Trail Running in London: The Best Off-Road Routes

See our full London running guide for road and park routes across London.

Hampstead Heath

Distance: 2-8km | Difficulty: Intermediate | Start: Gospel Oak or Hampstead Heath (Overground) | Terrain: Natural trail, grass, compacted earth, some gravel |

Hampstead Heath offers the closest true trail running terrain to central London. At 320 hectares, it covers enough ground that you can run 8km without retracing your steps, covering mixed woodland, open grassland, and the bathing ponds that sit in the valley.

Runners often use Parliament Hill as a natural waypoint and build their route around it. It’s not particularly long, but it’s steep enough to hurt (offering 98 metres of elevation), with views from the top that serve as a well-earned reward.

The Heath has no marked trail running route. That means trusting your instincts and navigating by feel, rather than relying on signage - great for runners with a sense of adventure, who don't mind occasionally getting lost. User-submitted routes on AllTrails are the most useful reference if you want a starting point before your first visit.

Terrain conditions change significantly across the year, with thick mud from October to March, particularly on the wooded sections. Road shoes will get you through the drier grassland areas in summer, but they won't cope once the ground softens. Trail shoes are worth it year-round.

Highgate Wood and Queens Wood

Distance: 2-4km | Difficulty: Intermediate | Start: Highgate (Northern line) | Terrain: Natural woodland, roots, uneven ground, some incline |

If you like being surrounded by wildlife on your runs, you should check out Highgate Wood and the adjacent Queens Wood. These ancient woodlands form a connected block that provides 4-5km of continuous trail running without crossing a single road.

While the woodland character is similar to Hampstead Heath, the footfall is much lower - particularly on weekday mornings - so if you want to get a trail run in without navigating around dog walkers and weekend crowds, this is a good alternative.

The Corporation of London manages both woods, which are occasionally closed for maintenance. Check their current status before visiting to avoid disappointment.

Trail shoes are recommended. The surface holds up reasonably well in dry conditions but deteriorates quickly in wet weather, and the roots make the ground uneven enough that road shoes are a risk even in the drier months.

Parkland Walk

Distance: 7.8km | Difficulty: Intermediate | Start: Finsbury Park (Victoria/Piccadilly line) | Terrain: Compacted trail, tree roots in sections |

The Parkland Walk follows a former railway line from Finsbury Park to Muswell Hill. The path is fairly straightforward, which means you can turn up and run without much preparation. If, like me, you're prone to twisting your ankle and prefer routes that are easier underfoot, this is a great option.

The route runs through a nature reserve, and the tree cover is dense enough in sections that it feels removed from the city, even though you're never far from it. At 7.8km one way, it's also the longest continuous route in this guide, so it works well as a point-to-point run if you don't mind finishing away from your start. It's not lit, though, so avoid it after dark.

See the full Parkland Walk route details in our North London running guide.

Capital Ring selected sections

Distance: Variable | Difficulty: Intermediate to Advanced | Terrain: Mixed trail, tarmac, and park paths depending on section |

The Capital Ring is a waymarked long-distance trail that circles inner London, covering 126km in total. You don’t have to tackle the whole distance (unless you really want to!) - the two sections below are great places to start.

Wimbledon Common

Start: Wimbledon station (District line/Overground/National Rail)

The Wimbledon Common section crosses 460 hectares of open heathland exposed to the elements; it can be bitterly cold in winter, so make sure you wrap up warm. You can expect wider skies, less tree cover, and more wind than many of the woodland routes in this guide. Fancy a longer outing? Extend the run by connecting to Bushy Park.

Highgate to Muswell Hill

Start: Highgate station (Northern line)

This section runs adjacent to the Parkland Walk and through Alexandra Park, which covers around 80 hectares on the lower slopes of Alexandra Palace. The palace sits at 100m elevation, so there's a hill climb involved, but the surface is good, and the route is well defined.

For the full map and waymarking information, see the Capital Ring official page.

Richmond Park

Distance: 5-15km | Difficulty: Intermediate | Start: Richmond station (District line/Overground/National Rail) | Terrain: Mixed grass, compacted trail, some woodland path |

Home to hundreds of free-roaming red and fallow deer, Richmond Park is one of the largest urban parks in Europe at 955 hectares. The terrain is more open than the woodland routes elsewhere in this guide, with long stretches of grassland and rolling hills. On a clear day, the views across to the City are worth stopping for.

The Tamsin Trail is the most popular route, covering 11.6km around the perimeter. It links all the park's gated entrances, so you can start from wherever is most convenient. The steepest climb is Broomfield Hill in the north of the park.

Road shoes are fine in dry conditions, but grassy sections can get soft in winter, so trail shoes are the better call from October onwards.

There are two cafes on the route: one near Roehampton Gate and one at Pembroke Lodge. Both have toilets and water available.

The pedestrian gates are open 24 hours a day, except during deer culls in November and February.

Epping Forest

Distance: 5-20km+ | Difficulty: Advanced | Start: Chingford station (Greater Anglia from Liverpool Street) | Terrain: Natural forest surface, roots, mud, fallen branches. Navigation required. |

Epping Forest is not the best place for beginner trail runners. The terrain is highly technical, more so than any other route in this guide, and it’s also the furthest from central London, at around 30 minutes from Liverpool Street.

Planning is non-negotiable here because Epping Forest is massive. We’re talking over 2,400 hectares of ancient woodland, full of twisted tree roots and, in winter, lots of mud. AllTrails has 50 mapped Epping Forest routes at the time of writing.

It’s also worth knowing that there are no facilities once you get into the forest. If you’re planning a route that’s longer than 10K, bring water and nutrition to keep you going.

Trail shoes with aggressive grip are not optional here. The ground deteriorates quickly in wet conditions, and even in dry weather, the roots and fallen branches make technical footwear worthwhile.

Epping Forest hosts a variety of races, including the Wildwood trail series. If this is the kind of running you want to do more of, you can find trail races in and around Epping Forest listed on Find a Race.

Practical notes for trail running in London

Road shoes are not suitable for these routes in wet weather. Trail shoes with rubber lugs are the minimum - I learned this the hard way at a 10K in Northumberland, turning up in carbon-plated road shoes with absolutely no appreciation for what trail running involves. Don't be me.

For navigation, the Capital Ring and Parkland Walk are both conveniently waymarked, but Hampstead Heath and Epping Forest have no defined trail running routes, so use AllTrails or Komoot to plan ahead.

As you’d expect, all routes in this guide are much harder underfoot between October and March, so you might have to go slower at times than you’d like. And none of the routes is lit; they're best avoided after dark.

Trail races in and near London

Several of the routes in this guide double as race courses. If you want to test yourself on them properly, these four events are worth knowing about.

The Richmond Park 5K, 10K and Half Marathon and the Wimbledon 10K and Half Marathon are both well-established south-west London events with distance options that suit first-timers and more experienced runners alike. The former runs a lap course through one of London's most iconic green spaces, while the latter takes in the Common - terrain you'll recognise if you've run the Capital Ring section in this guide.

Then there’s the Epping Forest Half Marathon and 10K. These races run through ancient woodland on a mix of maintained paths and natural trails. And if you fancy a race that feels a bit more wild, The Maverick North Downs Trail heads into the Surrey hills with five distance options.

Find trail races near London on Find a Race.