This walk was created with commuters in mind, so they might avoid using public transport between St Pancras Station and Embankment underground station during the London 2012 Games. It is a pleasant and interesting walk and can equally be used by members of the public who wish to discover something new about these popular areas of the city.
Route Developer: Department for Transport Staff Route Checker: Elizabeth Hevarin
(A) During the 2012 Olympics, St Pancras International will be the terminus for the Olympic Javelin service, a seven-minute duration shuttle train service designed to ferry spectators between the Olympic Park in Stratford and Central London.
[1] From the entrance to St Pancras station (with the gothic Midland Hotel behind), turn left down the stairs and then right to cross Euston Road at the pedestrian crossing. Go straight ahead down Argyle Street, passing Camden library on the right and continue along. When Argyle Street turns left, go right onto and then bear left along Whidborne Street, towards Holy Cross Church at the end of the street.
[2] At the church, turn right to reach the next section of the walk by the fastest route along the streets.
Alternative route through green spaces
At the church, turn left along Cromer Street and then immediately right onto Harrison Road. As the road bends to the left follow the cycle path straight on and bear left into Regent Square (The birthplace of William Hartnell, the first Doctor Who, in 1908). Cross over at the corner and take the path diagonally through Regent Square Gardens. At the end of the gardens turn right, cross the road and turn left on Regent Street which soon becomes Sidmouth Street.
Just past number 51 (with a red door), turn right into the passage and follow it into St George’s Gardens. (A public park since 1885, previously a burial ground since 1713; one of Oliver Cromwell’s daughters is buried here). Follow the path round to the right through the gardens. Exit the gardens onto Handel Street and carry on to the junction (crossroads) with Hunter Street. Turn left here to rejoin the main route above (in the middle of step 2).
For the main route, at the church turn right onto Cromer Street and then left at the next junction with Judd Street (no street name). Continue down Judd Street, which soon becomes Hunter Street, crossing over Tavistock Place and Handel Street (where alternative route rejoins the main route). On reaching the University of London School of Pharmacy building, turn immediately left onto Brunswick Square and proceed along the side of Brunswick Square Gardens to the end of the street.
(B) At the end of Brunswick Square stands a statue of Thomas Coram (1668-1751), a sea captain and philanthropist, just in front of the Foundling Museum, which tells the story of the Foundling Hospital which Coram created as Britain's first home for abandoned children. The site of the former hospital itself is beyond in Coram’s fields (the entrance to which is passed later in the walk), where adults are not permitted to enter unless accompanied by a child under 16.
[3] Walk back a short distance to the entrance to Brunswick Square Gardens and follow the left path through the park to exit in the far left corner. On leaving the park turn left onto Landsdowne Terrace. At the junction with Guildford Street, turn left and continue on for a short distance until the entrance to Coram’s fields is reached.
[4] Turn right to cross Guildford Street at the crossing onto Guildford Place, which quickly becomes Lamb’s Conduit Street at the Lamb pub (built in the 1720s and frequented by Charles Dickens). Continue along the length the street (named after William Lamb in recognition of the £1,500 he gave for the rebuilding of the Holborn Conduit in the 16th century), passing the famous Great Ormond Street Hospital (founded in 1852) on the right and a variety of cafes, shops and pubs.
[5] Just past Holborn Police Station, at the crossroads with Theobold’s Road, cross by the pedestrian crossing to carry straight ahead into Red Lion Street. On reaching the Old Red Lion pub at the bottom of Red Lion Street, turn left onto High Holborn. In a short distance, cross over the road at the crossing and just to the left head down the path signed ‘Gt Turnstile’ just before the Penderel’s Oak pub. Continue for a short distance in Newman’s Row before turning right to walk along the side of Lincoln’s Inn Fields, passing the Sir John Soane museum on the right half way down. There are public toilets here on the corner of Lincoln’s Inn Fields.
