London Loop Diaries - Preamble
Preamble to the ramble
I turned 40 in 2024 and to ‘celebrate’ I decided to set myself two physical challenges. The first challenge was to tackle a long-held ambition of summiting Mt. Fuji which I successfully completed on my actual birthday in July 2024. The second was the significantly more leisurely experience of hiking the Capital Ring, a 78 mile walk encircling the outer-most parts of Inner-London where you’re never more than about 10 miles from Big Ben.
The Capital Ring is divided into 12 segments, each of which start and end near public transport making them an easy day trip if you’re located in or around London. I ticked off each of the 12 segments over the course of 2024, starting on 24th February and completing it 10 months later on the 28th December.
If you know me, you know that I adore London, spending as much time in the Capital as possible. I pride myself on how well I know the city and always have a good recommendation for something to eat, drink or do when someone asks. Despite not living there, London is home. The Capital Ring challenged my perception of just how well I knew the city, opening my eyes to just how varied London can be when you escape the bustle of the City centre.
A few moments have sat with me, long after completing the Capital Ring. The Wharncliffe Viaduct towers over Brent Meadow, carrying GWR and Elizabeth Line trains out west — a structure I've crossed countless times on the way to Heathrow without ever once noticing it from below. The Grand Union Canal had a way of making me feel calm. I took Vinnie, my parents' dog, along for those stretches, which mostly meant watching him attempt to befriend everyone. Highgate Woods in autumn is as good as London gets — I challenge anyone to find a wood in the city that photographs better. Sudbury Hill Underground Station, a Charles Holden design tucked away in Harrow, stopped me in my tracks entirely; they simply don't build stations like that anymore. Finally, if you walk the Capital Ring in order, one of the last things you'll do is walk alongside the runway of London City Airport. It might be the aviation nerd in me, but I found it a fitting way to end my journey at a place where so many others begin theirs.
As fulfilling as it was, completing the Capital Ring left me with a sense of wanting more and unlocked a desire to see what else lay undiscovered (to me at least) within the confines of London. What I didn’t realise at the time was that the Capital Ring had a big sister, the London Outer Orbital Path, or the London Loop as it’s more commonly known. At 150 miles, it’s double the size of the Capital Ring, taking you to the outer extremities of London and brushing up close to the M25 at several points.
I’m not chasing an anniversary this time, and with 24 segments, plus a significantly increased travel time to get to and from each section of the route, I’m not expecting to complete it anytime soon but if I can reach the end of Section 24 by the time I turn 43 I’ll be happy.
One of the joys of Capital Ring was getting to see the city change with the seasons, that’s something I’m looking forward to experiencing more of in some of London’s leafier suburbs. In my head, a minimum of one segment a month feels pretty achievable to me and I’ll be looking to double up a few of the shorter segments that are towards the outskirts of the city.
I plan for this to be a diary of sorts, mini-essays on what I discover as I make my way around the Loop and I’m sure that will evolve over time and as I find my groove. My big regret after completing the Capital Ring was that I didn’t write anything down, this is my way of making up for that and getting to stretch my creative muscles in a way I haven’t for a while.
Anyway, that's enough of a preamble. Time to walk!
150 miles to go.