Capital Ring

A Capital Ring sign near Preston Road tube station

The Capital Ring is a walking route 75 miles long around the urban landscape surrounding London, and passing on its way through each of the four main urbanised shires of the Home Counties: Middlesex, Essex, Kent and Surrey. The route is promoted by the Corporation of London (though it does not pass through the City of London), 33 local councils and thr eregional assembly as the regional transport authority,as much of the funding is provided by Transport for London. The route completely encircles inner and central London.

As a circular route, the ring can be started at any point and we walked in either direction, though the published official start of the route is the Woolwich Foot Tunnel.

The idea originated in 1990 at one of the early meetings of the London Walking Forum and it was completed in September 2005. It passes through green areas of both urban and suburban London.

Route sections

Kent:
Walk 1	Woolwich to Falconwood
Walk 2	Falconwood to Grove Park
Walk 3	Grove Park to Crystal Palace
Surrey:
Walk 4	Crystal Palace to Streatham
Walk 5	Streatham to Wimbledon Park
Walk 6	Wimbledon Park to Richmond
Middlesex:
Walk 7	Richmond to Osterley Lock
Walk 8	Osterley Lock to Greenford
Walk 9	Greenford to South Kenton
Walk 10	South Kenton to Hendon Park
Walk 11	Hendon Park to Highgate
Walk 12	Highgate to Stoke Newington
Walk 13	Stoke Newington to Hackney Wick
Essex:
Walk 14	Hackney Wick to Beckton District Park
Walk 15	Beckton District Park to Woolwich

Route descriptions

Kent and Surrey

Walks 1 to 3, through Kent to Crystal Palace are part of the 'South East London Green Chain'. Points of interest in this part include the Thames Barrier, Severndroog Castle, Eltham Palace and the remains of The Crystal Palace.

Walks 4 and 5 pass Biggin Wood (one of the few remnants of the Great North Wood), Streatham Common, Tooting Bec Lido and Wandsworth Common.

Walk 6 visits the great green spaces of this part of urbanised Surrey: a brief walk through Wimbledon Park, then across Wimbledon Common and Richmond Park. It passes within about 100 yards of King Henry VIII's Mound, with its famed view of St Paul's Cathedral.

Middlesex

Walk 7 crosses the Thames from Richmond and heads through old Isleworth, then through the grounds of Syon Park. It then continues along the Grand Union Canal to Osterley Lock.

Walk 8 and 9 continue through urban Middlesex. Points of interest in this section include the River Brent, the Wharncliffe Viaduct, Horsenden Hill and Harrow School.

Walk 10 starts from South Kenton railway station, crosses Preston Park and heads on to Fryent Country Park, then south and east to Brent Reservoir and West Hendon where it crosses the Edgware Road, the M1 motorway and the A41 to reach Hendon Park. Walk 11 picks up form Hendon Park, following the River Brent and Mutton Brook through Hampstead Garden Suburb. It passes East Finchley, Cherry Tree Wood and Highgate Wood, then through Queen's Wood to Highgate tube station.

The last stretch until the county border is broken into two walks. Walk 12 covers Highgate to Stoke Newington, and Walk 13 Stoke Newington, though the streets of Lower Clapton to Springfield Park before following the River Lee Navigation south through Lea Bridge to White Post Lane in Hackney Wick.

Essex

In Essex, the Capital Ring comprises two walks, Walk 14 and 15, which pass through the area used Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, the site of the London 2012 Summer Olympics, then down to Stratford's industrial areas. Walk 14 follows 'The Greenway', the track of an old railway line, for most of its distance.

Length

Authorities do not agree on the length of the route, probably because of the various station links:

• Walk London give the length as 78 miles, the distances they give for the 15 sections sum to 83 miles, yet they say the average length of the 15 sections is 4.8 miles, which produces a total of 72 miles.
• The Ramblers Association say that the total length is only 71½ miles.
• Transport for London's website gives it as 78 miles.

Outside links

• Transport for London: The Capital Ring
• Observer Feature by Stephen Emms on Capital Ring
• London Capital Ring Blog
• Photos and description of a walk taken around the Capital Ring during 2006.
• Greenchain.com – the southeast section of the Capital Ring

References

• Saunders, Colin: 'The Capital Ring' (Aurum Press, 2006) ISBN 1-84513-075-8