[title]
These days, if somebody asks you what you got up to with your weekend, you can actually get away with the simple response: a nice walk. If 2020 has reignited anything in us Londoners, it’s got to be a love of putting one foot in front of the other. In lockdown, it became about so much more than getting from A to B – walking is now a way of London life.
That’s why we’re buzzing to discover this handy map created by graphic designer Helen Ilus. The London Greenground is a twist on the London Underground map – but instead of connecting one busy travel terminal to another, the map shows how to get around all of London’s green spaces by foot.
Its creator first pitched the idea over a year ago on Twitter as part of the National Park City campaign. Since people seemed to respond well to the concept, Ilus took it further. It’s now a London-wide map marking 380 parks and open spaces and suggesting green routes to walk or cycle between them all. While it doesn’t detail the exact routes between each park, it helps you plot your way between green spaces, with walking distances between each park also on display so you can calculate your step count.
It includes London’s major parks and well-known nature spots – from Hyde Park to Primrose Hill – but it also maps lesser-known wetlands, commons, moors, woods and reserves all across Greater London.
‘The loops and lines that make up the map are suggestions rather than fixed routes and the main intention of the map is to show London as one connected green network and encourage active movement between parks and along the waterways,’ said Ilus of her Greenground map.
Fancy setting off on a hike about town? You can order a fold-out pocket map, yours for £10, here. Read more about the project and how you can support the map’s development here. Or check out an expandable version of the London Greenground map right here.
Want more walking inspiration? Check out London’s prettiest walks.
Or get out of town with these great walks near London.