(C) Lincoln’s Inn Fields, laid out in the 1630s and acquired by London County Council in 1895, is the largest public square in London. At number 13, on the North side of the square, is Sir John Soane’s museum of architecture, in what was formerly the house of the neo-classical architect Sir John Soane (1753 – 1837)
[6] At the end of Lincoln’s Inn Fields, cross Gate Street to go straight ahead down Remnant Street, soon reaching Kingsway. For Holborn tube, turn right here and the station is on the right a short way ahead. Otherwise, cross Kingsway at the crossing and continue straight ahead down Great Queen Street – passing the Connaught Rooms (site of the Freemason’s Tavern pub, reputedly where the Football Association was founded in 1863) and then the Freemason’s Hall on the left.
(D) Freemason’s Hall is a Grade II* listed building, opened in 1933 and home to the United Grand Lodge of England, the main governing body of freemasonry within England and Wales. It contains 29 meeting rooms and the 1,000 seat Grand Temple as well as the Library and Museum which are open to the public with hourly guided tours.
[7] After the Freemason’s Hall, continue straight on across Wild Street and Drury Lane into Long Acre, where there are a selection of shops for coffee and snacks. For Covent Garden tube, continue along Long Acre until the station is reached on the left hand side. Otherwise, take the next left into Bow Street (where the Bow Street Runners, sometimes called London’s first professional police force, were founded in the 1740s). Use the crossing to walk on the right hand pavement going past the Royal Opera House on the right hand side (for the duration of the 2012 Olympics, this will host an exhibition on ‘The Olympic Journey: The Story of the Games’).
[8] Cross over Russell Street. London’s oldest theatre, the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, is off to the left.
To visit Covent Garden and the London Transport museum, turn right along Russell Street, and continue ahead to reach the central plaza of Covent Garden, with the old market building in front of you. Turn left and head towards the London Transport Museum. Next to the museum (and before Jubilee market) turn left into Tavistock Court. There are public toilets here on the right hand side. At the end of the passageway, cross Tavistock Street and bear left down Burleigh Street ahead. Cross Exeter Street (caution: the pavement here is high and there is a big step off the kerb to street level) and go past the back of the Lyceum theatre on the left. At the end of Burleigh Street, turn left on the Strand and continue to the pedestrian crossing to resume the main route from step 9.
Or continue ahead as Bow Street becomes Wellington Street, crossing Tavistock Street and Exeter Street and passing the Lyceum theatre on the right to reach the Strand. (A short distance to the left here, where Aldwych now is, lies the site of the Olympic theatre, built in 1806 and demolished in 1904).
[9] Cross the Strand at the crossing (alternative route rejoins here) and turn right and then soon after left (beyond Tesco), down Savoy Street, following signs for the Queen’s Chapel of the Savoy (property of the monarch as part of the Duchy of Lancaster and dating back to the 1490s), which can soon be seen to the right. Continue down Savoy Street to the end, and then bear right to cross Savoy Place at the pedestrian crossing. Go towards the Embankment. and head through the black gate into Victoria Embankment Gardens.
(E) Between 1865 and 1870 the northern embankment and sewer along the Thames was built by Sir Joseph Bazelgette. In 1874 gardens were created on the reclaimed land on the inward side of the roadway named Victoria Embankment. The gardens contain memorials to composer Sir Arthur Sullivan, poet Robert Burns, temperance campaigner Sir Wilfred Lawson, philanthropist Robert Raikes and the Imperial Camel Corps (which are passed on the walk).
[10] Follow the main path through the gardens, past statues and water features. After a while there is a café on the left. Shortly after the café (and near the statue of the soldier on a camel), the path forks. For Charing Cross station, take the right hand fork and follow the path to reach the station entrance just outside the gardens to the right on Villiers Street. For Embankment tube, take the left fork and follow the path, leaving the park by the gate.
[11] The station is then ahead to the left, which is the end of the walk (Note: there are public toilets a short distance away, on the embankment).
The Victoria Embankment, on the other side of the tube station, forms part of the 2012 Olympic Marathon course. Competitors will pass along the Embankment three times, on the last circuit having around a mile and a half to go before the finish on the Mall.