The LOOP - Around the Capital in Eight Days

The LOOP stands for London Outer Orbital Path. It runs for approximately 150 miles around the outskirts of London - a sort of walkers' M25, but sticking to open countryside, parks, lakes, canals and rivers as much as possible - no mean feat in a metropolis like London! It starts at Erith on the south bank, and ends at Coldharbour Point on the north bank - immediately opposite Erith.

The LOOP is exceptionally well served by public transport - you'll never be more than a few miles away from a train or tube station, and almost every road you cross seems to be a bus route. Nearly all stops are covered by a zone 6 Travelcard, so it is unique amongst Long Distance Paths (LDP's) in that you can easily plan a linear walk along it, between two tube stops - there's no worry of "how am I going to get back to my car"!

I first discovered the LOOP when I was looking for a present for Jim and idly browsing the walking section of Waterstones; there amongst the Arum Press guides to the well known hiking trails (South West Coast Path, Pennine Way etc) was one titled "The London LOOP". Intrigued, I picked it up, and part of the birthday present dilemma was solved.

Later that year we would be doing our second five day stint on the South West Coast Path. The previous year we had done some fairly pointless circular walks in the Chilterns for practise; this time we decided that doing a few sections of the LOOP would be a more interesting way to prepare.

The Arum Press guide divides the LOOP up into 15 roughly equal sections of about 10 miles each, all starting and ending at a public transport link. These do not in any way tie up with the "official" 22 LOOP sections shown on the Transport for London website, which are of seemingly random length and tied more to local authority boundaries than to walkers' needs - stick to the Arum Press ones is my advice!

We decided to tackle the LOOP two Arum Press sections at a time - partly in a desperate attempt to get fit for the coast path, and partly to squeeze as much value out of our train journey to London as possible! As a result we completed it in eight days (albeit spread over 13 months) rather than the more usual (and sensible) fifteen. You can click on the links to the left, or on the clickable map at the top right of this page, for the full story.

We rapidly came to see the LOOP as an excellent path in its own right, rather than just a training ground. It is truly unique as an LDP, providing stunning contrasts between rural and urban landscapes and salutary lessons in the dangers of urban sprawl and environmental degradation. We would love to see it made an official National Trail; the current National Trails are almost entirely rural, and it's high time the suburban fringe was represented! National Trail status would encourage more Londoners to walk, protect some vital green areas and help educate city kids in environmental and rural issues.

One final warning note before you set out on this fascinating route: the signage is not yet complete in some parts of the LOOP, and even where it is it's often poor and misleading. Get the Arum Press - it's got Ordnance Survey maps for the whole path, and you can't go far wrong!

And no, we don't have shares in Arum Press!

Note: Days 1 to 5 were written retrospectively and we apologise for any inaccuracies or omissions. We’re getting old and our memories aren’t what they once were. In fact they’re so bad we can’t remember how they used to be!