant houses that is technically in Cambridgeshire. Half way up the road is St Ethelreda's Roman Catholic Church and through a hidden gap the most out-of-the-way pub in the whole of London. This is the spookiest part of the entire walk and full of atmosphere. We then pass through the old Barnard's Inn, once part of the Court of Chancery but now the home of Gresham College where free lectures are given to all comers. We revisit Gough Square where Dr Johnson's cat Hodge is set in bronze on a copy of the famous Dictionary with an opened oyster. Finally we return to St Paul's and Paternoster Square after standing right under the site of the spire which once was the centre of the Blackfriars monastery church and we see the preserved crypt of Whitefriars behind glass in the basement of the Freshfields law office building. Files for your GPS: GPX

This is more of stroll through part of London's extensive Theatreland. It lasts just over 80 minutes and starts in Trafalgar Square (Charing Cross Underground - Zone 1 - Bakerloo and Northern Lines) Take the exit from the subway marked 'Trafalgar Square' and walk to the base of the Nelson Column facing towards the Tower of Big Ben. After an extensive description of Trafalgar Square and the Nelson Column, we walk aroud the square and look at the grand buildings, including Admiralty Arch, Canada House, National Gallery, St Martin-in-the-Fields and South Africa House. The walk then continues down to the River Thames and the Playhouse Theatre. From here, depending on the visibility and the weather, there is a choice of crossing and re-crossing the river by way of the Golden Jubilee bridges, from which there are unrivalled views of the London skyline in both directions, or walking under the Arches to Embankment Underground and thence back to Charing Cross station forecourt - the centre of London as measured from mileposts and mapping. Most of Little Adelphi is covered on my Covent Garden walk, but we do walk along John Adam Street and look at the lovely buildings in the streets, including the home of Samuel Pepys near the old Watergate, and the Royal Society of Arts. Returning to The Strand, we admire the glass fronted Coutts Bank with its revolving full-size tree and haunted banking hall. From this point on, it's all about the theatre. We pass the Adelphi with its fantastic Art Deco facade. Nearby is the Vaudeville. By Carting Lane we visit the old Coal Hole Tavern, once the haunt of Thames barge coal heavers. Then we enter Savoy Court with its world famous luxury hotel (now being refurbished) and the Savoy Theatre, originally showcase of the Gilbert & Sullivan operettas. After that, we pass the Strand Palace Hotel, the Lyceum Theatre, Drury Lane, the Aldwych Theatre (pictured above) and Bush House, home of the BBC World Service. The walk ends with a choice. You can either walk up Kingsway to Holborn Underground (Central Line Zone 1) or end at Covent Garden Piazza just off to the left up Drury Lane. The Covent Garden Underground station is on the Piccadilly Line, and is near all the attractions of Covent Garden, including the Royal Opera House and the newly refurbished London Transport Museum.

This is a most enjoyable walk through Islington, starting at Angel Underground (Zone 1 - Northern Line, Bank Branch) and ending at Highbury & Islington (Zone 2 - Victoria Line and Overground). The first part of the walk passes through the antiques market area along Camden Passage. The middle section follows the line of the New River - neither new nor a river. This man-made watercourse took fresh water from Hertfordshire to New River Head. Little of the river is visible nowadays, but the route is clearly visible and there is a charming garden were we walk alongside the water by formal gardens near Canonbury Grove. The last part of the walk passes Canonbury Tower and House. The Tower was built in the early years of the 16th century as a manor house on the site of an Augustinian Priory owned by the canons of St Bartholomew's in Clerkenwell (which we pass on the Well, Well, Well... walk). The walk should take about an hour, and includes references to such people as Charles Lamb, Sir John Spencer, Evelyn Waugh and George Orwell. Upper Street is also the site of a restaurant in which Tony Blair and Gordon Brown are said to have discussed the timing of the transfer of the leadership of the Labour Party, and hence the office of Prime Minister. Most of the route is quiet and free of heavy traffic. The houses are predominately 18th century terraced properties, and the area is well known not only as a smart and expensive place to live, but where the left wing intelligentsia of the capital prefer to hang out. It also reminds me of the British Monopoly board - the Angel Islington is a modestly priced light blue property on which it is much more affordable to build hotels than on places further from 'Go.' I recommend this short walk as a very interesting way to spend an hour - more of a stroll really, past charming houses and lovely residential locales.

