A-Z London Hidden Walks: Discover 20 routes in and around the city

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Another of the top London walking books is Walking Pepys’s London. Samuel Pepys was a 17th-century English navy administrator and member of parliament who was famous for the diary he kept. This book covers London from his perspective.

This walk is one of my all-time favourites, it’s a great way to spend a few hours if you’re looking to escape the hustle and bustle – it’s also pretty undiscovered, so you won’t be followed by throngs of tourists.From famous areas like Notting Hill and the City of London to green spaces like Regent’s Park and local areas like Islington and Dulwich, it has a lot of walks you can enjoy in both known and lesser-known parts of London. Walk it for the opportunity to see some of London’s less-talked-about treasures: from the grandiose Eltham Palace, you dip into the remaining parts of the Great North Wood and see one of the magnificent seven, Abney Park Cemetery too. Turn into Penwith Road and cross the River Wandle. Continue through Ravensbury Terrace, Haslemere Avenue, and Lucien Road. You may have been to Hatton Gardens – London’s diamond district – but have you ever heard of The Silver Vaults?

A private London Walk makes a fab present – be it a birthday or anniversary or get-to-know-your-new neighbourhood gift or Christmas present or whatever. Merchandise schmerchandise (gift wrapped or not) – but giving someone an experience, now that’s special. Memories make us rich. LONDON WALKS – STREETS AHEAD! Something of an M25 - minus the cars and plus a whole load of beaut scenes - the London Outer Orbital Path (LOOP) is 150 miles long. If you want the best walks near London by train for summer, we'd suggest section 12; a route from Uxbridge to Harefield West along the Grand Union Canal, with Broadwater Lake, the marina and a stunning mill house making up the sights. It’s worth diverting off the trail to dip into the outrageously pretty Isabella Plantation – 40 acres of woodland in the centre of the park that puts on a blooming azalea display each April and May (yes, that’s right – now). We’re NOT sorry about it. Not one jot. If we have to keep carping on about St Dunstan in the East until our last breaths before you guys listen to us and go, well, that’s a burden we are willing to carry.

N.B. this walk will not take place on the following dates:

London’s first contemporary art walk flew under the radar for a long time, but Londoners are slowly waking up to its peculiar charms. Either way, expect to see eclectic architecture, famous bridges and even some quieter more rural sections on the outer fringes of the city. Long read: Distillation of a brilliant guide’s many years’ experience probing the hidden places and forgotten nooks of the world’s most elusive city. Exploring secret London – up creeping lanes, round out-of-the-way corners, past veiled islands of green – Shaughan’s at his inimitable best. As the New York Times put it, the walk is “a highly entertaining… blend of historical commentary and bizarre anecdote laced with mildly scurrilous gossip about past and present celebrities and defunct royals.”In such places and with such a guide, the past becomes our present. Now that we’ve extolled the virtues of St Dunstan in the East as some of the best hidden architecture in London, we guess we’d better tell you what it is. My self-guided Shoreditch walk will take you down thoroughfares like Old Street, along colorful side roads like Rivington Street and Redchurch Street, and into parks and green spaces like Boundary Gardens and Hoxton Square.

The next of my east London walks is a street art tour. This one goes through Spitalfields and Shoreditch and focuses on the colorful murals the East End is known for. London's Roman Temple of Mithras - unfortunately you won't be able to see it for another few years. The SS Great Eastern's Launch Ramp - At the south eastern tip of the Isle of Dogs lies the remains of the SS Great Eastern’s launch ramp. Whether you love or loathe The Barbican, London’s biggest cultural centre, really boils down to how you feel about Brutalist architecture. At any given time, you’re all but guaranteed to see at least a few new pieces in the making and there are opportunities aplenty to gawp at the sheer talent displayed by many of these artists.As such, it found itself as the centre of many a naughty activity including bear baiting, gambling and even duelling. Oh those crazy olden days people.

From Bloomsbury to Notting Hill, Barnes to Dulwich, it features lots of walks in London neighborhoods. The routes will take you around to places that feel untouched by modern times and let you imagine a London of a bygone era. Like the fact that there’s been a market here since the 14th century. At first it was just for butchers and fishmongers (both long gone) before it became one of London’s most important markets. If you want to do this London walk, you can find the route, map, and photos on my Spitalfields walk blog post. This walk – though it takes several necessary detours off the towpath – is known as one of the most beautiful stretches of waterway in England.This is not one of the most hidden walks in London; in fact, it’s wildly popular. Best to go early in the morning or later at night to avoid tourists. Giro, The Nazi Dog's Grave - Situated just off the Mall in London, close to both the heart of British government and monarchy, lies the country's only memorial to a Nazi... a Nazi dog, that is.

The formalised walk takes you from Sydenham Hill Station through the woods to the gardens of the Horniman Museum in Forest Hill to Dulwich Park. I hope my list of secret London walks has made you want to get outside and discover the best under-the-radar areas in the city. Whether you’re a local or want to live like one, these walks will help you explore the areas Londoners love. Happy walking! Jaunt through brutalist architecture, historical attractions and some blessedly good street food – all in sight of the glittering Thames. Walk along Alma Terrace, Heathfield Road, and Magdalen Road, passing the Beatrix Potter primary school. You’ll pass near Wandsworth Prison.