London is my favourite place and some of my most loved views come from the bridges that cross the Thames. So I decided to set myself a challenge which I called the London Bridges Walk – to try and hike across all of the bridges in the capital in one day. Could I do it?

I didn’t know if it was possible but purposefully set out with no plan because sometimes that’s how the best adventures come about.

What I ended up with was the perfect London hiking challenge!

This blog acts as a London Bridges Walk self-guide. I’ve laid out all the logistics, put together a route and shared my top tips to make it easy for anyone wanting to give it a go.

 

Before we start….

If you are new to this blog, I’m Bex Band – a full-time UK adventurer and founder of the women’s adventure community, Love Her Wild. I’m on a mission to make getting outdoors and going on adventures as easy as possible. You can read more about me here.

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London Bridges Challenge; the rules

I must hike across all of the pedestrian bridges that cross the Thames river in London, starting in Hampton Court and finishing at Tower Bridge.

There are 33 London Thames Bridges in total. 7 of them are railway only meaning that 26 are accessible to pedestrians.

Here are the bridges in order (bold are railway access only)

1. Hampton Court Bridge
2. Kingston Bridge
3. Kingston Railway Bridge
4. Teddington Lock Footbridges
5. Richmond Bridge
6. Richmond Railway Bridge
7. Twickenham Bridge
8. Richmond Lock and Footbridge
9. Kew Bridge
10. Kew Railway Bridge
11. Chiswick Bridge
12. Barnes Railway Bridge
13. Hammersmith Bridge
14. Putney Bridge
15. Fulham Railway Bridge
16. Wandsworth Bridge
17. Battersea Railway Bridge
18. Battersea Bridge
19. Albert Bridge
20. Chelsea Bridge
21. Grosvenor Bridge
22. Vauxhall Bridge
23. Lambeth Bridge
24. Westminster Bridge
25. Hungerford Bridge & Golden Jubilee Bridge
26. Waterloo Bridge
27. Blackfriars Bridge
28. Blackfriars Railway Bridge
29. Millennium Bridge
30. Southwark Bridge
31. Cannon Street Railway Bridge
32. London Bridge
33. Tower Bridge

It took me a day to cross them all – just shy of 10 hours. A total of 7 and a half hours of walking and 2 and a half hours resting.

I finished the challenge having clocked up 30.1 miles exactly!

Don’t worry if this distance is too much…..you can easily do a shorter version (taking in the last most exciting central London bridges). More on that below.

London Bridges walk logistics

Logistically this is a really easy challenge to do. I did it by myself and used Google maps to get me between bridges. Most of the time you can easily follow the Thames via riverside footpaths and don’t need a map (especially as you reach more central London).

The sections where the bridges are far apart I took the most direct route, usually via a road or residential street.

Start and finish

The challenge starts at Hampton Court Station which is right next to your first bridge.

You can get to Hampton Court Station easily on the overground from Waterloo (changing at Surbiton) and Oyster cards are accepted.

The walk ends at Tower Bridge where you can easily get to the Tower Hill Tube Station (on the Circle and District line)

Breaks

There wasn’t as many cafes or pubs on the route as I was expecting. Putney makes a great place for a stop without having to detour (this was around the halfway mark, 15 miles). Here you can find some riverside pubs and a Wetherspoons if you need a cheap meal for a pick-up!

I also had a long break in Vauxhall where there is a convenient Pret and also at the National Theatre which has plenty of comfy seating for a break and a coffee shop.

There was no shortage of benches along the way for a quick stop although my walk was on an especially frosty day so I kept these short.

Accommodation

If you need somewhere to stay in London before or after this challenge I can recommend Park Villa, a clean and quiet hostel that is conveniently located for this walk. They offer both shared and private rooms.

Best route for the London Bridges walk

You will see from my map below that when I crossed Albert Bridge I doubled back on myself. I did this for a number of reasons. It meant that I could walk through Battersea park (which is a nice walk) and could also avoid having to walk the detour around Battersea Power station in Vauxhall.

It also meant that when I finished the challenge I would be on the ‘right side’ of Tower Bridge so I could jump on the Tube at Tower Hill.

You could double back on any bridge before Battersea but Albert is a nice one!

How tough is it?

This was a long day walking 30 miles predominantly on concrete paths. The stairs up and down the bridges were always a welcome break!

By mile 15 my feet were sore and my lower back hurting. This was a challenge for me…but I did complete it and with no training (I’d say I’m active but not especially fit).

The Thames really is a beautiful river with lots of parks along the way. I liked that when you reach central London it gets busy with tourists and street performers so there is plenty of distraction for the last push.

So yes, I’d say it’s tough!

If you are worried about completing the full distance, opt for the half day and start at vauxhall. This will still make the hike a challenging 15 miles and will include all the major central bridges. Really you could pick up the route from anywhere along the way – aiming for a distance that works for you.

Need some inspiration?

Check out Adam’s blog….he ran the route!

My good friends Seanna Fallon and Laura Try also did the London Bridge challenge and made this short film about their day. Check it out for some inspiration:

London Bridges walk map

Section 1: Hampton Court to Twickenham, 3 bridges

Section 2: Twickenham to Kew, 4 bridges

Section 3: Kew to Barnes, 3 bridges

Section 4: Barnes to Battersea, 6 bridges

Section 5: Battersea to City of London, 10 bridges

Are you going to take on the London Bridges Challenge?

Do let me know if you plan to give this London Bridges walk a go? I would love to hear how you get on – let me know in the comments box below.

If you want to spice up this challenge, how about doing it at night and seeing the city all lit up?

Or bringing the bridges walk to a different city?

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