A lovely historic walk through the tiny roads, alleyways, and steps around the centre of Hampstead. Hampstead is about 4 miles north of the centre of London. It is easily reached from stations like Tottenham Court Road, Euston, or Embankment by taking the Edgware branch of the Northern Line. The station is in Zones 2/3. Turning left outside the Underground station, we have only a few paces to walk on the busy Hampstead High Street before we turn into Flask Walk. The first portion of the stroll is through the area that sprung up around the spa. The water from the chalybeate spring contained dissolved iron and was considered health promoting. The practice died out in the late 19th century, but there are pubs, street names such as Well Walk, and many other associations with this period of Hampstead's history. More importantly even today Hampstead is more likely to be associated with the rich, the famous, intellectuals, artists, and writers. The list of literati and gliterati is a long one, including nowadays stars of film and TV, but in the past such names as John Galsworthy who wrote The Forsyte Saga here, three generations of the du Mauriers, the painter John Constable, poet John Keats and many many more. The walk passes the French and Dutch influenced houses around the William IV public house, and enters Hampstead's parish church dedicated to St John. This is a 1745 gem - a galleried interior of wood painted in two shades of grey with a beautiful plasterwork ceiling. Definitely a must-see, and in the two adjacent burial grounds there are so many famous people that the church offers a tomb walk leaflet to guide visitors around the church yard. There are wonderful views over London, and we reach a high point of 440 ft above sea level near the Jack Straw public house. The best is kept for last, as we wind our way down a steep hill and enter a tiny enclave of small houses beside a narrow street with another wonderful view to east and west. This leads to steps that conveniently descend to the Underground station where the walk ends. This is a lovely urban stroll through one of London's most fashionable historic places. There are some steep hills, narrow uneven streets, cars and vans labouring up the inclines, and expensive eating places and watering holes. But for free entertainment and learning about the past, it is a great walk and one especially suitable for families.

This walk starts at the Thamesside village of Hampton. You can reach Hampton by train from London (Waterloo) or by the District Line to Wimbledon and change to a train to Hampton. The station is in Zone 6 - so you can buy a Zones 1 - 6 off-peak Travelcard. Leaving the station from the South-West train, exit towards the shops and turn left along the High Street. As we walk down the High Street, I tell you about Godaddy.com (for 10% discount use code blu74) and the powernap software Pzizz.com (affiliate number 16992). Click on the links to the right for details and to benefit London Walks. Continue down to the River Thames and the church of St Mary, which is said to be haunted by Mistress Penn who was a nurse to Edward VI the only son of Henry VIII. Nearby there are two houses which belonged to the actor David Garrick and his eponymous nephew. Opposite Garrick's Villa is a temple which is connected to the house by a tunnel under the road, and housed a statue of William Shakespeare. Shortly we leave the busy traffic and enter Bushey Deer Park where one should avoid approaching the deer that roam free, especially in May - July and September - October. We walk through the lovely water garden that is little known and generally very quiet, and leave the garden by a gate leading towards the Diana Fountain. This whole area was designed by Sir Christopher Wren who was employed to remodel the Tudor palace of Hampton Court. After leaving the park we enter the formal grounds of the palace through the Lion Gate. We then walk through the gardens and around the outside of the house, admiring the wonderful facades and marveling at the fact that here we have two entirely separate ages of architecture - Tudor and Baroque. It all happened by accident, but it works well nonetheless. After walking through the gardens, there is a chance to enter the palace. The walk ends nearby just across the bridge over the Thames at the station of Hampton Court. This is also in Zone 6 and trains run to Wimbledon and into London every 30 minutes. Lunch can be taken in Hampton Court before boarding the train, and I give a recommendation for Cottage Pie in one of the town public houses.

This is a lovely walk through the charming village of Harrow-on-the-Hill, home of the famous Harrow School and much more. Although Harrow is some way from the centre of London, it is easy to reach. The best way is to buy an off-peak Travelcard covering zones 1 - 6. Take the Jubilee Line northbound to Finchley Road. Here cross the same platform and take a Metropolitan Line to Harrow-on-the-Hill. The quickest is a fast Amersham service, but any Metropolitan Line train will do: the Metropolitan LIine takes the same route as the Jubilee Line, but bypasses most of the stations where Jubilee Line trains stop. On reaching Harrow-on-the-Hill, climb the stairs from the platform and turn left. Exit the station through the south exit leading to Lowlands Road. This is a short walk of less than 2 miles. It's more of a stroll but there are some hills to climb and descend at the end. You are rewarded with fine views over London to the north east and the west. Harrow-on-the-Hill is all about Harrow School - second only to Eton College in prestige amongst English public schools. It was founded in the late 16th/early 17th century. The school does not provide all the history on this walk however. We pass the site of the first fatal motor vehicle accident which occurred in 1899. We see where King Charles I watered his horses at a well, and wistfully looked back over London before riding north to surrender himself to the Scottish army. We enter the lovely old church of St Mary. Originally consecrated in the 11th century by St Anselm, the present building has some wonderful effigies, 14th and 15th century brasses, and is the burial place of the founder of Harrow School John Lyon and his wife. Somewhere in the grounds of the church, Lord Byron's daughter Allegra is buried. All that remains is a commemorative stone by the main doorway, but nearby is a plaque by the Peachy gravestone where the young Byron as a schoolboy spent hours under the trees, gazing into the distance, and developing his muse.

