Sir, if you wish to have a just notion of the magnitude of this city, you must not be satisfied with seeing its great streets and squares, but must survey the innumerable little lanes and courts.
Dr Samuel Johnson
If you lean over the north bank of the Thames underneath Blackfriars Bridge you can just make out a small grill set into the wall. This inconspicuous drain is in fact the mouth of one of London’s most historically important rivers − the Fleet.
The Fleet has been confined for over two hundred and fifty years beneath the concrete, traffic and bustle of London’s streets, and our route loosely follows its subterranean course from the mouth, across Fleet Street, through Kings Cross and Camden Town to the source on Hampstead Heath, where shortly before reaching Hampstead Village we cross one of its last remaining overground sections.
Beloved of walkers and kite-flyers alike, the best spot to view the capital has to be from Hampstead Heath’s Parliament Hill. St Paul’s Cathedral, the Palace of Westminster, Tower 42, the “gherkin” and the Shard are all laid at your feet, and from this vantage point – 98m/321ft above the city – you can trace the route you took across town.
This is an ambitious urban walk that seeks out the hidden corners of London. There are rich layers of Roman, Saxon, medieval and Victorian remains, piled one on top of the other. A perfect example of this archaeological “layer-cake” can be found in the crypt of St Bride’s church, where the remnants of no fewer than eight churches dedicated to St Bride over the past 1500 years are now exposed, along with the original stretch of Roman pavement they were built on.
Although the going is mostly over level ground, this is not a simple walk in the park. Pounding the streets of London can take its toll, so it’s advisable to wear a pair of well-fitting trainers with nice, thick soles. Also, because of the volume of historical interest en route, allow plenty of time to explore the “innumerable little lanes and courts” and to sample traditional London pleasures at pubs along the way.
[1] The walk starts underneath Blackfriars Bridge (the road bridge not the train bridge) where the River Fleet feeds into the Thames, near to a ladder that descends into the water. Ascend the steps to road level and walk north to cross at the lights to New Bridge Street. Keep on the left side of New Bridge Street as it goes away from the river. Just before Ludgate Circus turn left into the small arcade called Bride Court. Turn right at the end, and immediately left up three steps to Bride’s Avenue passing between The Bell pub and St Bride’s Church (a Wren church). Continue left past the church to arrive on Salisbury Court (Samuel Pepys’ birthplace is on the right).
Turn left and then immediately right into Salisbury Square and bear right up four wide steps into a courtyard behind an office building (this is Hanging Sword Alley, once a notorious spot for eighteenth century muggers, and home to Dickens’ body-snatcher Jeremy Cruncher in A Tale of Two Cities). Exit the far left side of Hanging Sword Alley and turn left on Whitefriars Street and then next right into Ashentree Court (go down the steps in the courtyard to view Whitefriars crypt (originally on the east side of the site beneath the lodgings of the prior but was raised onto a concrete raft and moved to its present location in the late 1980s). Exit via Magpie Alley (history of Fleet Street on the wall) and turn right up Bouverie Street (left then right for Temple detour), and cross Fleet Street at the pelican crossing, going down the narrow alleyway of Bolt Court opposite the lights.
Follow signs to Dr Johnson’s House in Gough Square (Samuel Johnson, writer and wit, lived and worked here in the middle of the eighteenth century, compiling his Dictionary of the English Language). Exit the square with Dr Johnson’s house on your left, and turn left and then go right when you reach Fetter Lane. Cross at the pedestrian crossing and pass the statue of John Wilkes, turning left down Bream Buildings. Continue down Bream Buildings and cross Chancery Lane to the small arcade, Chichester Rents, directly opposite. Turn left at the bottom arcade, then right onto Carey Street.
[2] Before the Seven Stars pub, there are two boundary stones at ground level marking the division of the old parish of St Clement Danes (anchor), and St Dunstans in the West (S.D.W): these are the oldest remaining boundary stones in London. Pass the Seven Stars pub.
(A) The Seven Stars pub dates from 1602. It is one of the few buildings that survived the Great Fire, and is one of London’s smallest and oldest. It’s said to have been established by exiles during the Dutch Civil War (1566–1609), and its name is a reference to the then seven provinces of the Netherlands.
Turn right, up Serle Street.
(B) On the corner of Serle Street and Carey Street is the memorial to Sir Thomas More, scholar, author, statesman, and member of Lincoln’s Inn. He was executed for treason by Henry VIII in 1535.
Turn left at Lincoln’s Inn Fields.
(C) Lincoln's Inn Fields is the largest public square in London, UK and was first laid out in the 1630s It takes its name from the adjacent Lincoln's Inn.
Walk along to the Royal College of Surgeons of England (The origins of the College go back to the fourteenth century with the foundation of the 'Guild of Surgeons Within the City of London'. Inside the building is the Hunterian Museum, free and open to all). then cross the road and go through the square to the far left corner. Continue north along Gate Street past the Ship Tavern and right to the main road. Walk to the crossroads outside Holborn underground station and cross to the diagonally opposite corner.
