Finding wild spaces: The 6 best nature walks in London

It’s an obvious choice for a walk, if you’re looking for open green space to wander in, you can’t go wrong with Hampstead Heath. With a metro station right at the edge, it’s mere minutes between hearing ‘mind the gap’ and hearing birdcall.  

With over 800 acres to explore, there’s open grass, woodland, and even ponds for open water swimming, if you’re brave enough. Although famed for being the inspiration for C.S Lewis’s Narnia, a walk here might not inspire you to muster up any fiction more exciting than finding a fiver at the back of your wardrobe, but hey ho.  

If you’re not headed back to work after, wander on down to The Southhampton Arms, grab a pint to enjoy, and sit in the pub garden in the sunshine.

Just a few miles from Hampstead Heath, you can find The Parkland Walk – the longest linear nature reserve in London. A former railway line, being sandwiched between lines of trees helps you forget the concrete jungle beyond. Running from Finsbury Park, through Highgate, all the way to Alexandra Palace.

With a start in Finsbury Park, the ability to stop at Highgate Wood for a wander, and finishing off at the grounds of Alexandra Palace, there’s more than enough green to counteract the blues – and send you on your way a little cheerier.

It’s 4km in length, so it should take you around an hour or so to finish, and if you’ve started at Finsbury, and finished at Alexandra, head to Phoenix Bar and Pizzeria for all-day pizza, and if you did it the other way around, The WB Yeats is a good shout for properly poured Guiness and famed Sunday roasts.

Another obvious choice, but if you need a little breather in nature, you can always head to Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park for a wander. Any which way you head is a treat, but if you’re looking for a particular route, start at Kensington Palace (it’s unlikely you can miss it), keep to the left of the Round Pond, as if you’re aiming at Lancaster Gate Station – which will have you wandering towards the Italian Gardens (for a little vintage water fountain excitement). From here, you can enjoy a coffee at the Café opposite, or just head on straight into Hyde Park. If you follow the signs for the Rose Garden, you should be led through the heart of the park.

Once at the other side, if you’ve not already enjoyed a pit stop, head to The Argyll Arms near Buckingham Palace, just the other side of Savile Row. Grab a pint and enjoy it behind the privacy of the snob screens.

Remember when we hosted the Olympics? Whilst it feels like half a century ago, it was only 2012. One nice fringe benefit is that we still have the grounds and a nice open green area to wander, that attaches to Wick Woodland and Hackney Marshes. In fact, it connects all the way to The Walthamstow Wetlands if you go far enough. Making it easy to get your money’s worth of green space, and even potentially spot one of the 54 species of birds spotted at Walthamstow.

There are many ways to approach this big stretch of nature, but any which way you’ve headed, you’ll want to head back into Clapton or Hackney to grab a drink just about anywhere. Although don’t be fooled – if you see what appears to be other walkers dressed head to toe in GORP, they likely haven’t walked anywhere but to the pub.

Battersea Park’s good for a wander or two, with more than a couple of spots to check out. There’s the Old English Garden, two lovely tree lined walks at the Carriage Drive and Central Avenue, the Boating Lake, Rosery Gardens and best of all, the Sub Tropical Gardens – for when those warmer climates feel incredibly far away in winter.

If you’re out these ways, a visit to The Lighthouse is an easy trip. Just a stone’s throw from the park, it’s got all the makings of a sunny afternoon well spent. There’s a roaring fire in the winter months, and a pub garden for the sunnier ones. You can’t go wrong.

Whilst a wander through Bushy Park is wonderful at all times of the year, a wander in autumn is just what the doctor ordered. There’s ancient woodland, herds of deer, and ponds to visit. With all the wildlife around, it’s hard not to get distracted from your woes by the happy prance of animals. Best of all, the park is attached to Hampton Court – giving you miles of tracks to wander and explore.

If you’ve had your fill of the flora and fauna that have been making this stretch of green their home for centuries, then it might be time to head out and grab something to eat as reward for a walk well done. Head over to The Bell Inn just round the corner, award-winning gastropub, using local and fresh ingredients – they're even dog friendly.