The Best Running Routes in South London

Battersea Park loop

Distance: 2.7km (inner loop) or 3.6km (outer loop) | Difficulty: Beginner | Start: Battersea Park station (London Overground) or Chelsea Bridge Gate | Terrain: Flat, tarmac and compacted gravel, fully lit |

Battersea Park is a great place to build confidence as a beginner runner. The inner loop - covering 2km on a smooth, flat path - is easy to navigate and calm enough that you won’t feel self-conscious when you’re still working out your pace.

It's also one of South London’s most established running hubs. Clubs often use it for speed work and interval sessions, and there’s even a proper athletics track on the south side of the park. Many a PB has been earned in Battersea. Run here often enough, and you’ll certainly start recognising faces - you might even make friends.

Most park runs in this guide aren’t suitable after dark, but Battersea is fully lit, which makes a difference in winter when the choice is often running in the dark (not great) or not running at all (even worse).

It can get pretty hectic here on Sunday mornings between 9am and midday when the park fills up with families, so unless you want your run to feel like an obstacle course, it’s best to avoid going at this time. Toilets are available near the athletics track.

As well as various running events throughout the year, Battersea Park hosts a Saturday parkrun. Find it on Find a Race.

Dulwich Park and Dulwich village

Distance: 1.65km (inner loop), up to 7km including village streets | Difficulty: Beginner to Intermediate | Start: North Dulwich station (Thameslink) | Terrain: Flat, good surface, low tourist footfall |

Like Battersea, Dulwich Park has an active running community but with a fraction of the footfall, so you can still enjoy the social side (if that’s your thing) without having to fight for space on the paths. The park itself provides a scenic backdrop, with ponds, flower beds, and plenty of tree cover.

The inner loop covers 1.65km on smooth tarmac, but the park connects easily to village streets if you want more distance (and a bit of added character). A full run covering the perimeter and a short extension through Dulwich Village comes to around 7km without making the route complicated.

If you decide you want company, the Dulwich Park Runners is a friendly running club that meets on Tuesday evenings at the Trevor Bailey Sports Centre. Each month, members run the Dulwich Dash, a fantastically fun two-mile handicap race where the fastest runners start last

Another great way to meet people is to take part in the weekly Dulwich Park parkrun, which attracts over 500 runners on Saturday mornings. It follows a fast and flat route, and afterwards most people head to Colicci’s Dulwich Clock Cafe inside the park for a post-run coffee.

Richmond Park - The Tamsin Trail

Distance: 11.6km (full loop) | Difficulty: Intermediate | Start: Richmond station (District line/Overground) | Terrain: Compacted gravel and grass, some loose sections on steeper hills |

Richmond Park’s vast expanse of grassland and woodland feels a world away from the bustling streets and glassy skyscrapers of central London.

The Tamsin Trail - an 11.6km waymarked route that follows the park’s perimeter - is the most popular option for running here. The route has long flat stretches punctuated by a handful of hills. The steepest, Broomfield Hill, comes early if you run clockwise. Going anti-clockwise is a bit kinder on your legs because the incline is more gradual. And if the full loop feels too ambitious, a half-loop from Roehampton gate covers around 6km.

Most of the route is on hard-packed gravel, with a few grass sections. Road shoes will do the job, though trail shoes will give you more confidence on the steeper descents.

Pembroke Lodge Cafe in the heart of the park is the ideal place for a pitstop, providing refreshments (and toilet facilities) from 9am until 30 minutes before the park gates close.

The deer are part of what makes Richmond Park special, but during rutting season (September to November), the stags can be aggressive, so give them plenty of space. The park gates open at 7.30am rather than the usual 24-hour access during the deer culls in November and February.

One downside of the park’s rural feel is the lack of lighting; in winter, it’s best to avoid early-morning and late-evening runs. Our guide to running in London at night has a few alternative routes you could try.

If the hills here put you off, Bushy Park is accessible via a short road link - it offers a flatter alternative in a similar setting and hosts one of the largest parkruns in the UK.

The Royal Parks Half Marathon passes through several of the parks in this guide. Find it on Find a Race.

Southwark Park and London Bridge to Bermondsey

Distance: 4-6km (extendable) | Difficulty: Beginner | Start: Surrey Quays station (Overground) or South Bermondsey (Thameslink) | Terrain: Flat, park paths and riverside walkway |

Southwark Park isn’t surrounded by the same hype as Battersea or Richmond Park, which makes it the ideal running spot for anyone who prefers peace and quiet over crowds. If you time it right on a weekday morning, you can sometimes get whole stretches of the route to yourself.

While the park is quieter, it still has excellent running infrastructure, with flat, paved paths, a running track, and a resident athletics club. Once you’ve finished your run, you can grab a post-race snack from the Pavilion Cafe, which also has toilet facilities nearby.

From the park, a short extension takes you onto the riverside walkway towards London Bridge. Most runners head west here towards the Southbank (find connecting routes in this guide), but if you go east past Tower Bridge instead, the path gets much quieter towards Bermondsey and Rotherhithe. Stave Hill Ecological Park in Rotherhithe is worth the slight detour for a fantastic view over Canary Wharf and the City.

There’s no parkrun in Southwark Park, but you’ve got a couple of options nearby in Burgess Park and Dulwich Park.

Practical notes for running in South London

South London runners are lucky to have access to a range of routes with various difficulty levels; if something feels too easy or too hard, there’s almost certainly another option nearby that will suit you better.

If you’re running in Richmond Park between September and November, take the deer seriously. They might be cute, but the stags are unpredictable during rutting season and have been known to charge.

Battersea Park is fully lit, so it's suitable for running at whatever time you want all year round, but the same can’t be said for Richmond, Dulwich or Southwark, which in winter are best kept as daytime-only runs.

Every route in this guide starts and ends near a named station - Richmond is on the District line and Overground, Battersea Park is on the Overground, and North Dulwich is on Thameslink - so they’re all easy to get home from.

South London running events

All three parkrun events featured in this guide take place every Saturday and are free to enter. Battersea Park parkrun is the most natural entry point for anyone who’s been using the park loop to build fitness, while Dulwich’s flat and fast course is a better option if you’re chasing a PB. Bushy Park parkrun is the place to go if you want a step up from the atmosphere of smaller events - it’s one of the largest parkruns in the UK and a good target for runners who’ve been putting miles in on the Tamsin Trail. Alternatively, if you've been training in Battersea Park, the Battersea Park 5K, 10K and Half Marathon is worth putting in the diary.

Find more South London running events on Find a Race.