Walk up Southampton Row to the arcaded Sicilian Avenue (London’s first open-air shopping arcade). At the far end of Sicilian Avenue, turn left and cross at the lights and turn left down Bloomsbury Way passing St George the Martyr church (built by Nicholas Hawksmoor) on your right. Turn right down Museum Street and cross at the zebra crossing to the British Museum (Founded in 1753, the first national public museum in the world. From the beginning it granted free admission to all 'studious and curious persons'). You can walk straight through the museum taking the far exit to Montague Place and turn right to Russell Square (if the museum is closed turn right then left down Montague Street and straight along the side of Russell Square). Turn left at Russell Square passing the Senate House, visible behind the gates to the University of London on your left.
(D) Look left through the gates to Senate House, the administrative centre of the University of London, on Russell Square, the inspiration for the Ministry of Truth in Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty Four.
Continue straight on past the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) into Woburn Square, through Gordon Square and turn right up to Tavistock Square. Cross Upper Woburn Place to the British Medical Association (BMA) over the zebra crossing. Turn left and then first right into Woburn Walk. At the end of Woburn Walk turn right and then first left into Burton Place, and continue to Cartwright Gardens. Follow the road round to the left and left again into Mabledon Place which leads to Euston Rd where you cross at the lights. Cut it short: head home from King’s Cross rail or tube station.
[3] To continue, turn right past the British Library and left down Midland Road. Continue up Midland Road passing St Pancras International on your right, then a row of antique dealers on your left, and cross at the lights near the underpass midway along the row. Turn left and continue along the road to enter St Pancras Old Church churchyard.
(E) It is believed to be one of the oldest sites of Christian worship in England (since AD 314) lying next to the underground River Fleet. Notable people buried here include vampire writer and physician John Polidori, the composer Johann Christian Bach and the sculptor John Flaxman. The architect Sir John Soane designed a tomb for his wife and himself and this provided the inspiration for the design by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott of the iconic red telephone boxes. Mary Shelley’s mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, married William Godwin in St Pancras Old Church in 1796, a mere five months before her death. They were buried in the churchyard and their memorial tombstone is near the exit to Camley Street. In the mid-1860s, a young Thomas Hardy was in charge of the excavation of part of the graveyard while the Midland Railway's London terminus was being constructed when many graves were moved and the grave stones grouped round what is now sometimes called the’ Hardy Tree’.
Walk through the gardens and exit to Camley Street (north exit). Turn left and fork right, continuing up Camley Street, and descend the steps to the Regent’s Canal towpath. [NB this entrance to the towpath is closed until June 2014. An alternative way of joining the towpath is to turn right along Camley Street, pass under the railway bridge and then turn left into Goods Way. Cross the bridge over the canal on you left to enter Granary Square. Descend the steps to your left to join the towpath.] Turn right and follow the towpath for about 30 mins until you reach Camden Lock: here you need to walk around the lock and market to continue along the towpath. Take the first exit just after the railway bridge (about 3 mins) and turn right on Gloucester Avenue. Take the third left into Fitzroy Road and pass No 23.
(F) Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes rented the top flat of 23 Fitzroy Road, Primrose Hill, in the November of 1962. A blue plaque shows WB Yeats also resided here from 1867–73, and the couple took this as a sign of great literary things to come. Tragically it was not to be, and Plath ended her own life here, barely three months later.
At the end of the street, cross Regent’s Park Road at the zebra crossing to enter Primrose Hill. Head up the hill to the summit for a good view of London Zoo at the bottom and Central London beyond.
[4] Descend the far side of Primrose Hill and exit bottom right, turning left up Primrose Hill Road past St Mary the Virgin church. Continue up this road past the crossroads and turn right into England’s Lane. Follow England’s Lane to the end and turn left up Haverstock Hill. Cross over at the lights to Belsize Park tube station and turn left uphill towards the Royal Free Hospital. Turn right down Hampstead Passage (the little path snaking between the Royal Free Hospital and St Stephen’s Church), and turn right on to Pond Street. Cross the zebra crossing at the bottom of Pond St.
(G) At the bottom of Pond Street on the wall of the corner building is the death mask of George Orwell. He worked here at Booklover’s Corner from 1934–5, and wrote Keep the Aspidistra Flying while living above the bookshop.
Continue on left on South End Road, crossing to the Garden Gate pub. Turn left, crossing over South Hill Park Road, and onto the clear path up towards the heath. Pass the first of Hampstead’s ponds and then take the right hand path after the second pond. At the far side of the second pond follow the path bearing right, marked “No Cycling” a short way along it: now make for the brow of Parliament Hill.
[5] Descend the hill the same side as you came up but bear right onto a dirt track. Follow the unsurfaced track/desire-line in a north westerly direction over a cycle path and head slightly uphill to the Old Burial Ground (tumulus), which is encircled by iron railings. Continue with the tumulus on your right until you meet another surfaced path (this one is the Boundary Path): turn left and follow this path until you reach a crossroads with a drinking fountain. There is a long straight avenue of trees ahead of you (known as Lime Avenue). Follow Lime Avenue: roughly half way up it, an overground section of the River Fleet flows under the path. Exit the heath and cross East Heath Road, and go down Well Walk. Fork right into Flask Walk and continue uphill to the Flask Pub. Continue past the pub to Hampstead High Street and turn right to finish at Hampstead Underground Station.