The Capital Ring

The Capital Ring is a 75-mile (120 km) walking route encircling inner London that links the astonishing number of islands of greenery - parks, woodlands, abandoned railway lines, towpaths and nature reserves - that still survive in the very heart of the city. The Ring takes in many of London's leading attractions - for example, the Thames Barrier, Eltham Palace and Richmond Park - as well as overlooked gems such as Oxleas Meadows, the Parkland Walk and Abbey Mills Pumping Station, a Victorian extravaganza once known as 'the Temple of Sewage'. This guide, which divides the route into 15 sections, each starting and finishing at a public transport point, is packed with a vast amount of information which will guide walkers to the many and varied treasures that lie along the Ring's route. Colin Saunders is a member of the London Walking Forum, which first conceived the idea of the two London orbital routes (The London Loop, the second, outer, route is also the subject of one of Aurum's Recreational Path Guides) and developed the Capital Ring in collaboration with the London boroughs through which it runs.