Connect Charing Cross with Slow Ways
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Give a hike!Charing Cross
Greater London
Slow Ways linking Charing Cross and Holborn, Monument, Oxford Circus, Victoria Station, Waterloo Station
England / Greater London / Charing Cross
Charing Cross’s five Slow Ways are 90% checked
Help connect Charing Cross
Many Slow Ways have several route options. Some will be better than others, or good for different reasons.
Our goal is for each Slow Way to have at least one route that is verified and surveyed. To be verified – and get its snail badge – a route needs at least three positive reviews.
Give a hike and help get a for every one of Charing Cross’s Slow Ways.
Walk to Charing Cross from further afield
Slow Way | Route | To do | ||||||||
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Charing Cross—Holborn
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Chahol one |
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U U |
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Review me | Distance 2km/1mi | Ascent 13m | Descent 2m | |
Charing Cross—Holborn
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Chahol two |
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1 Y |
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Enjoy me | Distance 1km/1mi | Ascent 3m | Descent 14m | ||
Charing Cross—Holborn
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Chahol three |
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U U |
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Verify me | Distance 2km/1mi | Ascent 6m | Descent 17m | ||
Charing Cross—Monument
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Chamon one |
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2 Z |
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Review me | Distance 3km/2mi | Ascent 27m | Descent 29m | |
Charing Cross—Monument
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Chamon two |
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U U |
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Survey me | Distance 3km/2mi | Ascent - | Descent - | ||
Charing Cross—Waterloo Station
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Charwat one |
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2 X |
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Enjoy me | Distance 1km/1mi | Ascent 11m | Descent 16m | ||
Oxford Circus—Charing Cross
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Oxfocha one |
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U U |
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Survey me | Distance 2km/1mi | Ascent 13m | Descent 1m | ||
Oxford Circus—Charing Cross
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Oxfocha two |
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U U |
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Survey me | Distance 2km/1mi | Ascent 5m | Descent 17m | |
Victoria Station—Charing Cross
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Viccha one |
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1 Y |
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Enjoy me | Distance 2km/1mi | Ascent 11m | Descent 4m |
Fancy stretching your legs a bit more?
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This includes the great ring of routes that join its neighbours to each other!
Collective progress
78% of Charing Cross’s five route options are drawn, reviewed, surveyed and/or verified
9/9
9/9
4/9
6/9
19 people have contributed to Charing Cross’s Slow Ways
2 people have pledged to walk and review a route
6 people have surveyed a route in Charing Cross
17km out of 17km have been walked and reviewed
86km of reviews have been shared in Charing Cross
Latest Updates
Walked from Oxford Circus to Charing Cross on a drizzly Saturday which meant a lot of the photos came out blurry. A straightforward, quick and direct route, very easy to follow. Very busy, particularly with pedestrians, so not the best for those seeking to avoid bustle and noise....
Hugh Hudson
Thoroughly enjoyable but sadly a failure trying to leave Trafalgar Square. The way through is closed off and the diversion takes you further west than than makes sense to walk through Leicester Square. Will be happy to revise this when the passage is reopened...
David Sanderson
Couple of plotting issues identified by other reviewers. Once on the upper level, a very enjoyable walk...
David Sanderson
A really enjoyable walk, which packs a lot into a short distance. Generally avoids busy ways but maintains interest throughout. Full marks!...
David Sanderson
As a visitor to London, I was impressed by how this concise route struck a balance between showcasing some of the most iconic places between Charing Cross and Oxford Circus, and also highlighting some of the quieter spaces that are hidden amid the bustle of the neighborhood. I did have to detour down Whitcomb Street due to the passage to Trafalgar Square near the National Gallery being closed for construction, but otherwise, it was smooth sailing. This is a walk that I would recommend to anyone I know planning on spending time in London....
Miles Howard
Started with a quick escape from traffic on The Strand with glimpses of the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery sandwiching a statue of Oscar Wilde; Maiden Lane; Southampton Street - walking boot retail mecca; a short taste of Covent Garden proper (Transport Museum and musical street entertainment just inside SE corner of the market building, plus obligatory swarming tourists but not as crowded as near Cov Gdn tube). A friendly street cleaner on Newton Road confirmed it is always very quiet, not just on Sundays....
Daisy C
Daisy C added Chahol three, a new walk from Charing Cross to Holborn
Walk this routeb) St Pauls in Covent Garden has a nice garden (photo 2) with many benches and is generally quiet bar weekday lunchtimes in the sunshine...
