Capital Ring - a walk around inner London

The Capital Ring is a walking route around inner and suburban London, and was completed in September 2005. It complements the London Loop: if the LOOP is the "M25 for walkers", then the Capital Ring is the North Circular and South Circular.

Like almost all long-distance footpaths, authorities cannot agree on its length. Walk London are particularly indecisive (one might almost say carelessly imprecise): in their text summary they give the length as 125 km (78 miles), but their section distances sum to 133 km and immediately afterwards they say the average length of the 15 sections is 7.8 km, which produces a total of 117 km. The total is only 115 km (72 miles) according to the Ramblers Association; the Transport for London website gives it as 117 km (73 miles). My own estimate from plotting the route on digital maps is 121 km.

While finding green spaces in the more central areas of London is more difficult than in the outer fringes, and thus the Capital Ring is much more urban than the LOOP, it still manages to find quite a bit of green, and many other interesting places to pass along the way.

My walks around the Capital Ring

Date From / to Distance Time

Ascent

1 December 2007 North Woolwich to Grove Park 15.6 km 3 hours 23 mins 256 metres
16 December 2007 Grove Park to Streatham Common 18.7 km 3 hours 47 mins 298 metres
6 April 2008 Streatham Common to Wimbledon Park 9.5 km 1 hour 57 mins 56 metres
9 August 2009 Wimbledon Park to Richmond 11.2 km 2 hours 23 mins 160 metres
19 May 2007 Richmond to Brentford 5.2 km 1 hour 30 mins almost nil
7 April 2007 Brentford to Hanwell Locks 3.8 km 1 hour 5 mins almost nil
23 February 2008 Hanwell Locks to Greenford 6.3 km 1 hour 18 mins 45 metres
6 January 2008 Greenford to South Kenton 8.6 km 1 hour 55 mins 176 metres
2 February 2008 South Kenton to Finsbury Park 21.0 km 4 hours 59 mins 338 metres
19 January 2008 Finsbury Park to River Lee 7.0 km 1 hour 33 mins 81 metres
11 May 2007 River Lee to Hackney Wick 4.4 km 0 hours 50 mins almost nil
9 April 2007 Hackney Wick to Old Ford 0.6 km 0 hours 15 mins almost nil
15 April 2007 Old Ford to North Woolwich 11.7 km 3 hours 10 mins almost nil

Total walked so far: 121 km, completed

Capital Ring links

Home Up Angles Way Capital Ring Chiltern Chain Walk Hertfordshire Chain Isle of Wight Coast Path Lea Valley Walk London Loop Mid-Suffolk Footpath New River Path Norfolk Coast Path North Downs Way Peddars Way Ridgeway South West Coast Stour & Orwell Walk Stour Valley Path Suffolk Coast Path Thames Path Yorkshire Wolds Way