London Loop in Blue, Capital Ring in Red. Base map from OpenStreetMap

The London Loop and Capital Ring are long distance circular walks around London. Both were conceived in the ‘90s and completed in the early 2000s. They pass through mostly green spaces around the capital and can easily be broken up into a series of shorter walks. Having cycled both a few years ago, I’m now returning to walk it. I’ve mostly covered the western sections and there’s a long way to go.

The list of sections below are those that I’ve planned but not necessarily completed yet. I’ve also included links to blog posts for other walks that follow or cross over parts of either the London Loop or the Capital Ring. If you would like GPX files of any of these sections please Buy Me a Coffee and let me know which section(s) you are interested in. For a limited time I would be happy to share files for all sections of either collection for 1 coffee plus any feedback on the route (corrections, changes etc.)

There’s now several guidebooks to either the Loop or the Ring. Note that the sections below and the order of them don’t necessarily match exactly to those in the guides. I use Colin Saunder’s Guides for each route and can highly recommend them for their description of the route and points of interest

The London Loop In Sections

London Loop Section 01: Erith Riverside to Bexley. Distance: 14.0 km. Elevation Change: +72m / -67m. Net +6m
London Loop Section 02: Bexley to Petts Wood. Distance: 12.5 km. Elevation Change: +134m / -67m. Net +67m
London Loop Section 03: Petts Wood to West Wickham Common. Distance: 15.2 km. Elevation Change: +168m / -183m. Net -15m
London Loop Section 04: West Wickham Common to Hamsey Green. Distance: 15.1 km. Elevation Change: +285m / -182m. Net +183m
London Loop Section 05: Hamsey Green to Coulsdon South. Distance: 10.2 km. Elevation Change: +119m / -201m. Net -82m
London Loop Section 06: Coulsdon South to Banstead Downs. Distance: 8.0 km. Elevation Change: +126m / -87m. Net +39m
London Loop Section 07: Banstead Downs to Ewell West. Distance: 6.6 km. Elevation Change: +23m / -114m. Net -91m
London Loop Section 08: Ewell West to Kingston Bridge. Distance: 12.8 km. Elevation Change: +47m / -72m. Net -25m
London Loop Section 09: Kingston Bridge to Hatton Cross. Distance: 16.1 km. Elevation Change: +70m / -58m. Net +12m
London Loop Section 10: Hatton Cross to Hayes and Harlington. Distance: 6.8 km. Elevation Change: +36m / -24m. Net +12m
London Loop Section 11: Hayes and Harlington to Uxbridge. Distance: 12.0 km. Elevation Change: +55m / -54m. Net +1m
London Loop Section 12: Uxbridge to Harefield. Distance: 7.6 km. Elevation Change: +29m / -23m. Net +6m
London Loop Section 13: Harefield to Moor Park. Distance: 8.7 km. Elevation Change: +116m / -91m. Net -25m
London Loop Section 14: Moor Park to Hatch End. Distance: 7.7 km. Elevation Change: +93m / -95m. Net -2m
London Loop Section 15: Hatch End to Elstree. Distance: 15.2 km. Elevation Change: +182m / -153m. Net -29m
London Loop Section 16: Elstree to High Barnet. Distance: 18.1 km. Elevation Change: +243m / -238m. Net +5m
London Loop Section 17: High Barnet to Enfield Lock. Distance: 14.8 km. Elevation Change: +95m / -176m. Net -81m
London Loop Section 18: Enfield Lock to Chingford. Distance: 8.1 km. Elevation Change: +110m / -71m. Net +39m
London Loop Section 19: Chingford to Chigwell. Distance: 7.1 km. Elevation Change: +83m / -95m. Net -12m
London Loop Section 20: Chigwell to Havering. Distance: 10.7 km. Elevation Change: +175m / -115m. Net +60m
London Loop Section 21: Havering to Harold Wood. Distance: 8.1 km. Elevation Change: +29m / -97m. Net -68m
London Loop Section 22: Harold Wood to Upminster Bridge. Distance: 7.3 km. Elevation Change: +46m / -64m. Net -18m
London Loop Section 23: Upminster Bridge to Rainham. Distance: 7.7 km. Elevation Change: +32m / -43m. Net -11m
London Loop Section 24: Rainham to Purfleet. Distance: 8.3 km. Elevation Change: +38m / -38m. Net 0m

Other Walks on The London Loop

Walking The London Loop: Stanmore Common to South Oxhey. Distance: 9.2 km. Elevation Change: + 103m / - 120m. Net -17m
Walking The London Loop: South Oxhey to Hill End. Distance: 10 km. Elevation Change: + 93 / - 136 m. Net -43m
Walking The Hillingdon Trail. Covers the London Loop from Hill End to The Grand Union and from The Parkway to Cranford Park
Walking The Colne Valley Trail. Covers the London Loop from Coppermill Lock, Harefield to Yiewsley
Walking The London Loop: Cranford Park to Bushy Park. Distance: 17.5 km. Elevation Change: +60m / -79m. Net -19m
Walking The Thames Down Link. Covers the London Loop from Kingston-upon-Thames to West Ewell

The Capital Ring in Sections

Capital Ring Section 01: Woolwich to Falconwood. Distance: 10.6 km. Elevation Change: +158m / -95m. Net +63m
Capital Ring Section 02: Falconwood to Grove Park. Distance: 6.9 km. Elevation Change: +56m / -80m. Net -24m
Capital Ring Section 03: Grove Park to Crystal Palace. Distance: 14.2 km. Elevation Change: +151m / -120m. Net +31m
Capital Ring Section 04: Crystal Palace to Streatham. Distance: 6.9 km. Elevation Change: +78m / -122m. Net -44m
Capital Ring Section 05: Streatham to Wimbledon Park. Distance: 9.4 km. Elevation Change: +49m / -59m. Net -10m
Capital Ring Section 06: Wimbledon Park to Richmond. Distance: 12.0 km. Elevation Change: +132m / -148m. Net -16m
Capital Ring Section 07: Richmond to Osterley Lock. Distance: 7.8 km. Elevation Change: +44m / -33m. Net +11m
Capital Ring Section 08: Osterley Lock to Greenford. Distance: 9.3 km. Elevation Change: +50m / -45m. Net -5m
Capital Ring Section 09: Greenford to South Kenton. Distance: 9.2 km. Elevation Change: +137m / -120m. Net +17m
Capital Ring Section 10: South Kenton to Hendon Park. Distance: 10.7 km. Elevation Change: +134m / -108m. Net +26m
Capital Ring Section 11: Hendon Park to Highgate. Distance: 9.4 km. Elevation Change: +99m / -70m. Net +29m
Capital Ring Section 12: Highgate to Stoke Newington. Distance: 9.1 km. Elevation Change: +42m / -112m. Net -70m
Capital Ring Section 13: Stoke Newington to Hackney Wick. Distance: 6.7 km. Elevation Change: +26m / -48m. Net -22m
Capital Ring Section 14: Hackney Wick to Royal Albert Dock. Distance: 8.4 km. Elevation Change: +31m / -33m. Net -2m
Capital Ring Section 15: Royal Albert Dock to Woolwich. Distance: 6.2 km. Elevation Change: +30m / -25m. Net +5m