Daisy C
highlight is at St James Park, watching the people from all over the world marvelling with childlike glee at the ducks, geese, squirrels and people from all over the world, marvelling at the......
srsaunders
highlight is at St James Park, watching the people from all over the world marvelling with childlike glee at the ducks, geese, squirrels and people from all over the world, marvelling at the......
srsaunders
Views across the Thames of the South Bank, Oxo Tower, Tate Modern, Globe, Shard and more still give it the wow factor night or day. It makes this route even easier to navigate as you don't have to make the detour onto noisy Upper Thames St....
Daisy C
To me it goes down the long stairs outside Embankment station, up more steps into station, out on to Villiers St (step-free!) and continues uphill. Near to the Strand Villiers Street gets quite steep and about halfway up that steep part the route turns and cuts through the side wall into the understorey of the Charing Cross hotel (or maybe a phone repair kiosk!) to then emerge upwards through the roadway next to the Eleanor Cross. In the fully-cobbled taxis-only forecourt. Ignoring the impossible and this is the least accessible choices, with one long and two short flights of stairs plus the full steep part of V St. Plus cobbles and taxi dodging. Not ideal. Villiers Street is lively though and perhaps preferable to the passage above if it's very late, when Embankment Station may also be locked, but is easy to walk around.....
Daisy C
As other reviewers have said it's hard to plot the exact route as there are so many adjacent paths beside and on top of each other....
Strider
Like Mary Oz it too me several minutes to cross the Blue Bridge in St James Park, I'm sure I accidentally photo-bombed many otherwise lovely tourist pictures....
Strider
Busy bustling, touristy, entertaining, shops, museums, distractions and the odd surprise. Reasonably direct and easy to navigate. A good city walk....
Strider
Stairs can be avoided at the Charing Cross end by staying at the bridge level and going through the station....
Mary Oz
Mostly this route was very busy with tourists, on a sunny Sunday in August, particularly around Covent Garden (where I made a detour to visit the London Transport Museum). There were a few quieter bits further north, including where I passed a shy little art deco cinema which was pointed out to me by someone photographing it. The route was all very nice, and also accessible....
Mary Oz
Here's my advice - don't do this route on a sunny Sunday in August; it took me 5 minutes just to get over the footbridge in St James Park! However it has to be a 5* route for me. I just picked the wrong day!...
Mary Oz
The route takes is through back streets and mostly avoids the roads with heavy traffic, and is entirely on pavements....
Hugh Hudson
At the Charing Cross end of the bridge, we chose to ignore the staircase down to Villiers Street (the GPX is not clear enough to confirm whether than choice was right) and ended up crossing the concourse of the station (past the escalators down to the tube station), and this takes us out to the station entrance without any steps. I walked this route again (from Charing Cross to Waterloo) yesterday as I was heading for an afternoon event near Waterloo East station, and this time I made an attempt to follow the Villiers Street interpretation at the north west end....
Hugh Hudson
Convent Garden can be very busy with people, so you can continue along Shelton Street, cross Long Acre and then use Garrick Street to avoid the biggest crowds....
Andy Redfern
Between Blackfriars and Victoria Embankment Gardens the Thames Path is next to a pretty busy road, but for me this was mitigated by the very generous and thus relatively uncrowded pavements (unlike other possible routes), yet more views over the Thames, and by moving to the Thames side of the road where there is a little more breeze to lift the fumes away....
Daisy C
Also there is a(nother) diversion now, opposite the Queen's Gallery on Buckingham Gate, it has a couple of no-drop kerbs....
Daisy C
We walked on a balmy September evening when everyone was outside all of the many historic London pubs, drinking pints under hanging baskets - very enjoyable!...
Hannah
Nice views of the river to one side but you have the train tracks on the other. Is usually very busy as well and not the most accessible....
Dannyash
Follows a lot of main roads but will also take you past some of the main central London sites. Very easy to follow....
Dannyash
I think this is the much better option of the two OXFOCHA routes. It takes much quieter and in my view more interesting streets....
Dannyash
I’m a huge fan of Oxfocha one, but this route continued to surprise me with great features! I especially liked walking through Soho and coming up on Oxford Circus from behind! I did find that the passage from Trafalgar Square directly to the west of the National Gallery was closed when I walked, but I just went one block down Whitcomb Street (the next street to the east) no problem....
mtormey
Running eastward near the north end of Villiers Street is one of my favourite street names. It is now called York Place but the sign records the former name - "Of Alley". An explanation can be found at https://thestreetnames.com/2013/11/08/londons-shortest-street-name/....
Martin McGovern
Not a lot to add to the other views - if you like the bustle of London, you'll love this one - I did!...
Martin McGovern
In addition, this should also be an easy access, no steps, route; but the detour for sewer construction at Blackfriars includes a long flight of steps (photo), alongside an out of service lift....
Jane Taylor
This is a fantastic walk through some of the most famous parts of London - Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus, Soho, Carnaby Street ......
