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Tubewalker: The Tube, on Foot

Hammersmith & City Line: Hammersmith to Barking

Trellick Tower
Trellick Tower

Wow, I really wasn't expecting this walk to be amazing, but amazing it is. The architecture throughout the whole walk is stunning, the history is palpable, and it's a great example of the rich and the not-so-rich rubbing shoulders in the characteristic way that defines London's suburbs.

Hammersmith (Hammersmith & City) to Goldhawk Road

Hammersmith Library
Hammersmith Library is just round the corner from the station

Hammersmith station might not be the most obvious introduction to the delights of the area, with its incredibly busy traffic and hectic shopping crowds, but its history is long and distinguished. Opening on as part of the Metropolitan Railway's western service (though it was moved slightly south to its present location in 1868), this station pre-dates the other Hammersmith station, which lives beneath the Coca-Cola headquarters across the main road and serves the District and Piccadilly lines. It might look a little dwarfed by the surrounding chaos, but when the original station opened, Hammersmith was a relatively small settlement outside London. Standing by the Hammersmith Road, it's difficult to imagine the good old days, but the population went from a measly 10,000 in 1801 to 250,000 in 1901, and a lot of that was down to the railway.

Lena Gardens
Lena Gardens

Goldhawk Road to Shepherd's Bush Market

The south entrance to Shepherd's Bush Market
The south entrance to Shepherd's Bush Market, just next to Goldhawk Road

From Goldhawk Road, the most direct and interesting route is through Shepherd's Bush Market, a long, thin and very entertaining market that stretches all the way to the next Tube stop. The Tube is a dominating factor round here, passing alongside the market to the north along a high embankment, and towards the northern end of the market the arches come into play, revealing a whole street full of shops just on the other side of the railway. The market is fairly varied, with fruit, clothes, food and plenty of stalls selling cheap bric-a-brac; I'll remember it for the group of women in full burqas, excitedly examining gold silk underwear at the lingerie stall, proof that underneath our cultural exteriors, we're all humans.

Shepherd's Bush Market to Wood Lane

Westfield Shopping Centre
Westfield Shopping Centre

Just a short walk east from Shepherd's Bush Market station, you soon arrive at the corner of the common, and there it is, the big story round here: Westfield London. Dominating the space to the north of Shepherd's Bush, Westfield is the largest shopping centre in London (ahead of the Centrale in Croydon), the fourth largest shopping centre in the UK (behind MetroCentre in Gateshead, the Central Milton Keynes Shopping Centre, and Bluewater in Kent), and the largest urban indoor shopping centre in the European Union; or, to put it another way, it's the size of 30 football pitches with over 250 shops.

Inside Westfield Shopping Centre
Deep inside Westfield Shopping Centre, where photography isn't allowed
Wood Lane station
Wood Lane station

Wood Lane to Latimer Road

The Dimco buildings
The Dimco buildings (on the right) with Westfield looming behind

Slipping back to Westfield from Wood Lane station, there's an interesting clash between the ultramodern White City bus station, built as part of the Westfield development in 2008, and the huge Grade II-listed red brick Dimco buildings that tower over the bendy buses. Originally built in 1898-9 as an electricity generating station for the Central London Railway (which became the Central line), the buildings later fell into disrepair, but because they're listed, they couldn't be knocked down and the shopping centre had to be built around them. They've since been refurbished and are used as an overnight garage for buses; fans of the film Who Framed Roger Rabbit? may also recognise them as the film location of the Acme Factory.

Mortimer Square
Pleasant cottages on the corner of Mortimer Square

Shepherd's Bush Market to Latimer Road

Shepherd's Bush Empire
The Shepherd's Bush Empire, complete with the obligatory traffic jam

Between Shepherd's Bush Market station and Latimer Road, the theme is traffic, and lots of it. Shepherd's Bush is a much-maligned suburb, and I think it's probably down to the constant din of cars, vans and trucks crawling their way round Shepherd's Bush Common. It makes it impossible to appreciate the breathing space of the common, as it's hemmed in on all three sides by horns blaring and the acrid wafting of exhaust fumes, but if you can shut out the noise and look around you, Shepherd's Bush isn't as bad as its reputation would imply.

