London Outer Orbital Path

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London Outer Orbital Path
London Loop sign.JPG
The London LOOP's logo, a flying kestrel, can be seen on the signs marking the route
Length150 mi (242 km) [1]
Location London, England
Trailheads Circular
Use Hiking
SeasonAll year
Trail map
LOOP route map.jpg

The London Outer Orbital Path more usually the "London LOOP" is a 150-mile (242 km) signed walk along public footpaths, [1] and through parks, woods and fields around the edge of Outer London, England, described as "the M25 for walkers". The walk begins at Erith on the south bank of the River Thames and passes clockwise through Crayford, Petts Wood, Coulsdon, Banstead, Ewell, Kingston upon Thames, Uxbridge, Elstree, Cockfosters, Chingford, Chigwell, Grange Hill and Upminster Bridge before ending at Purfleet, almost directly across the Thames from its starting point. Between these settlements the route passes through green buffers and some of the highest points in Greater London.

Contents

History

The walk was first proposed at a meeting between The Ramblers and the Countryside Commission in 1990. It was given an official launch at the House of Lords in 1993. The first section was opened on 3 May 1996, with a ceremony on Farthing Downs, Coulsdon. Other sections followed at the rate of two or three per year as signs were installed and leaflets for individual sections published, the route becoming fully walkable in 2001. Following the election of Ken Livingstone as Mayor of London, the London Loop became one of his key routes, along with its sister route, the Capital Ring.

Route

Happy Valley Happy Valley (LOOP).jpg
Happy Valley
Stag in Bushy Park Stag in Bushy Park.jpg
Stag in Bushy Park
Wellingtonia Avenue Wellingtonia Avenue.jpg
Wellingtonia Avenue

The route is divided into 24 sections in three groups: the "blue" group in South London, the "green" group in north-west London, and the "yellow" group in north-east London. The sections vary in length, [1] from 3.8 miles (6.1 km) section 14 to 10 miles (16 km) section 16. Some sections start and/or end directly at public transport stops. However most sections have a further waymarked 'LOOP Link' to from their start and/or end to the nearest train or underground station. Additionally, there are waymarked 'LOOP Links' to train station midway along some sections. All these links are listed in the table below.

South London (sections 1–8)

The Loop officially begins by the River Thames in Erith. Points of interest in these sections south of the Thames include: Hall Place, the memorial to William Willett (advocate of summer time), the Wilberforce Oak, Shirley Windmill, Happy Valley, Farthing Downs, the Mayfield Lavender Farm and the Coronation Stone in Kingston.

North-west London (sections 9–16)

Having crossed the Thames at Kingston Bridge the Loop continues north of the river. Points of interest in these sections include: Bushy Park, the Shot Tower by the River Crane, the Grand Union Canal, the ancient woodland of Park Wood, Grim's Dyke and a cottage where David Livingstone once lived.

North-east London (sections 17–24)

Commencing at Cockfosters, the final third of the Loop heads south to its end at the Thames in Purfleet. Points of interest in these sections include: the New River, Forty Hall, Gilwell Park, Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge in Epping Forest, the Wellingtonia Avenue in Havering Country Park, the valley of the River Ingrebourne, the Upminster Windmill, Hornchurch Country Park, the Concrete Barges by the Thames at Rainham and the RSPB Centre by the marshes at Purfleet.

Signposts, waymarks and information boards direct the walker along the route. In countryside locations the waymarks consist mostly of a simple white disc mounted on a wooden post, with a directional arrow and flying kestrel logo in blue and text in green. However, local authorities are responsible for funding these signs, so the quality varies from one borough to the next, with some sections not signed at all. The 54-mile blue route from Erith to Kingston is maintained by the Downlands Countryside Management Project, a joint initiative by several councils, and is complete with signs and information boards, in addition to maps available from Tourist Information Centres.

There is no way to cross the river between Purfleet and Erith to complete the loop, although there was once a ferry to Erith which was mainly used by pilgrims on their way to Canterbury. In 2011 a proposal for a ferry to link the ends, and to link to riverbuses upstream at Woolwich, was shortlisted in the RIBA Forgotten Spaces competition. [2]

The full route is also mapped on OpenStreetMap and available on the Go Jauntly app, in partnership with Transport for London.

Map all coordinates using: OpenStreetMap
SectionDescriptionDistance [1] Start coordinatesPublic transport links
mikmSection startSection endFurther signposted LOOP Links along the section
1 Erith to Old Bexley8.5 mi13.7 km 51°28′59″N0°10′41″E / 51.483144°N 0.177975°E / 51.483144; 0.177975 (Erith) link from Erith station link to Bexley station Slade Green station

