January is National Dog Walking month but whether you are a dog owner or not, getting out for some fresh air and exercise is great for your physical and mental well-being, especially in these bleak Winter months. We may live in the city but there is plenty to explore in and around London. Here’s our favourite walking books to inspire you to wrap up warm and get out there this January.
Walking London: Thirty Original Walks In and Around London
Walking London is the essential companion for any urban explorer—visitor or native—committed to discovering the true heart of one of the world’s greatest capital cities.
In 30 original walks, distinguished historian Andrew Duncan reveals miles of London’s endlessly surprising landscape.
From wild heathland to formal gardens, cobbled mews to elegant squares and arcades, bustling markets to tranquil villages.
Duncan reveals the pick of the famous sights, but also steers walkers off the tourist track and into the city’s hidden corners.
Handsomely illustrated with specially commissioned colour photographs and complete route maps, the book provides full details of addresses, opening times and the best bars and restaurants to visit en route.
Walks for Each Season: 26 great days out in the countryside near London
Julia’s carefully curated collection of walks proves that the seasons are just a train ride away from London’ Lara Maiklem author of Mudlarking. Seize the moment, escape the city and fully experience the beauty of each season.
These 26 fabulous walks, all within easy reach of London, showcase each season’s highlights, leading you through bluebells in spring, among poppies and wildflower meadows in summer, into the glory of beechwoods in autumn and to the breathtaking display of a starling murmuration in winter.
Routes are plotted on Ordnance Survey maps alongside clear, easy-to-follow directions and each walk starts and ends at a station, so you can discover the gems of the south east with ease. Walks range from four to 14 miles, from gentle rambles to ambitious hikes, and take you to stunning views, sparkling chalk streams, lazy rivers, clifftops, secret beaches and ancient woodlands.
Gorgeous colour photographs and delightfully honest descriptions introduce each walk, interpret the landscape and highlight what to look for – from flowers to fossils. You’ll also find the optimum time of year to enjoy each walk, how to get there, good picnic spots, pubs and cafes along the way. Which makes this book altogether the perfect guide and companion for both walkers and armchair ramblers.
Pip-pip and Tally-Ho… meet the most famous tour guide on YouTube, Joolz Guides!
In Rather Splendid London Walks you can join Joolz himself on 20 fun-packed walks around the city, picking out the top sights, sounds and secret features that you wouldn’t spot without an expert guide on hand.
On your journey you will learn about London’s finest palaces, historic houses and murky drinking dens, visiting unscrupulous politicians, literary figures, scientific heroes, notorious criminals, and stars of the stage and screen along the way. Highlighting historical features and oddities en route, including stink pipes, cattle troughs and parish boundary markers, Joolz has more tales, facts and anecdotes than you’ve had hot dinners.
From Pimlico to Peckham, Holland Park to Highgate, Southwark to Soho, Joolz Guides unveils the hidden gems and fantastic follies around every corner of the metropolis.
A -Z London Hidden Walks: Discover 20 Routes in and Around the City
Discover hidden gems around London with 20 walking routes.
Featuring 20 walks in and around the city, including lesser-known circuits and details on popular walks. Accompanied by guided walking instructions and written by a local expert, A-Z London Hidden Walks is the perfect way to explore the city in a new light.
Small enough to fit in a bag or pocket, this handy guidebook is ideal for tourists or locals looking to discover more about the city. Each route varies in length from 1 to 6 miles (1.6 to 9.6 km), and is clearly outlined on detailed A-Z street mapping.
• 20 walking routes with instructions and maps
• Full-colour photographs of hidden gems and city attractions
• Key sights and locations clearly marked on map
• Information such as start/finish points, nearest postcodes, distance and terrain included.
Paul Wood’s brilliant and acclaimed London’s Street Trees sold out three printings in its first edition, is a fixture in London’s bookshops and museum and gallery gift shops, and was republished in Spring 2020 in a new, revised and expanded edition.
One of its most popular features is the handful of ‘tree walks’ at the back, while the author is still leading his own guided ‘street tree walks’ every weekend somewhere in the capital.
So now here is a whole book of tree walks around the capital – some for an hour or two, others for an afternoon, and several to while away a whole day.
They take you to Ealing and Highgate, to see nineteenth-century London Planes lining the Embankment, newly-planted Persian Silk Trees in Brockley, and a whole Dawn Redwood forest at Canary Wharf – while pointing out the architecture and social and natural history along the way.
You’ll find trees taking you to the haunts of Seventies rock stars, in search of a long-buried circus elephant, and to some London’s highest ground with the most stunning views over the capital.
Time Out Country Walks Near London Volume 1
The first volume of the Time Out Book of Country Walks has been fully revised and updated and is now beautifully illustrated with colour photography.
It features 52 country walks within easy reach of London – one for every week of the year.
They take you through glorious countryside, up hills and along river valleys, to historic sights and into charming small towns and villages, all on scenic footpaths with a minimum of road walking.
Between seven and fifteen miles long, the walks are graded for difficulty, from family rambles to challenging upland hikes and contain meticulous directions.
Just like the best walks, The Joy of Walking takes you on a journey with lots to surprise and enjoy along the way. Through the best of classic writing, this inspiring anthology shows how the simple act of walking goes to the heart of life itself.
Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning pocket size classics, this edition is edited and introduced by Suzy Cripps.
Whether walking through awe-inspiring countryside or weaving your way through crowds in the hustle and bustle of great cities, we take thousands of steps a day. Finding meaning in movement can be difficult in today’s frenetic world. This may seem like a modern problem, but putting one foot in front of the other is something that authors have been writing about for centuries. Some like Gaskell, Wordsworth and Whitman extol the virtues of walking in the countryside, be it on one’s own connecting with nature or as the means to really good conversation with friends. Others like Dickens and E. M. Forster explore the thrill and dangers of moving about the city, by day or by night.
In The Joy of Walking you’ll find a wealth of essays, poetry and fiction celebrating and exploring the joy of walking.