The Ultimate Guide For London’s Outdoors Touring

Canoe East London’s Canals – Hundreds of miles of ancient canals and waterways are found throughout London and are home to quirky houseboats, flocks of swans and shimmering dragonflies. Pathways stretch all along the banks, offering beautiful terrain for walking, cycling and angling. The best way to get under the skin of London’s canals is to get onto them. Secret Adventures offers outdoor activities in and around London and some of their most popular excursions are group canoeing trips on East London’s River Lea, the oldest canal in the city.

This six-kilometre expedition takes you from Limehouse through East London’s trendiest neighbourhoods all the way up to Hackney. You’ll paddle for two and a half hours and pass art warehouses, parks and the Olympic Village until your journey ends at Crate, one of the hip pest canal-side bars and restaurants in London. Other Secret Adventure canoeing trips take you through central London to London Bridge, the London Eye, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.

Ghost Walk – The best way to get to know a city is after all on foot. London Walks offers a variety of two-hour guided walks through the city, it costs 10 pounds per adult per walk and kids go for free. You don’t need to pre-book, simply show up at the allocated station and start walking. All walks are guided, scheduled throughout the week and include themes such as Jack the Ripper, Harry Potter, classic London, ghosts and Beatles.

Spot Deer In Richmond Park – Richmond Park, situated in southwest London, is a national nature reserve that is home to 630 red and fallow deer. Autumn is breeding season for the deer, which means that visitors flock from afar to see hefty stags compete for females by roaring, barking and clashing their antlers. The young are born between May and July and are vigorously protected in bracken and long grass by their mothers. Besides watching deer in action, Richmond is also a perfect choice for horse-riding, hiking, cycling and fishing.

Walk The 180-Mile Thames Path – The majestic Thames River is the focal point of London. Neighbourhoods are plotted based on their relation to the river and for centuries ships have sailed from afar right into the heart of London, it is the greatest river in all of England, starting in the Cotswolds and flowing for 294 kilometres into Southend-on-Sea. Thanks to excellent urban planning,a path stretches along its banks offering perfect ground for a gentle meander or a multi-day trek. The average walker takes two weeks to complete the entire trail, which is flat and easy to walk or cycle.

The Natural History Museum – Rekindle your inner child by exploring the Natural History Museum at night. The After-school Club for Adults is a three-hour guided adventure of the natural wo rid. You’ll set off on a torch-lit trail of the Dinosaur gallery, learn about the solar system and make your own clay animal models.

Explore The Parks – In summer Londoners come out to play. Parks become playgrounds where people play soccer, skate, stretch and picnic. Tennis courts are fully subscribed and jungle gyms are frequented by beaming children, it is said that forty percent of London consists of green spaces and open water, which means that marshlands, woodlands and parks are a walk or a cycle ride away from wherever you are. Some of the city’s biggest nature hubs include Wimbledon Common, Hampstead Heath, Epping Forest and Richmond Park. They all offer miles of off-road trails. Watch the autumn leaves fall in Ruislip Woods (the biggest woodland inside greater London) and go blackberry picking in Wormwood Scrubs (one of the city’s largest commons).

Hyde Park hosts regular exhibitions and events and is home to Speakers’ Corner where outspoken individuals voice their views and opinions to anyone who will listen, in the southwest you can visit the Royal Kew Gardens (London’s most famous botanical gardens) to see glasshouses, historic buildings, and diverse fauna and flora. It also has a 200-metre-long treetop walkway that snakes past the crowns of lime, sweet chestnut and oak trees. Plenty of wildlife call London home too. As you explore the city’s green spaces, you may come across hares, badgers, weasels, deer, mice and foxes.

Ride A Horse – Saddling up in London is easy. Hyde Park has its own stables where you can learn to ride or go for a trot on the park’s many trails. The 1215-hectare Wimbledon Common has 100-year-old stables. Here you can sign up for riding lessons, riding holidays and day rides through ancient woodlands. Next door at Richmond Park is the Stag Lodge Stables where you can go on a ride from pub to pub. Other equestrian endeavours at the stables take you through some of London’s most beautiful wilds. The Lee Valley Riding Centre in east London offers cross-country riding through marshes, showjumping and pony days.

Row Your Boat – Paddling is big in London. In Epping Forest, one of the city most important conservation areas, hop aboard a wooden boat for a gentle hour of rowing at 15 pounds, in Regent’s Park an hour of pedaling an adult Pedalo will set you back 10 pounds, while in Hyde Park one hour of rowing on the Serpentine comes at 12 pounds. Wimbledon Park has an extensive watersports centre where you can sail, kayak and stand-up paddle board. Other parks that offer rowing include Victoria Park, Finsbury Park and Greenwich Park.

Go To The Beach – Summer in London gets hot and calls for a couple of inner-city days on the beach. Beach East in the Queen Victoria Olympic Park is the UK’s largest urban beach and opens its shores between July and September. It includes a vast area of fine, deep sand, two large paddling pools, funfair rides and beach bars. Northwest London also has a family-favourite manmade beach at the Ruislip Lido. It comes with jungle gyms and a cafe and borders the Ruislip Woods should you fancy a walk.

Husky Sledding – There’s no need to go to the poles to sled with huskies. Situated 32 kilometres outside of London in Kent is the Husky Experience where you get to drive with sled dogs and meet over 26 huskies. Some of the activities offered include guided tours of the husky kennels, learning the basics of husky training, camping out with huskies and driving three-wheeled husky racing trikes.

Cycle The Streets – The British government runs a Cycle to Work scheme, which allows employers to lend bicycles and cycling equipment to employees as a tax-free benefit. The result it that thousands of Londoners commute to work on the city’s cyclist-friendly routes. Some of these routes form part of Britain’s National Cycle Network, which stretches for 22 530 kilometres across the country. All the routes on the network provide dedicated cycling lanes through green spaces. You’ll forget that you’re in a major city as you pedal beneath lush thickets.

Ice Skate At Somerset House – Few things announce the arrival of the festive season quite as well as skating at Somerset House. From November every year Somerset House is transformed into a Christmas wonderland and at its heart is a gigantic ice rink. Skates can be hired and marshals are on standby to assist wobbly skaters. Take a break at the Skate Lounge where hot chocolate, cheese fondues and wines are served.

Take A Dip In London’s Wild Waters – Swimming in ponds, lakes and lidos is an ideal way to reconnect to Mother Nature and London has a surprising number of options. Hampstead Heath, known as London’s green lung, boasts three ponds specifically open for swimming. Each pond – the Mixed, the Men’s and the Ladies’-once served as a reservoir, but today they are all open to the public and guarded throughout the year. Another popular swimming haunt is the Serpentine lido in Hyde Park. This 100m swimming division forms part of the larger Serpentine Lake, which is frequented by ducks, swans and other feathery creatures, it’s also London’s oldest swimming club and particularly popular among triathletes. Other public swimming spots include the Charlton Lido in southeast London, London Fields Lido in Hackney, the Tooting Bee Lido and Brockwell Lido in south London.