St Ann's Villas
Posh (left) and not-quiet-so-posh (right) rubbing shoulders on St Ann's Villas

Latimer Road to Ladbroke Grove

Bartle Road
Quiet Bartle Road

From Latimer Road the story is high-rise living, and every corner reveals another huge tower block, each of them different in some way. Unlike some parts of the city, where walking under tower blocks can make the blood run cold, this is an unthreatening and peaceful place, and it's an easy stroll to St Mark's Road. Turn left up here and left again, though, and you come to Bartle Road, which used to house a block called 10 Rillington Place. This was the home of one Reg Christie from 1938 to 1953, where he performed at least six murders (including that of his wife), and probably more. He was also widely thought to have blamed one of his murders on a neighbour, Timothy Evans, who was then hanged for this crime; the fact that the victim in this case was Evans's baby daughter caused a public outcry, and this helped contribute to the abolition of the death penalty in 1965.

Image from Hammersmith to Barking

Ladbroke Grove to Westbourne Park

Portobello Road
Portobello Road

Heading southeast and up the hill along Ladbroke Grove is an exercise in architectural amazement. The estates of Latimer Road are well and truly left behind, because the buildings along the rising hill to Kensington Park Gardens are stunning. Crescents of gleaming cream Victorian town houses line the side streets, and it should come as no surprise to find that we've crossed into Notting Hill. Known for being affluent and fashionable – and made internationally famous by the eponymous Hugh Grant film – there is no doubt that Notting Hill is a lovely place to explore on foot. At every turn there is yet another gleaming block of Victorian excellence that you can't help but photograph; progress is slow, but dawdling is a pleasure.

Trellick Tower
Trellick Tower

Westbourne Park to Royal Oak

Brunel Estate
Brunel Estate

From Westbourne Park, the dominating factor is the Brunel Estate, a huge collection of black brick buildings that's run by the City of Westminster Local Authority. It's a slightly dark affair after the bright buildings of Notting Hill, but the houses along Westbourne Park Villas slip back into the more attractive vernacular of the area, despite being lined along the main train line into Paddington. One of the houses on Westbourne Park Villas was home to the poet and author Thomas Hardy, who lived here from 1863 to 1874. An even more pleasant alternative route might be to go along Westbourne Park Road, past the church, but however you get there, you've got to cross the garish bridge over the main line to reach Royal Oak.

Royal Oak to Paddington (Hammersmith & City)

Gloucester Terrace
Gloucester Terrace

The backstreets from Royal Oak to Paddington are gorgeous, and it's hard to believe that you're so close to such a busy railway terminus. Gloucester Terrace, Porchester Terrace North and Orsett Terrace are again full of gleaming white townhouses, but it isn't long before you reach Bishop's Bridge Road and the corner with Eastbourne Terrace.

Paddington railway station
Paddington railway station

Paddington (Hammersmith & City) to Edgware Road

Paddington Basin
Canal boats meet office blocks in Paddington Basin

Heading past the Tube station, a quick left turn takes you up a sloping walkway to the Grand Union Canal, which starts here in Paddington Basin (or Little Venice, as this area is also known). Undergoing massive redevelopment, Paddington Basin is home to the headquarters of Marks and Spencer, who occupy a transparent building whose yellow lifts you can see into from the street (which is presumably a metaphor for transparency in business: after all, this is not just a see-through building, this is a Marks and Spencer see-through building). To get to the business end, you double-back at the bridge and go back along the canal before crossing a bridge to your left and joining North Wharf Road.

Edgware Road to Baker Street

Hyde Park Mansions
Hyde Park Mansions

Although the direct route to Baker Street is along Marylebone Road, there's a much more interesting route down through the mansions of Marylebone. For a fan of buildings, like me, this area is a gold-mine, with amazing mansion blocks every few yards. They're all designed differently but they're all designed to be impressive, and it's a delight.

34 Montagu Square
34 Montagu Square

Liverpool Street to Aldgate East

The Gherkin as seen from Middlesex Street
The Gherkin as seen from Middlesex Street

Finding your way out of Liverpool Street station is a challenge, and I didn't exactly manage to end up where I wanted to be. Still, nowhere is far from anywhere else in central London, and it didn't take long to find the traffic of Bishopsgate. It did take a while to track down Catherine Wheel Alley, though, as the entrance is miniscule and easy to walk past. It's worth the effort, however, because as soon as you're a few yards down this tiny alleyway, the noise of Bishopsgate disappears, and you're in a world of twists and turns that sneaks you through to Middlesex Street.