Not many cities let you do that on foot, and that's not even close to the whole city, just a slice of the east side.
No landmark to chase here. It's everything that unfolds between start and finish that leaves you in awe, industrial quarters turned trendy, walls thick with street art, calm canals, new glass towers, multicultural shopfronts,ancient forest paths, high streets that still feel like villages.
If it's ever too much, we simply bid farewell — public transport or a taxi is never far away.
We're always curious about what it was like to live in London hundreds of years ago. This walk flips that around: imagine someone centuries from now wondering the exact same thing about us, about right now.
We'll walk from Tower Hill all the way out to South Woodford, looking at today's London through that lens, not the landmarks, but the everyday stuff that makes this city what it is.
The whole point is to notice things, because someone, someday, will be just as curious about this version of London as we are about the one that came before us.
Turns out ordinary London is pretty fascinating once you actually stop and look.
Why "hike" and not "walk"? Because a walk doesn't quite cover it. I love doing proper hikes in the hills of South England (proper is generous, they're just hills, not the Alps) , the kind that clock in at 20 to 27km. But I also love showing off my adopted city to people who haven't seen it properly. So this is what happens when those two things collide: a very, very long walk for people who genuinely enjoy that sort of punishment, combined with a love of poking around the parts of London most people never bother to find.
Tap a pin for the stop · scroll-zoom unlocks once you click the map
Start among mural-covered walls, sticker-bombed lampposts and the backstreets of Brick Lane, then follow the rail track east as the old industrial edge of London gives way to something new.
Off the main roads and onto the water. A slower rhythm, narrowboats, and towpaths that once hauled coal and timber rather than joggers and cyclists.
From railway works to Olympic legacy, Stratford's East Village is polished and new, a stretch of London built almost overnight
Market stalls, independent shopfronts, food from everywhere. The streets that give East London its actual, everyday character.
We finish somewhere you'd never guess is still inside the city, ancient trees, open green and a village-like hush
Survivors get a well-earned pint and a badge pin. You walked it, you earned it. The pint won't last the night. The pin will still be telling the story years from now.
The Hike will be 23 Km long. It serious number of kilometres on foot, at a comfortable but steady pace with breaks along the way. Please be prepared for a full day of walking.
Comfortable walking shoes you trust, a water bottle,lunch and snacks, weather-appropriate layers. There will be plenty of locations to get drinks along the way. We will be stoping at a local Butchery/Restaurant for lunch however you are welcome to bring your own lunch or you can buy something from there.
The walk happens rain or shine. Dress in layers and check the forecast the night before — some of East London's best moments turn up in the rain.
You should be a reasonably fit, regular walker ,this route is long. The terrain itself is mostly flat pavement and towpath, but the distance and duration are the real challenge. We take breaks and nobody gets left behind.
We start
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