Some walks are a straight line from A to B. This one is a stitch. A green thread pulled through the city, looping from pocket park to royal park, from quiet square to nature reserve, until London starts to look less like a sprawl and more like what it really is, a National Park City hiding in plain sight.
The Walking Post’s London Parks Walk is exactly that kind of stitch-work: a 17 mile route that weaves through 50 parks and green spaces, starting at Greenwich Station and finishing at Primrose Hill.
Walking for Bowelbabe, one foot in front of the other
Last year I joined the Walking Post crew for a charity challenge fundraiser, taking on the 17 mile, 50 parks route from Greenwich to Primrose Hill as part of the London Walking Festival, and raising money for the Bowelbabe Fund for Cancer Research UK.
The walk was in support of Lucy Maddison’s Himalayan Trek fundraiser. Lucy is taking on the Bowelbabe Fund Himalayan Trek in March 2026, an 11 day expedition in the Indian Himalayas, including multiple days of high altitude trekking and camping, with the aim of hitting her £3,500 fundraising target. She is doing it in memory of close friends lost to cancer, and alongside the people she’s supported through treatment, trekking with her daughter, Sami.
The Bowelbabe Fund continues the legacy of Dame Deborah James, funding vital research and awareness work, including clinical trials and research into earlier detection and personalised medicine, so more people get more time with the people they love.
The Walking Post, built for people who love routes (and hate getting lost)
The Walking Post was founded by Lucy Maddison and Emily Morrison, two enthusiastic weekend walkers with a knack for turning “we should go for a walk sometime” into a properly mapped plan.
They noticed a gap: plenty of walk ideas, far fewer that are genuinely useful if you’re trying to get out and about by public transport, with clear mapping and practical detail.
Lucy, now part of our London National Park City Ranger community, is wonderfully upfront about her origin story: she loves maps, loves planning routes, and her day job in web design means the Walking Post has that rare combo of beauty and usability. Emily brings travel industry experience and a focus on rail-friendly adventures, which is basically the Walking Post’s superpower.
The 50 Parks Walk, what it is, and why it feels like London in fast-forward
This is a big day out. The Walking Post lists it as strenuous, around 7 to 8 hours, with climbs early on and a final lift to the top of Primrose Hill.
You’re not just collecting parks like stickers, you’re collecting perspectives. Along the way, the route serves up some of London’s greatest hits, including the Royal Observatory, the Tower of London, and the Houses of Parliament, plus those “wait, that view is in London?!” moments from higher ground.
And importantly, it’s not only the headline greenspaces. The joy is in the variety: “parks of every size”, including some that are basically “the size of a large hanky”, which is exactly the point. London’s green network is made of both cathedrals and chapels.
Why this belongs in London National Park City
London National Park City is a reframe, a way of seeing the city as a place where nature is not an optional extra, it’s infrastructure, habitat, health, and joy.
A route like this makes that reframe physical.
It turns “London has parks” into “London is connected by parks”.
It nudges you to notice biodiversity in the in-between bits, not just the destination greens.
It proves that you can cross the city with your feet on grass for a surprising amount of the day.
And it quietly trains a new habit: when you start thinking in routes, you start thinking in networks. That’s how greener London becomes normal.
Make it part of the London Walking Festival
If you want to do this walk with extra collective energy behind it, plug it into the London Walking Festival, led by London National Park City each May. The festival is all about helping Londoners walk more, discover nature near them, and take part in a city-wide challenge to walk one million miles in May.
A few friendly tips before you set off
Treat it like an expedition, not an errand: water, snacks, layers, and something that won’t punish your feet at mile 14.
Start early: 7 to 8 hours is honest time, especially with pauses for photos, toilet breaks, and inevitable “hang on, what’s that little garden?” detours.
Leave the parks better than you found them: stay on paths where needed, take litter home, be gentle around wildlife.
Make it yours: do the full 50 parks, or pick a smaller section for a shorter day and save the rest for another weekend.
The real magic: you finish with a new mental map
The best outcome is not the step count. It’s the shift in your head. London stops being a set of disconnected neighbourhoods and becomes a living landscape, stitched together by trees, hedges, waterways, squares, commons, and all the small green places that rarely get a shout-out.
One day, 50 parks, a city that quietly reveals itself as a national park city.
If you do it, tag London National Park City and The Walking Post, and share your route trace. Map-nerd joy is contagious.
Join Walking Post on one of their walks this year
