London's Best Running Routes: 5 Trails for Every Runner 2026

London's Royal Parks and canal network give it one of the best running infrastructures of any major city, with genuine variety within a short trip from the centre. Here are the best running routes in London for 2026.

Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens

London's largest connected Royal Parks green space offers a combined perimeter loop of anywhere from 4 to 8 miles depending on the route chosen, with the Kensington Gardens perimeter alone running about 2.7 miles on flat, well-maintained gravel and tarmac paths. It is home to the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain and the Serpentine lake, and is a heavily used lunchtime and weekend running spot.

Regent's Canal Towpath

The Regent's Canal towpath runs 8.6 miles end to end from Little Venice to Limehouse Basin, with shorter options such as 4.3 miles from Angel or 4.5 miles between Edgware Road and King's Cross. The surface is a mix of paved, gravel and compacted earth, narrow and shared with cyclists, but completely flat, giving a genuine traffic-free east-west corridor through Camden, Islington and King's Cross.

Richmond Park and the Tamsin Trail

Richmond Park, London's largest Royal Park and a National Nature Reserve, has a full perimeter track called the Tamsin Trail running 7.35 miles on a hard-packed sandy surface. The park is home to more than 600 free-roaming red and fallow deer, and is accessed via named gates including Roehampton, Robin Hood and Richmond itself.

South Bank and the Thames Path

The South Bank offers roughly 4 miles of wide, paved, traffic-free riverside pavement from Westminster Bridge to Tower Bridge, passing the Southbank Centre, the National Theatre, Tate Modern, Shakespeare's Globe and the Millennium Bridge with its sightline to St Paul's Cathedral. The south side of the river is considerably more runner-friendly than the north bank.

Running the Royal Parks Half Marathon Route

The Royal Parks Half Marathon actually runs through Hyde Park and several other Royal Parks each year, giving genuine race-day precedent to using these same paths as an everyday training route rather than simply a scenic backdrop.

Practical Guide to Running in London

Hyde Park and the South Bank are the most reliable choices for a straightforward, well-lit run at any time of day; Richmond Park and the Regent's Canal towpath are better suited to longer sessions away from central crowds.

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