The idea
I’ve been running in London for a couple of years now, and I’ve realised that most people — myself included, for a long time — treat it as something you do in spite of the city rather than because of it. Stick to the same park, do the same loop, headphones in, head down. But London is massive, and once you start exploring properly, there’s an absurd amount of variety hiding in plain sight.
So I set myself a challenge: eight weeks, eight different runs, eight completely different parts of the city. No repeats. Every week somewhere new. This is the journal of that experiment.
Week 1 — Regent’s Park and Primrose Hill
12 January 2026 · 5.2 miles · Easy
Starting with a classic. Regent’s Park is probably the most popular running spot in central London, and for good reason. The Outer Circle is almost exactly a mile around, the surface is flat and well-maintained, and in the early morning before the tourists arrive, it feels like you’ve got the place to yourself.
I did the full Outer Circle, cut through the Inner Circle past the rose garden for some variety, then crossed Prince Albert Road into Primrose Hill. The hill itself is short — maybe 60 metres of elevation — but it’s steep enough to get your heart rate up, and the view from the top is one of the best in London. On a clear morning you can see right across the city, from the Shard to the BT Tower to the cranes out east.
Using the hill as a finish works brilliantly. Standing at the top catching your breath with that skyline in front of you makes it worth the effort every time. This is a route that works for almost any kind of run — easy jog, tempo session, whatever you need. A proper London staple.
Week 2 — Richmond Park
19 January 2026 · 7.8 miles · Moderate
Richmond Park is a different world. You forget you’re in London almost immediately. It’s the largest of the Royal Parks, and the Tamsin Trail that loops around the perimeter is about 7.2 miles of rolling terrain through ancient woodland and open grassland. Deer everywhere. Properly everywhere.
I went early on a Sunday morning when the park was almost empty. The trails are a mix of tarmac and packed dirt, and there’s enough elevation change to make it interesting without being brutal. The climb up to King Henry’s Mound gives you a sight line all the way to St Paul’s Cathedral — framed perfectly through a gap in the trees.
This felt like trail running with the safety net of civilisation. You could do it after work, you could do it at the weekend, and you’d feel like you’d been somewhere properly wild. Easily the most scenic run in London. The only downside is getting there if you don’t live in southwest London — but it’s worth the journey.
Week 3 — Thames Path: Tower Bridge to Greenwich
26 January 2026 · 5.5 miles · Easy
I wanted to try a point-to-point route rather than a loop, so I took the Overground to Tower Bridge and ran east along the Thames Path to Greenwich. This section of the path is mostly flat, entirely paved, and takes you past some of London’s best riverside scenery — Shad Thames, Canary Wharf looming across the water, the old Docklands warehouses, and eventually the Cutty Sark and Greenwich town centre.
The path is well-marked and wide enough that you’re not constantly dodging pedestrians, at least outside of peak hours. Weekday mornings are ideal. The stretch past Canary Wharf feels almost futuristic — all glass and steel reflecting off the water — and then Greenwich brings you back to something much older and more grounded.
I finished at Greenwich Park and ran up the hill to the Royal Observatory for the view, which felt like a fitting end. You can see the whole of Canary Wharf and the City from up there. Getting back is easy — the DLR from Cutty Sark takes about 15 minutes back into central London. A brilliant one-way route that feels like a proper journey rather than just a run.
Week 4 — Hampstead Heath
2 February 2026 · 4.8 miles · Hard
Hampstead Heath is the closest thing London has to proper off-road running. The paths are muddy, the terrain is hilly, and if you stray off the main tracks you’ll find yourself scrambling up wooded slopes wondering if you’ve somehow left Zone 2.
I ran a rough loop from the south entrance near Gospel Oak, up through the woods to Parliament Hill, across the top of the Heath to Kenwood House, and back down through the east side. Parliament Hill is the obvious highlight — the climb is sharp but short, and the panoramic view of the entire London skyline from the top is spectacular. Kenwood House is a good halfway landmark, and the trails around there are quieter and more wooded.
This was the hardest run so far, not because of the distance but because of the terrain. Constant ups and downs, uneven surfaces, tree roots across the path. My legs knew about it the next day. But it was also the most fun. Hampstead Heath makes you work for it, and that’s exactly what I was after. Come prepared for mud.
