The Capital Ring and the London Outer Orbital Path (the London Loop) circle the capital, joining up green spaces, and places of interest. The Green Chain Walk links together open spaces in South East London.
Whilst the Capital Ring and London Loop were originally set up by the London Walking Forum in the 1990s and early 2000s, the Green Chain Walk was established in 1977 as London's first long distance footpath. All three routes form part of Transport for London's strategic walking network and leisure walking plan, but are the responsibility of the boroughs through which they pass. Ramblers volunteers played a key role in the creation of the London Loop and Capital Ring, and a new generation of volunteers is working hard to ensure that they are properly maintained and improved for the public to enjoy.
The Ramblers has three footpath guardian schemes with over 100 volunteers acting as Ring Rangers, Loop Leaders of Green Chain wardens. Volunteers are assigned to a section of one of the routes which they walk at regular intervals. They report on what they find and identify necessary improvements. Temporary obstructions and diversions to the routes are published as news items on this web site.
The volunteers are aiming to:
- improve the signposting and waymarking so that walkers can easily follow the routes
- keep the free guidance and maps describing the routes updated annually
- publicise the routes more widely both locally for each section and across London so that more people go out to enjoy them.
The team is very grateful for support from Will Norman, TfL's Walking and Cycling Commissioner, and from Colin Saunders, the author of the detailed guidebooks for the two routes.
Achievements to date
Notable achievements to date are that:
- all sections of the routes have been surveyed in detailed and necessary improvements have been reported
- the walk guidance has been updated and new maps created and published on this website for all three routes; update are published annually
- new walk guidance for the Loop has been published in the Go Jauntly app
- waymarks have been replaced in many sections of the Capital Ring and London Loop, with stickers added as needed
- some signposts have been replaced and overlay stickers added to others that have faded on the London Loop and Capital Ring
- some stiles have been replaced with gates, and there are no longer any stiles on the Capital Ring
- litter picks have helped to clean up some parts of the route
- we ran the #LoveYourLoop walking festival in September 2021 with 30 led walks taking place, many attended by councilors, London Assembly Members and MPs
Work in progress
Volunteers continue to monitor the routes. The main objectives now are to:
- work with councils and landowners to continue to improve the signage of the routes
- organise more walks to encourage more people to discover the routes.
Find out more about these routes by clicking below.
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Route Guides | Latest News |
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Route Guides | Latest News |
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Route Guide | Latest News |