WALK INTO SPRING

Walk into Spring

7 May 05 - Harrow and throughout Spring and Summer across west London

Guided walks around London are a popular activity, ever thought about being trained to lead them?

May sees Harrow council launch its free training project for people who are interested in being trained as walk leaders.
Click here for details...

Guided walks of London remain a popular activity. And it's not just the tourists who plod the pavements of the capital. In recent years, there has been a resurgence of local people taking part in guided walks through their local area.

Of course, walking is a healthy activity, a gentle way to keep fit which might explain -in a society increasingly conscious of the risks of being a couch potato- that more people have taken up walking in the urban environment. And, of course, a guided walk, if filled with interesting information, is not only a way to improve physical fitness, but to stimulate the mind as well.

In fact, perhaps the popularity of guided walks is only partly for the health benefits. Perhaps learning more about your local area is another way to feel more connected to the urban environment that we get told is alienating and anonymous. With so many areas of London steeped in colourful history and obscure facts, perhaps a ramble around our part of the city -and learning more about it- is a way to feel more connected to it; to become part of its story. And of course, there's always the possibility of meeting new friends and having a couple of interesting conversations en route with fellow walkers.

In fact, this way of learning new things is as old as the hills. The word "peripatetic" means exactly that! Perhaps the kind of trivia you might stumble on during a guided walk...

With so many different themed walks in London to choose from, there's something to suit everyone's tastes, from the fans of literary and royal history, through to those fascinated by the gruesome and macabre.

Commercial companies such as this one, Secret London Walks with extensive website information, can give you some idea of just what a broad variety of walks there are to sign up for in the capital.

And, if you're up for a bit of DIY historical walking -or perhaps even starting out as a tour guide- remember that the internet is a great place to start your planning and research, with literally millions of free online resources.

For a start, there are sites such as Streetmap that can help you use maps of the city to plan your journey.

Then there are also sites like Up My Street that can give a surprising amount of information about any street or neighbourhood in the UK. Although primarily meant as a recourse for local residents wanting to know more about the neighbourhood they live in, it is of course another useful way to find out about buildings and sites of local interest or good café's and pubs that might act as a starting or end point for any walk.

Then of course, there are many sites on local history where you can gather information about a particular place to start. Why not just try putting in the terms "London local history" into a search engine like google, and see what comes up. Or, if you need a few tips on where to start, why not try these useful sites:

The BBC London Your London site is a great place to start packed full of many facts on local history across London.

Or, more close to home, here are a few interesting sites that focus on west London…

The Willesden Local History Society
Ealing Local History Centre
Hammersmith & Fulham Archives

If you're more interested in taking a walk through the woods, this extensive information page from the Tree Council offers a range of walks with a flora and faun focus throughout England, including London and the surrounding counties.

A few other places that may be of interest if you are specifically interested in opportunities with a natural world focus in London are…

The London Natural History Society
Perivale Wood (Ealing)
London Wetland Centre
London Wildlife Trust