| London Outer Orbital Path | |
|---|---|
 The London LOOP's logo, a flying kestrel, can be seen on the signs marking the route | |
| Length | 150 mi (242 km)[1] |
| Location | London,England |
| Trailheads | Circular |
| Use | Hiking |
| Season | All year |
| Trail map | |
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TheLondon Outer Orbital Path—more usually the"London LOOP"—is a 150-mile (242 km) signed walk alongpublic footpaths,[1] and through parks, woods and fields around the edge ofOuter London,England, described as "theM25 for walkers". The walk begins atErith on the south bank of theRiver Thames and passes clockwise throughCrayford,Petts Wood,Coulsdon,Banstead,Ewell,Kingston upon Thames,Uxbridge,Elstree,Cockfosters,Chingford,Chigwell,Grange Hill andUpminster Bridge before ending atPurfleet, almost directly across theThames from its starting point. Between these settlements the route passes throughgreen buffers and some of the highest points inGreater London.
The walk was first proposed at a meeting betweenThe Ramblers and theCountryside Commission in 1990. It was given an official launch at the House of Lords in 1993. The first section was opened on 3 May 1996, with a ceremony onFarthing Downs,Coulsdon. Other sections followed at the rate of two or three per year as signs were installed and leaflets for individual sections published, the route becoming fully walkable in 2001. Following the election ofKen Livingstone asMayor of London, the London Loop became one of his key routes, along with its sister route, theCapital Ring.
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The route is divided into 24 sections in three groups: the "blue" group inSouth London, the "green" group in north-west London, and the "yellow" group in north-east London. The sections vary in length,[1] from 3.8 miles (6.1 km) section 14 to 10 miles (16 km) section 16. Some sections start and/or end directly at public transport stops. However most sections have a further waymarked 'LOOP Link' to from their start and/or end to the nearest train or underground station. Additionally, there are waymarked 'LOOP Links' to train station midway along some sections. All these links are listed in the table below.
The Loop officially begins by theRiver Thames inErith. Points of interest in these sections south of the Thames include:Hall Place, the memorial toWilliam Willett (advocate of summer time), the Wilberforce Oak,Shirley Windmill,Happy Valley,Farthing Downs, the Mayfield Lavender Farm and theCoronation Stone in Kingston.
Having crossed the Thames at Kingston Bridge the Loop continues north of the river. Points of interest in these sections include:Bushy Park, the Shot Tower by theRiver Crane, theGrand Union Canal, the ancient woodland of Park Wood,Grim's Dyke and a cottage whereDavid Livingstone once lived.
Commencing at Cockfosters, the final third of the Loop heads south to its end at the Thames inPurfleet. Points of interest in these sections include: the New River,Forty Hall,Gilwell Park,Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge in Epping Forest, the Wellingtonia Avenue inHavering Country Park, the valley of theRiver Ingrebourne, theUpminster Windmill,Hornchurch Country Park, the Concrete Barges by the Thames atRainham and the RSPB Centre by the marshes atPurfleet.
Signposts,waymarks and information boards direct the walker along the route. In countryside locations the waymarks consist mostly of a simple white disc mounted on a wooden post, with a directional arrow and flyingkestrel logo in blue and text in green. However, local authorities are responsible for funding these signs, so the quality varies from one borough to the next, with some sections not signed at all. The 54-mile blue route from Erith to Kingston is maintained by theDownlands Countryside Management Project, a joint initiative by several councils, and is complete with signs and information boards, in addition to maps available from Tourist Information Centres.
There is no way to cross the river between Purfleet and Erith to complete the loop, although there was once a ferry to Erith which was mainly used bypilgrims on their way toCanterbury. In 2011 a proposal for a ferry to link the ends, and to link to riverbuses upstream atWoolwich, was shortlisted in theRIBAForgotten Spaces competition.[2]
The full route is also mapped onOpenStreetMap and available on theGo Jauntly app, in partnership with Transport for London.
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