Crayford station

2 Old Bexley to Petts Wood7 mi11 km 51°26′28″N0°08′56″E / 51.441233°N 0.148956°E / 51.441233; 0.148956 (Old Bexley) link from Bexley stationlink to Petts Wood station
3 Petts Wood to West Wickham Common9 mi14 km 51°23′36″N0°04′09″E / 51.393209°N 0.069081°E / 51.393209; 0.069081 (Petts Wood) link from Petts Wood stationlink to Hayes station
4 West Wickham Common to Hamsey Green10 mi16 km 51°22′15″N0°00′17″E / 51.370944°N 0.004860°E / 51.370944; 0.004860 (West Wickham Common) link from Hayes stationHamsey Green bus stop
5 Hamsey Green to Coulsdon South6 mi9.7 km 51°19′09″N0°03′48″W / 51.319035°N 0.063420°W / 51.319035; -0.063420 (Hamsey Green) Hamsey Green bus stop Coulsdon South station Whyteleafe station
6 Coulsdon South to Banstead Downs4.5 mi7.2 km 51°18′57″N0°08′12″W / 51.315728°N 0.136744°W / 51.315728; -0.136744 (Coulsdon South) Coulsdon South stationlink to Banstead station
7 Banstead Downs to Ewell3.5 mi5.6 km 51°19′56″N0°12′33″W / 51.332148°N 0.209290°W / 51.332148; -0.209290 (Banstead Downs) link from Banstead stationlink to Ewell West station
8 Ewell to Kingston Bridge7.3 mi11.7 km 51°21′06″N0°15′01″W / 51.351650°N 0.250176°W / 51.351650; -0.250176 (Ewell) link from Ewell West stationlink to Kingston station Malden Manor station
9 Kingston Bridge to Hatton Cross8.5 mi13.7 km 51°24′43″N0°18′30″W / 51.411854°N 0.308274°W / 51.411854; -0.308274 (Kingston Bridge) link from Kingston stationlink to Hatton Cross underground station Fulwell station
10 Hatton Cross to Hayes & Harlington3.5 mi5.6 km 51°28′12″N0°24′35″W / 51.469927°N 0.409793°W / 51.469927; -0.409793 (Hatton Cross) link from Hatton Cross underground stationlink to Hayes & Harlington station
11 Hayes & Harlington to Uxbridge7.5 mi12.1 km 51°30′18″N0°25′07″W / 51.505117°N 0.418654°W / 51.505117; -0.418654 (Hayes) link from Hayes & Harlington stationlink to Uxbridge underground station West Drayton station
12 Uxbridge to Harefield West4.5 mi7.2 km 51°33′03″N0°29′00″W / 51.550933°N 0.483414°W / 51.550933; -0.483414 (Uxbridge) link from Uxbridge underground stationlink to Hareford West / Belfry Avenue bus stop
13 Harefield West to Moor Park5 mi8.0 km 51°36′38″N0°29′56″W / 51.610477°N 0.498761°W / 51.610477; -0.498761 (Harefield) link from Hareford West / Belfry Avenue bus stoplink to Moor Park underground station
14 Moor Park to Hatch End3.8 mi6.1 km 51°37′26″N0°25′39″W / 51.623932°N 0.427529°W / 51.623932; -0.427529 (Moor Park) link from Moor Park underground stationlink to Hatch End station
15 Hatch End to Elstree10 mi16 km 51°36′39″N0°22′49″W / 51.610702°N 0.380326°W / 51.610702; -0.380326 (Hatch End) link from Hatch End stationlink to Elstree & Borehamwood station Stanmore underground station
16 Elstree to Cockfosters10 mi16 km 51°39′12″N0°16′55″W / 51.653365°N 0.281950°W / 51.653365; -0.281950 (Elstree) link from Elstree & Borehamwood stationshort link to Cockfosters underground station High Barnet underground station
17 Cockfosters to Enfield Lock9.5 mi15.3 km 51°39′08″N0°08′56″W / 51.652244°N 0.148998°W / 51.652244; -0.148998 (Cockfosters) short link from Cockfosters underground stationlink to Enfield Lock station Gordon Hill station
18 Enfield Lock to Chingford4 mi6.4 km 51°40′06″N0°01′42″W / 51.668264°N 0.028316°W / 51.668264; -0.028316 (Enfield Lock) link from Enfield Lock stationlink to Chingford station
19 Chingford to Chigwell4 mi6.4 km 51°38′04″N0°00′44″E / 51.634306°N 0.012118°E / 51.634306; 0.012118 (Chingford) link from Chingford stationlink to Chigwell underground station
20 Chigwell to Havering-atte-Bower6 mi9.7 km 51°37′17″N0°04′41″E / 51.621468°N 0.078004°E / 51.621468; 0.078004 (Chigwell) link from Chigwell underground stationshort link to Havering Green bus stop
21 Havering-atte Bower to Harold Wood4.5 mi7.2 km 51°37′01″N0°11′00″E / 51.616860°N 0.183245°E / 51.616860; 0.183245 (Havering-atte-Bower) short link from Havering Green bus stop Harold Wood station
22 Harold Wood to Upminster Bridge4 mi6.4 km 51°35′36″N0°14′03″E / 51.593421°N 0.234098°E / 51.593421; 0.234098 (Harold Wood) Harold Wood station Upminster Bridge underground station
23 Upminster Bridge to Rainham4 mi6.4 km 51°33′33″N0°14′12″E / 51.559197°N 0.236748°E / 51.559197; 0.236748 (Upminster Bridge) Upminster Bridge underground station Rainham station
24 Rainham to Purfleet 5 mi8.0 km 51°31′01″N0°11′29″E / 51.516886°N 0.191433°E / 51.516886; 0.191433 (Rainham) Rainham stationlink to Purfleet station

Further reading

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "London LOOP". Transport for London. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
  2. "Pilgrim Ferry". Forgotten Spaces shortlist 2011. RIBA. Archived from the original on 19 January 2012.