Jane Taylor
Jane Taylor added Oxfocha two, a new walk from Oxford Circus to Charing Cross
Walk this routeThe street choices mix up quieter backways with some of the main strips through Covent Garden, so expect many people, street performers, queues for cafes, and pavements blocked by all these things and, of course, delivery vehicles. Like any central London route, there is a high likelihood that some building work will be happening somewhere on the way. No hesitation recommending this one....
Jane Taylor
It's generally straightforward and signed, but hopefully this route is plotted accurately enough that navigating should be simplified!...
mtormey
mtormey added Chamon two, a new walk from Charing Cross to Monument
Walk this routeThis is a good route, but the Thames Path (which this route largely follows along the river) doesn't stick purely to the river, as this route says it does. It actually winds in and out a couple times, so this route is too inaccurate to follow faithfully. I've uploaded a Charmon two that addresses this issue....
mtormey
This route takes you through Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square, Picadilly Circus, Regent Street, and Oxford Circus. It’s a London tourist’s dream route! Entirely on pavements, relatively direct, accessible, and interesting, a lovely route if I ever saw one!...
mtormey
The access under Admiralty Arch is currently restricted, and once restored would make this walk even nicer. Try to spot the pelicans on Duck Island!...
Derick Rethans
The first half comes up alongside Buckingham Palace, then you walk through St James’s park, then it’s only a quick bit to the station!...
mtormey
As another reviewer points out, when walking from Waterloo to Charing Cross, at the end of the bridge it is unclear whether to turn right down the stairs to Embankment station and walk up Villiers St; or to continue on at high level....
Jane Taylor
Really enjoyed walking this route in the evening- the best time to walk in central London in my opinion. No difficulties whatsoever- this would suit walkers and wheelers. Lots to see on the way....
Naami
Appeared to step and step free options to aid access. Stunning views at night....
Naami
There is a small issue / detour at the moment as you can't walk through Admiralty Arch as there are road works but there is a short detour to the South or you can brave it on the road....
Slow Ways Darren
I should note that at the Charing Cross end of the bridge (I walked from Waterloo), I wasn't sure whether to turn right go down the stairs and pass through the Embankment tube station, or continue straight and follow the signs for the "step-free route"....
mtormey
St James' Park (photo) - a go-to for private off-the-record conversations on the many benches and footpaths; pelicans; jogging prime ministers; also good refreshments. Buckingham Palace (lurking in the back of the St James' Park photo) - the Queen is almost never here nowadays, but the guard still changes every day....
Jane Taylor
A perfectly great route connecting Charing Cross and Holborn. Great London walking. The area around Covent Garden can be pretty busy, especially in late-week evenings!...
mtormey
I agree with the two previous reviewers, so I've uploaded Chahol two based on those comments....
Martin McGovern
Martin McGovern added Chahol two, a new walk from Charing Cross to Holborn
Walk this routeThis short city-centre route provides some spectacular views of London's riverscape, as well as the opportunity to interact with smaller pieces of history. I haven't uploaded any photos as it's hard to do this route justice. Highly recommended....
Martin McGovern
As the other reviewer states, the Holbon End of this route could use some tweaking, and if you are heading to or from Waterloo, go through Victoria embankment gardens and up carting lane to connect with Covent Garden Market...
Henry
Great river views, I would recommend heading through Victoria Embankment Gardens if you are heading up to Covent Gardens before you hit the northern end of this section....
Henry
If coming from Charing Cross, turn left at the end of Parker Street to walk up Kingsway and cross using the traffic lights outside Holborn station....
Largecj
An alternative route (if walking from Charing Cross) is to cross to Traflagar Square at the end of Duncannon, take the raised walkway in front of the National Gallery, turn right up Whitcomb Street until rejoining the main route. Then again at Piccadilly Circus, instead of walking up Regent Street, an alternative is to take Glasshouse, Air, Golden Square, and Kingly rejoining Regent Street at Great Marlborough Street....
Largecj
Slow Ways added Chahol one, a new walk from Charing Cross to Holborn
Walk this routeSlow Ways added Chamon one, a new walk from Charing Cross to Monument
Walk this routeSlow Ways added Charwat one, a new walk from Charing Cross to Waterloo Station
Walk this routeSlow Ways added Oxfocha one, a new walk from Oxford Circus to Charing Cross
Walk this routeSlow Ways added Viccha one, a new walk from Victoria Station to Charing Cross
Walk this routeCharing Cross’s Slow Ways starting point
Grid ref
TQ3019780498
Lat / Lon
51.50842° / -0.12531°
Easting / Northing
530,197E / 180,498N
what3words
Fancy stretching your legs a bit more?
If you’ve polished off all of the routes between Charing Cross and its neighbours, how about walking its whole web?
This includes the great ring of routes that join its neighbours to each other!
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