A Pint at the End of the Path: Five Sunday Walks Worth the Mud
Sunday walking in London has a rhythm of its own. You leave later than you meant to, you spend ten minutes debating whether a coat is overkill, and you end up somewhere green with the vague sense that a roast is deserved. The trick is to pick a route with a genuinely good pub at the end, rather than a tourist-facing boozer with a queue for the till and a menu that reads like an airport lounge.
These five walks are all doable without a car, all short enough to fit around a lazy morning, and all end somewhere worth taking your time. Check pub hours before you set out, especially for Sunday roasts, which tend to finish early. Take a paper map or download the OS map for the area; phone signal on the Heath and in Richmond Park is not always the friend you think it is.
1. Nunhead Cemetery to Peckham: The Montpelier
Start at Nunhead station and walk up to the cemetery's Linden Grove gate. The cemetery is the quiet bit of the day: overgrown avenues, collapsed chapels, and more atmosphere than most London parks can manage. Follow the main path to the Anglican chapel, loop west, then leave via the Limesford Road side and drop down through Nunhead Lane towards Peckham Rye.
It is about two and a half miles, or roughly seventy-five minutes at a Sunday pace. Map note: cemetery gates close at dusk, so this is a morning or early afternoon walk, not a dusk stroll. The Montpelier on Choumert Road is the finish line, a proper Peckham pub with a back garden and a menu that does not try too hard. Order a pint of something local and the roast if it is on; if you are earlier than the kitchen, a bag of crisps and a seat in the garden will do nicely.
2. Hampstead Heath to Gospel Oak: The Southampton Arms
Start at Parliament Hill Fields and walk east across the Heath rather than heading straight for the ponds. The route is only about two miles, but it feels longer in the best way: sandy paths, sudden views over the city, and enough side tracks to make you forget you are twenty minutes from a Tube station. Exit towards Gospel Oak and walk down to Highgate Road.
The Southampton Arms is the reward: a proper ale-and-cider house with a no-nonsense attitude and a pork bap that has saved many a Sunday. Order a half of something you cannot pronounce and a cider for the other hand. Map note: keep to the east side of the Heath and aim for Mansfield Place rather than drifting towards Highgate village, unless you want to add an hour and a hill. Go early; the small bar fills up when the weather is even vaguely decent.
3. Richmond Park to East Sheen: The Victoria
Start at Richmond station, walk up Richmond Hill, and enter the park at Richmond Gate. The route across to Sheen Gate is about three miles and takes roughly ninety minutes if you resist every bench. In autumn the deer are a genuine spectacle, but keep your distance and keep dogs on a lead. Map note: the park closes at night, and the gates are not the place to test your timing.
Leave at Sheen Gate and walk down into East Sheen. The Victoria is a comfortable, slightly grown-up pub with a good Sunday roast and enough room to pretend you are not covered in mud. Order the roast chicken or the beef, and a pint of something crisp. Book ahead if you are going with a group; East Sheen takes its Sunday lunch seriously.
4. Victoria Park to Bow: The Eleanor Arms
Start at the Victoria Park Pavilion, walk through the park, and exit at Crown Gate. Turn onto Roman Road and follow it east towards Bow. It is only about a mile and a half, or forty minutes, but it is a good reminder that London walks do not have to be pastoral to be worthwhile. Map note: Sunday is quiet on Roman Road; the market is not the draw today, the pub is.
The Eleanor Arms on Old Ford Road is a proper East End pub: dark wood, good beer, and the slight feeling that you have walked into a living room. Order a pint of ale and whatever pie or roast is on. Ask for a seat near the window if the back room is busy. It is the kind of pub that makes a short walk feel like a small expedition.
5. Greenwich Park to Blackheath: The Princess of Wales
Start at Greenwich station, walk through the market if you must, then climb into Greenwich Park. The route to Blackheath Gate is about two miles, and the hill is worth it for the view back over the river. Map note: the path down to Blackheath is steep in places, so wear something with grip rather than your best smooth-soled boots.
The Princess of Wales on Montpelier Row is the finish: a proper Blackheath pub with a fire in winter, a decent roast, and a crowd that seems to have been there for hours. Order a pint and the roast, and book if you are going after one o'clock. If you have room, walk ten minutes further onto the heath for the sunset; it is one of the few London views that earns the word.
The Sunday Rules
Start by eleven if you want a roast, aim to be at the pub for one, and do not be the person who turns up at ten past three expecting the kitchen to be open. Carry a card and a bit of cash, because some of the best pubs are idiosyncratic about payment. And if the walk is muddier than expected, remember that a proper pub will not mind your boots. That is half the point.
