Walks

There are a range of walks available in Tower Hamlets, from shorter health walks to cultural walks and guided walks.

Each leaflet traces routes through historic parts of the borough, taking in a myriad of buildings and landmarks of interest on the way.

The walks range from 0.5 to 2.5 hours and are designed to start and finish close to a tube or DLR station.

You can download the leaflets from these pages, and they are also available free of charge from local libraries, other council buildings and London Tourist Information offices.

To receive printed versions, including large print, of the walks leaflets by post, contact email tourism@towerhamlets.gov.uk or call 020 7364 4900.

Walks by area

• Isle of Dogs
• Spitalfields
• Wapping and Limehouse

East End Life walks

Each month for a year, Graham Barker guided you through a new walk in a series of walks featured in East End Life. Here you can find all the walks featured.

Health walks and guided walks

• Walk Tower Hamlets is our local health walks scheme. A health walk is a brisk walk of 30-60 minutes, led by local volunteers or health trainers.
• One hour walks are designed to take half-an-hour to an hour to complete. All the walks routes pass local GP surgeries, parks and gardens, waterways and community/social centres.

History and culture walks

• Bengali East End walk which focuses on Bengali cultural highlights in the East End
• The Black History Walks lead visitors to places and events with significance for black and Asian history in the borough.
• Jewish heritage walk which focuses on Jewish cultural highlights in the East End
• The movie map visits several locations near Canary Wharf where blockbuster movies have been filmed

A spring in your step

''Walking is the nearest activity to perfect exercise'' explains Rachel Maile, sustainable travel officer at Tower Hamlets Council.

''Why not include walking as part of your daily journeys? Maybe you could get off the bus a stop or two early, walk to the shops rather than drive, or walk to work one day a week.''

Not only is walking great for your health, but it can save money and time. Studies show that people who walk at least part of the way to work are more productive, happier and take less time off sick. 

Other walks and information

• Get Walking in East London - routes, led walks and resources for people new to walking in East London
• http://www.wappingaudio.org/
• Jewish walking tours by Clive Bettington
• http://www.london-footprints.co.uk/
• http://www.golondontours.com/