This is a lovely walk through the charming village of Harrow-on-the-Hill, home of the famous Harrow School and much more. Although Harrow is some way from the centre of London, it is easy to reach. The best way is to buy an off-peak Travelcard covering zones 1 - 6. Take the Jubilee Line northbound to Finchley Road. Here cross the same platform and take a Metropolitan Line to Harrow-on-the-Hill. The quickest is a fast Amersham service, but any Metropolitan Line train will do: the Metropolitan LIine takes the same route as the Jubilee Line, but bypasses most of the stations where Jubilee Line trains stop. On reaching Harrow-on-the-Hill, climb the stairs from the platform and turn left. Exit the station through the south exit leading to Lowlands Road. This is a short walk of less than 2 miles. It's more of a stroll but there are some hills to climb and descend at the end. You are rewarded with fine views over London to the north east and the west. Harrow-on-the-Hill is all about Harrow School - second only to Eton College in prestige amongst English public schools. It was founded in the late 16th/early 17th century. The school does not provide all the history on this walk however. We pass the site of the first fatal motor vehicle accident which occurred in 1899. We see where King Charles I watered his horses at a well, and wistfully looked back over London before riding north to surrender himself to the Scottish army. We enter the lovely old church of St Mary. Originally consecrated in the 11th century by St Anselm, the present building has some wonderful effigies, 14th and 15th century brasses, and is the burial place of the founder of Harrow School John Lyon and his wife. Somewhere in the grounds of the church, Lord Byron's daughter Allegra is buried. All that remains is a commemorative stone by the main doorway, but nearby is a plaque by the Peachy gravestone where the young Byron as a schoolboy spent hours under the trees, gazing into the distance, and developing his muse.

Why Well, Well, Well? Well! - because we pass a number of places where there were wells and spas. In fact, at the Clerk's Well you can see the original well behind glass. The parish of Clerkenwell was named after this source of water, which later became a pump to service the neighbourhood with clean, fresh supplies from a nearby spring. Unfortunately this tap became polluted and had to be shut down, possibly from the nearby Smithfield Meat Market. Another well is Brideswell towards the end of the walk and Bagnigge Wells comes between King's Cross and Farringdon. So - well, well, well it is. This walk is not the most beautiful I have done, but has a great deal of historical interest. We start at King's Cross (Victoria, Northern, Piccadilly, Hammersmith & City, Circle, Metropolitan Underground lines, mainline railways, Thameslink Zone 1) and finish at Blackfriars (Circle, District, Riverboats mainline railways Zone 1). The route follows the line of the old Fleet River, now underground. For some of the way we also follow the line of the railway tracks as far as Farringdon. We pass the big London sorting office at Mount Pleasant belonging to Royal Mail. Near the Clerk's Well we pass Clerkenwell Green and the Parish Church. This is a handy detour especially if you are hungry. The church and green is on another of my walks through Clerkenwell and the Smithfield Market. We pass over lands once the property of the Bishop of Ely, and under Holdborn Viaduct where you can climb the steps to the road over and admire the view. Another stunning view is from the dip where Farringdon St intersects with Fleet St and Ludgate Hill. The Wren cathedral of St Paul's is visible here and earlier on in the walk, and you can also walk up Ludgate Hill and visit the tiny Wren Church of St Martin's. On the right is Fleet St once associated with the British newspaper industry and journalism. We now pass St Bride's Church and learn about the Bridewell Palace. The walk finishes at Blackfriars near the 1931 Unilever Building, on the noisy Riverside Walk beside Blackfriars bridge, with fantastic views across the Thames as far as the London Eye and Westminster.

Why Well, Well, Well? Well! - because we pass a number of places where there were wells and spas. In fact, at the Clerk's Well you can see the original well behind glass. The parish of Clerkenwell was named after this source of water, which later became a pump to service the neighbourhood with clean, fresh supplies from a nearby spring. Unfortunately this tap became polluted and had to be shut down, possibly from the nearby Smithfield Meat Market. Another well is Brideswell towards the end of the walk and Bagnigge Wells comes between King's Cross and Farringdon. So - well, well, well it is. This walk is not the most beautiful I have done, but has a great deal of historical interest. We start at King's Cross (Victoria, Northern, Piccadilly, Hammersmith & City, Circle, Metropolitan Underground lines, mainline railways, Thameslink Zone 1) and finish at Blackfriars (Circle, District, Riverboats mainline railways Zone 1). The route follows the line of the old Fleet River, now underground. For some of the way we also follow the line of the railway tracks as far as Farringdon. We pass the big London sorting office at Mount Pleasant belonging to Royal Mail. Near the Clerk's Well we pass Clerkenwell Green and the Parish Church. This is a handy detour especially if you are hungry. The church and green is on another of my walks through Clerkenwell and the Smithfield Market. We pass over lands once the property of the Bishop of Ely, and under Holdborn Viaduct where you can climb the steps to the road over and admire the view. Another stunning view is from the dip where Farringdon St intersects with Fleet St and Ludgate Hill. The Wren cathedral of St Paul's is visible here and earlier on in the walk, and you can also walk up Ludgate Hill and visit the tiny Wren Church of St Martin's. On the right is Fleet St once associated with the British newspaper industry and journalism. We now pass St Bride's Church and learn about the Bridewell Palace. The walk finishes at Blackfriars near the 1931 Unilever Building, on the noisy Riverside Walk beside Blackfriars bridge, with fantastic views across the Thames as far as the London Eye and Westminster.