London Bridges 50k
This ultramarathon route includes all the London bridges across the River Thames. Starting with Hampton Court Bridge, the route follows the river downstream as the green views give way to urban cityscapes, taking in many of London's greatest sights, before finishing at Tower Bridge.
In total there are 26 bridges, these are all the pedestrian accessible bridges - for obvious reasons the route excludes rail-only bridges. They are as follows (from West to East):
- Hampton Court
- Kingston
- Teddington Lock
- Richmond
- Twickenham
- Richmond Lock
- Kew
- Chiswick
- Barnes
- Hammersmith
- Putney
- Fulham Railway
- Wandsworth
- Battersea
- Albert
- Chelsea
- Vauxhall
- Lambeth
- Westminster
- Golden Jubilee
- Waterloo
- Blackfriars
- Millenium
- Southwark
- London
- Tower
While this is technically an Open Course where the goal is to cross all the bridges in order, in practice, there are only minor variations in the route available and the route here closely follows the river.
The route includes many of London's famous sights. Some of the more notable sights are:
- Hampton Court Palace
- Kew Gardens
- Battersea Power Station
- Houses of Parliament & Big Ben
- London Eye
- St Pauls Cathedral
- The Shard
- Tower of London
Start
The start of the route is at Hampton Court Station - providing a convenient public transport link from Central London or further afield.
Finish
The finish is The Queen's Walk from the pedestrian steps on the south-west side of Tower Bridge. This brings you outside London City Hall, with great views of Tower Bridge and the Tower of London.
Route
- The route is mostly flat, with the only slight elevation gain coming from crossing the bridges.
- The surface is mixed - approximately the first half is gravel/hardcore trails, and the second half is paved.
Tips
- Due to the attractions around central London, the banks of the Thames can get very very crowded with people so consider time/day/season carefully.
- Hampton Court Station has loos, and there are public loos at various points across the route.