Week 5 — Regent’s Canal: King’s Cross to Victoria Park
9 February 2026 · 4.5 miles · Easy
The canal towpath is London’s cheat code for running. It’s flat, it’s car-free, and it takes you through some of the most interesting parts of east London without ever touching a road. I started at King’s Cross — right by Coal Drops Yard — and ran east along the canal through Islington, past the narrowboats in Haggerston, and all the way to Victoria Park.
The path is narrow in places, so you do have to be aware of cyclists and other runners, especially around Broadway Market where it gets busier. But for most of the route it’s peaceful and surprisingly green. The stretch through Islington with the tunnel section is fun, and emerging into Victoria Park at the end feels like you’ve earned yourself a proper reward.
Victoria Park itself is a great running spot — wide paths, a lake, and a relaxed atmosphere that’s completely different from the central London parks. I did a lap around the park to add some distance before stopping for a coffee at one of the cafes by the lake. This is the kind of run that makes you feel like you’ve explored something, not just exercised.
Week 6 — Battersea Park and the Embankment
16 February 2026 · 6.1 miles · Easy/Moderate
Battersea Park sits right on the river in south London and it’s a proper gem for running. The park loop is about 2.5 miles along tree-lined paths, and the stretch along the river gives you views of Chelsea and the Peace Pagoda. It’s flat, clean, and rarely as busy as the more central parks.
I used the park as a warm-up loop, then crossed Chelsea Bridge and ran along the north embankment towards Westminster. The embankment section is quintessential London — Big Ben, the London Eye, the Houses of Parliament — and on a Sunday morning with the traffic quiet, it’s one of those runs where you actually look around and think “this is alright, isn’t it.”
The return via Albert Bridge at dusk was the highlight. It’s the prettiest bridge in London, no question, and running across it with the lights just coming on is the kind of thing that makes you remember why you bother living here.
Week 7 — Parkrun at Bushy Park
23 February 2026 · 3.1 miles · Race pace
The original parkrun. Bushy Park is where the whole movement started back in 2004, and running the Saturday 5K here felt like a bit of a pilgrimage. The course runs through the park’s chestnut avenue, past the Diana Fountain, and through open grassland with deer grazing on either side.
The atmosphere was brilliant — hundreds of runners of every ability, marshals cheering everyone through, and a genuine community feel that’s hard to find elsewhere. I pushed the pace and came in around 21 minutes, which I was happy with on a cold morning with heavy legs from the week before.
Bushy Park itself is stunning. Less dramatic than Richmond Park but somehow more charming — the deer are tamer, the paths are quieter on non-parkrun days, and the scale feels more manageable. This wasn’t the longest or hardest run in the series, but it might have been the most enjoyable.
Week 8 — The Big One: Hampstead to Greenwich
1 March 2026 · 12.4 miles · Long run
For the last run, I wanted to do something that tied the whole series together. So I mapped a route from Hampstead Heath in the north all the way down to Greenwich in the south — a diagonal line across London that hit parks, canals, riverside paths, and city streets.
Starting on Parliament Hill at 7am, I dropped south through Camden, picked up the Regent’s Canal briefly, cut through King’s Cross, ran down through Clerkenwell and across the City, over Tower Bridge, and then followed the Thames Path all the way to Greenwich Park. It touched some of the routes I’d already run, but strung together into something much bigger.
The first half through north London was quiet and cold. Crossing the City before it woke up was surreal — empty streets, the Gherkin and the Cheese Grater catching the early light, nobody around. Tower Bridge at 8am on a Saturday morning with barely a soul on it. Then the familiar Thames Path east, finishing with the climb up to the Observatory.
Twelve and a half miles of London, north to south, in just under two hours. Standing at the top of Greenwich Park looking back at the route I’d just run — the buildings, the parks, the river — it felt like the perfect way to end the project.
What I learned
London is a better running city than it gets credit for. The parks are world-class, the canal towpaths are an underused gem, and the Thames Path alone could keep you going for months. The trick is to stop treating running as a commute between your front door and the nearest green space, and start treating the city itself as the route.
Eight weeks, forty-five-plus miles, and I’ve barely scratched the surface. There are dozens more routes I want to try — Epping Forest, the Lea Valley, the South Bank at night, a full Thames Path marathon. Running London could go on for a very long time. And I think it will.
Written by Euan