It can be easy to miss how much greenery surrounds London if you're not paying attention. That is why graphic designer Helen Ilus created the Greenground Map.
Modeled on the iconic underground map, Ilus' work aims to highlight the green spaces that go unnoticed, connecting parks, waterways and paths to form a series of new networks around the city. Just as the tube network has the Bakerloo and Victoria lines, the Greenground Map has the Grand Regent and the Wandle along with pre-existing trails such as the Capital Ring, Green Chain Walk, LOOP and others that Helen has created by connecting the points together. connecting - or green parts - of the city.
About 40 percent of London, 35,000 hectares of the city, consists of public green spaces. That's before you take into account the trees lining streets, private gardens and sports fields. Taken together, London's golf courses alone form an area larger than the borough of Brent.
While I admire Ilus' rural vision of London, it's not always easy to see the forest through the tower blocks. More often than not my vision of London is limited to the walk between my flat and the local tube station, and the other end of my commute to the Telegraph office in Victoria.
Still, it might be appropriate to pay more attention to nature. "In a recent study, which looked at 28 different scientific papers, experts found that spending time in nature not only improves our mental health, but also our physical health - including immune function," said Dr. Suzanne Bartlett Hackenmiller, chief medical officer of the mapping app AllTrails.
"Another study looked at the brain benefits of just an hour in nature and found that memory and attention span improved by 20 percent," she continues. "I read another study that showed that seeing ten birds in a day makes people happier than those who see none."
After this particularly wet and miserable winter, it all sounded good, so I decided to give the Greenground Map a try. I would treat myself to a slower, more mindful and hopefully healthier commute.
Jumping on the Ilus 'Hill' line at Kenwood House on the northern edge of Hampstead Heath, five minutes from where I live, I wandered through the woods and along the muddy paths of the Heath, listening to the screams of bright green ring-neck parakeets and admiring packs of well-bred North London dogs.
It was a far cry from the sweaty infatuation that comes with jumping on the north line at this hour. Silence is a rare thing when you live in London and I enjoyed it in the chilly morning air on the Heath.
My next stop was, to my regret, a failure. Belsize Wood Miniature Nature Reserve is only open at weekends so I missed it. But without the Greenground map I would never have known the place existed, a little green oasis nestled among former council flats that probably sell for several hundred thousand pounds today.
From there it was on to the terminus of the 'Hill' line at Primrose Hill. The poetry of William Blake rang through my ears. I took a moment to stop at the top and admire the views of St Paul's, the City, the London Eye and even a glimpse of Big Ben. Insider tip from a park ranger who happened to see me there: if you can't get tickets for the New Year's Eve fireworks, this is the place to see them.
Maybe you can spot celebrities at the same time. Taylor Swift is known to own a house in these parts and I passed Alex Turner of the Arctic Monkeys on my walk.
From here I transferred to the 'Royal' line which took me through Regent's Park and past London Zoo (peeking over the hedges I saw a few monkeys and parrots). Then on to Cavendish Square, just behind Oxford Street, a rugged stretch of land, notable only for its sky-grazing plane trees and which played a minor role in Robert Louis Stevenson's film. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
As I crossed Oxford Street I was struck by the absurdity that for many visitors to London, a trip to this nondescript high street is more iconic than a visit to one of the beautiful parks I had been to.
Then it was on to Grosvenor Square and on to Berkeley Square in the heart of Mayfair (not on the Greenground map, but I'm a completist.) Here anyone who wants to be anyone has to stagger out of a taxi and into Amazonico. , Sexy Fish or one of the restaurants along the square. It's a very different view of London from the cool tranquility of Primrose Hill and Hampstead.
The last part of my walk took me through Green Park and St. James, London's most visited parks due to their proximity to Buckingham Palace.
The pair, unlike other places on the Greenground, feels strangely simple. The people I encounter are mainly commuters or tourists. Most people dart through the parks on their way to somewhere else.
But even this unadorned greenery is more than just decorative. There is something very magical about the idea that we have managed to hide London's most photographed monument, the symbol of the monarchy, amid a swath of trees.
Walking along Buckingham Palace Road to the Telegraph In the office I stop at the miniature Grosvenor Gardens. It's certainly not a grand or imposing space (colleagues even affectionately call it 'The Triangle of Sadness'), but there is something shabby and charming about it; At the edge of a path stands a table tennis table, surrounded by jubilant orange flowers.
The obvious thing to say about my green commute is that I couldn't do this every day. What is normally a half-hour journey took me over three hours to walk.
Still, I arrived at the office feeling more at ease, even though I had taken ten times as many steps as normal. In fact, I've seen parts of London that I would otherwise never have wanted to visit, and I feel like I know the city better than ever before.
The city likes to describe itself as one of the best in the world, but London has always had a hard time justifying why that is the case. Best nightlife in the world? Forget that, it's not even the best in Britain. Best food? Try Paris. Best museums? New York may have something to say. Best history? Rome and Athens differ. Best public transport? If it works, maybe.
No, what makes London great, what makes it truly world-beating, is the way nature soaks, softens and sculpts every pore. Yes, this is a bright, shiny, modern city of glass, steel and concrete, but it's also a place where, if you listen hard enough, you can also hear the birdsong.
London walks to enjoy
If you have time to spare, there are plenty of green walks you can take advantage of in the capital.
Green Chain Walk
This 50-mile walk crosses fields, parks and woodlands between the River Thames and Nunhead Cemetery in south-east London.
LOOP
This 240 kilometer long epic sails around the capital; think of it as the M25 for walkers.
Green Link Route
This epic 15 mile route links Peckham and Epping Forest via walking and cycling routes.
The Greenground card is available at Helen Ilus's website. In addition to London, the artist has also created similar maps for Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge and Peterborough, Edinburgh, Nottingham and Sheffield.
