"It's a walk in the park", "The West End of London is smaller than you think"

First time visitors get the wrong impression of London from the tube maps and think that the distances between stations is massive and therefore unwalkable. This idea is certainly wrong for the Central and West End areas of the city. London has some beautiful parks that are well worth a visit.

Interesting Websites

For London, Transport for London has a good site with lots of ideas including events. It is also has a very good Walking Journey Planner.

For London and other cities, walkit.com has an excellent journey planner which is very clear and quick, with a good set of intructions on how to complete the route. 
For interesting walks at weekends and other routes walklondon.org.uk

Health Benefits

Walking can be fun and the best way to explore your city. The journey between sites might be your chance to get some exercise in and the get the blood pumping around your body. The air quality in London is good in quiet streets but gets worse near heavy traffic, try to avoid these areas and find routes that are in quiet streets.

Options

Leave early in the morning and take a detour this will give you extra exercise and make you arrrive fit and raring to go.

Get off the bus a few stops early. Some people have no option but to take public transport because they live too far away, but all is not lost. On good days why not get off a few stops early and enjoy the walk in to work. Most people could walk a mile in 20 minutes so if you plan it properly you can still be in time for work or your class.

There are many parks in London and some of them might be near you. An option to consider for the summer is to picnic and walk in the park. Regents Park is very close to the Marylebone and Cavendish sites. Regents Parks is well managed by the gardeners and a group walk and picnic would be a great thing to do at lunchtime. The fresh air and sunshine would revitalise you and keep you powering through the afternoon.

Highway Code

We all have to obey some basic rules and walking is no different. Common sense is the best rule and thinking of others is the other. Look out for signs that offer signed walking routes these will guide you through areas that are quiet and safe.

Equipment

It does not require massive investment in specialist clothing and can be enjoyed in basic everyday clothes. Be prepared in case the weather changes which it does frequently. "Four seasons in one day" is a common saying of London weather. During the summer pack a hat and some sun screen and during the winter wrap up warm and have some wet weather clothing. A small back pack is handy to carry the extra clothing when not needed.

Safety

You are walking on the public highway and as such have to respect others and obey common laws. Be aware crossing roads especially if you have come directly from a foreign country as the traffic in Britain is on the left. If you are travelling in a group allow plenty time for all members to cross roads and clear busy areas. Be vigilant near shopping areas as it is easy to be distracted by the goods in the windows. Be careful when you are taking photos in case you step off the kerb into the road. Watch out for the silent road users such as cycles and electric vehicles. Enjoy the journey but get there in one piece.

Walking Challenge

In summer 2010 TFL Transport for London ran a Cycle Challenge which staff in the University signed up for. It was a great success with 50+ staff clocking up their miles every day. The University finished in a good position in the charts.
This summer TFL plan to expand the scheme to include walking. This will be your daily commute distances and any other social distances as well. We will publish this to all staff as soon as TFL make it available.

Walking Distances Between Central London Sites

The tables above were compiled using the Transport for London TFL Journey Planner.