London is a city that rewards walkers with new discoveries, and I often find that these traverse places and sites that are familiar to me from what I have heard or discovered from reading and study. The sense of history is palpable wherever you wander. In the summer I undertook a lot of longer day walks that took me out and beyond the city. Winter with its shorter, colder days means that it is safer to stick within the confines of the city where there is the promise of shelter from the weather should you need it. There is still plenty to discover, whether you walk during the day, and particularly in the pre-Christmas period, walking in the evening has its unique pleasures too, with Christmas lights, although wrapping up warm and mulled wine are advisable!
Here are two shorter winter walks I recently undertook I think are well worth doing. I did these walks with two walking groups (Walks by Water and 45+ Not grumpy old Londoners!) using the Meet Up app, and I have found this a great way to get to know new areas of London, as well as meeting new people.
Regents Park, Primrose Hill, Regent’s Canal, Little Venice
This walk started at the Baker St tube station, where we headed left at the entrance towards and past the crowds lining up at Madam Toussards, taking the first street on the left until we reached Regent’s Park. We then walked through Regent’s Park, keeping the lake on our right. If you need coffee you could pick up some at the kiosk, which is the point at which we crossed over the bridge to the other side of the lake and then headed north across the park towards London Zoo and Primrose Hill.
We crossed the canal and headed out the gate, and across the road past the lovely stone church on our right, and then we took the path down to the canal and headed right towards the Zoo/Primrose Hill and Little Venice. After a short walk along the canal (the canal was on our left) we headed up the path for a short detour to and up Primrose Hill. Should the weather be inclement you could always finish your walk here – simply cutting across the park heading towards the village and Chalk Farm Tube Station. It would be a shame to do this however, because you would miss the wonderful views back to the city from the top of Primrose Hill.
From Primrose Hill we headed back down the hill and reconnected to the canal at the point we left it, continuing on to Camden. The canal took us past the extremes of life in London, under one bridge I saw homeless people wrapped entirely in sleeping bags to counter the bitter cold, and then after the next I found myself passing magnificent mansions, the money spent on them dripping from their palatial balconies and pillars, not to mention their perfectly manicured lawns.
The canal then heads towards Camden and its many houseboats with more of a hippy vibe – some of these have taken over the path and its surrounds, and look very settled, seemingly permanently parked there. We continued along the tow path until we reached Little Venice and we found ourselves a canal side pub to have a coffee and lunch. From here it was just a short stroll to the Warwick Avenue tube station.
Hackney and Sutton House
Hackney is one of those areas ‘out East’ that has become popular with people in the know, the so called hipsters, but it has managed to retain a lot of the soul of the East End of old too and is well worth exploring, as it has such a fascinating history. This walk started from Hackney Central Railway station. As you head out the entrance turn right, and if you are in need of a coffee, you can grab one from the kiosk just before the railway underpass, and admire the coffee themed street art as you wait.
Continue heading right onto Mare Street, and head along past the Ship Inn (thats if you can find it!) the narrowest pub you are likely to encounter. If you do find it its worth heading down the narrow passage way, once again covered in appropriately themed street art (Hackney is after all home of the hipster), and if you have time you could grab yourself a craft beer.
From the Ships Inn carry on along Mare St and you will stumble upon a wee gem – the Hackney Empire. This theatre was built in 1901 is a grade II listed building, and was originally a music hall. It is well worth stepping inside to view the sumptuous decor, and with a bit of planning and it being the right time of year, you could watch one of the pantomimes it is now famous for.
Further along Mare St, you can see the square that contains the Hackney borough council building, and the new library. Cross the road here and head back down Mare St in the opposite direction (and if you missed the Ships Inn keep an eye out from this side of the street and you’ll probably have a better chance of seeing it). Continue until you come to the church of St John-at-Hackney, which was built on 1792. At the time this church was built Hackney was an area of open fields where people owned country houses. Take the ‘Walled Garden Walk’ which winds through the church gardens to the right of the church where you will see many ancient graves near the original walls. From here head towards and past St Augustine’s tower, the only part remaining from the original thirteenth century church that stood on this site.
You are now within reach of Sutton House, just head down the street ahead of you – Sutton Place – where by the way the houses have the most amazing entrances/doors and turn left at the end – you will see the metal wall displaying match box toys to your right and Sutton House straight ahead.
Sutton House is run by the National Trust. It is different from the usual stately homes run by the Trust, in that while this house dates from Tudor times, and they have left the evidence from this intact, they have kept the various features of the eras the house has been through. Thus it displays a living history of the house and how it has evolved over time. An example of this is where you can open one of the wooden panels where the original building materials behind it have been left intact. As well as the Tudor era there are examples of its use in Georgian and Victorian times. During the First World War it was used to house priests in training who were working in the East End. The chapel they developed also remains in situ, and there is a memorial to the priests who lived there who died in the war. Finally in the attic rooms is evidence of the squatters who lived here in the 1970s. The house has a small gift shop and cafe and a very eclectic garden where presumably you could sit and eat during the summer months. I loved exploring this house and its many varied and interesting displays, the house is a real rabbit warren of short stair cases and passages leading to new and different parts of the house. Apparently at one stage it was actually two houses and this combined with its history and many varied uses, means that you can happily spend a morning exploring it.
Once you have visited Sutton House, you can head back the way you came until you come past the children’s playground, and head right past another slightly more modern church (well compared to the other two, however it is still very old!) until you arrive at the square in front of it. Cross this square and then head left along the A107 towards Hackney Downs Station, but before getting there head back down the paedestrian shopping area that takes you back past the Church of St John at Hackney once more, and from there onto Hackney central station to complete the walk.
While these walks were planned, I have also discovered that once it gets dark, and this happens by 4pm in December, there is much joy to be had in just wandering with no set plan through the Covent Garden, Soho, Westminster, and Southbank areas and their surrounds, discovering the delights of London’s Christmas lights, as well as some magical shop windows.
LIVING LIFE ON MY OWN TERMS 