London's Best Walking Routes: Urban Hike Guide

The Covent Garden area of London has a really colourful history from Celtic worshipping, to Anglo Saxon trading and is now a world-class cultural, retail and heritage site. Along with its phenomenal boutiques and trendy restaurants, Covent Garden is a real treat for the adventurer.

The area is packed full of hidden alleyways and peaceful courtyards that each have their own unique ambience, so it seemed like the perfect area to base our Urban adventure.

This 5km trail starts and finishes at Covent Garden tube station. Only 193 heart-pumping spiral stairs to the top! The Urban Hike is broken up into 3 different sections. You can either take them all on or if you're short of time, start with one and come back to the others later, so pack your waterproof jacket and put on your comfiest walking boots, let's go for a walk!

1: Exit Covent Garden Tube station onto James Street and turn right towards Floral Street; on the corner, you will see the distinctive façade of The White Lion pub. Turn right down Floral Street, lined with fashion boutiques and unique shops. Hidden amongst the street are two life-size ears!! These have been positioned high on the shop walls and are well camouflaged…. See if you can find them!

2: Continuing down Floral Street, you will need to take a left down a slim alleyway (Lazenby Court) where you will see a signpost for the Lamb and Flag pub, this hidden gem is full of old-world charm and is said to have been a favourite drinking spot for Charles Dickens. Continuing past The Lamb and Flag onto Rose Street take a left onto Garrick Street and continue to follow the road for approximately 30m where it turns into Bedford Street. Enter St Paul’s Church to discover its wonderful enclosed garden oasis.

3: Exit the garden via Bedford Street or to the right side down the small alleyway onto Henrietta Street; take a left to enter the main Covent Garden Square and market, built on the land of an ancient Benedictine Convent. A walk in and around the old market building is a must to take in the sights and sounds of this unique building.

4: Continuing the walk back onto James Street, you will need to follow the street to the top of the road past the tube station, turning right at the top and immediately left onto Neal Street. This bustling street is lined by shops, restaurants and bars. Follow the road up to the crossroads with Short Gardens, turn left and you will see the wonderful water clock on the right which covers the entire front of the building, next to the Alleyway into Neal’s yard. In Neal’s yards, you will find one of London’s finest hidden gems, a really colourful oasis hidden amongst the hustle and bustle of London’s busy streets.

5: Exit Neal’s Yard onto Monmouth Street and turn left; you will come to Seven Dials, a convergence of 7 streets, where at the centre is a pillar. Continuing straight ahead the street becomes a beautiful tree-lined avenue. After 30m, pop into the serene Ching Court on the left through a secret archway; a really tranquil oasis to sit and ponder. Return to Monmouth Street, then after approximately 150m, it widens to where Long Acre, Great Newport Street, Cranbourn Street and St Martin’s Lane meet. Before crossing the road to Cranbourn Street, see if you can find the old Policeman’s Hook.

6: Continuing past the statue of Agatha Christie, you will walk to the end of the street where you will be opposite the amazing London Hippodrome building, where Harry Houdini once performed and is now home to a casino.

1: From here, you can take a short detour by crossing the road into Leicester Square, or you can continue the walk by turning left onto Charing Cross road. After approximately 40m, turn left into Cecil Court, a delightful Victorian thoroughfare, renowned for its specialist and antique bookshops. The street was once a temporary home for a young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart whilst he was touring Europe. Continuing down Cecil Court, you will come to St Martins Lane, where you can turn right back towards Trafalgar Square.

2: Before meeting Trafalgar Square, you will find the beautiful St Martin-in-the-fields Church on your left; a visit into the church to see its unique glass window is a must and for the weary traveller a stop at the Café in the Crypt is well worth a visit.

3: Walking around Trafalgar Square, see if you can find one of the world’s smallest police stations perched in the south-east corner. It’s hard to imagine that a complex of secret tunnels and telephone exchanges subsist beneath your feet!

1: Crossing Trafalgar Square you will head onto the start of The Mall, as you head under the Admiralty Arch, take the right arch and see if you can spot a hidden nose on the left-hand side of the arch about seven feet up!

2: Walking down the Mall, take a right up some steps to the Duke of York Column. At the top of the steps, see if you can find the little gravestone of Giro, a beloved pet of a German Ambassador. Walking back down the steps, you can continue down the Mall to Buckingham Palace, the official London Residence of the Queen.

3: Turning back towards the Mall, you can continue into St James’s Park, walking along the lake until you get to a bridge, which offers a wonderful Western view towards Buckingham Palace, framed by trees either side. Crossing the bridge, turn left at the end heading towards the Eastern end of the lake where Duck Island is home to a small nature reserve; near the island is a beautiful cottage and garden. You may also be lucky enough to see the resident Pelicans in this area, who can often be seen basking on their favourite rock, waiting for their daily feed of fresh fish between 2:30 pm and 3:00 pm every day.

4: Exiting out of the Park onto Horse Guards Road, you will cross the wonderful courtyard of the Horse Guard Parade, which is a ceremonial parade ground. Guard changes take place here daily and the building is guarded by two mounted cavalry troopers.

5: Continuing past the mounted cavalry troopers and out onto Whitehall, turn left back up to Trafalgar Square. Exiting Trafalgar Square (see map 2) on the same route back up towards St Martins Lane and after approximately 20m (next to the Coliseum theatre) turn right into the entrance of Brydges Place (blink and you’ll miss it), which is allegedly the narrowest alleyway in London, so thin only one person can walk down it comfortably at a time! At the far end of the alley, turn left onto Bedfordbury, a charming back lane, which eventually leads to Goodwin’s Court on your left, this delightful alleyway looks to be straight off the set of a Harry Potter film set, with its charming shop window fronts, polished knockers and door knobs, you might be mistaken for thinking you had stepped back in time.

6: Heading out of Goodwin’s Court, turn right onto St Martin’s Lane. After approximately 50m, you will reach crossroads; turn right here onto Long Acre where you will return to the start of the walk and the Covent Garden Tube station.

Urban Hike by Anja Phoenix. Design & Illustration by Custard Graphic Design