Ipswich
A historic county town with the character of a city Ipswich so rewards a good walk around it, mixing layers of history with expanses of green spaces and a developing waterfront. BEST FOR ‘Green Spaces’ Parks, gardens, squares, cemeteries Christchurch Park, the Old Cemetery, Alexandra Park, Hollywells Park Rivers, canals, lakes River Orwell, Round Pond, […]
New York: The High Line
Author: Mia Vincent Cutting through New York’s ‘block system’, the High Line offers the perfect walk to experience this bustling city from a height. Passing through Manhattan, a key residential and corporate area on the West side of the city, the combination of cityscape with green space makes for the perfect ‘urban ramble’. ‘Green Spaces’ […]
South-west London: Richmond Park & The Thames
Historic houses, green expanses and a river running through it This walk has it all – watercourses big & small, one of Europe’s largest urban parks, a clutch of historic houses and the garden that began the landscape garden revolution WALK DATA Distance: 17.6kms (11 Miles). A good break point if you prefer to do […]
Dundee
The city of design, which is about to be redesigned Author: Annie Britton Before travelling to Dundee, I solicited the opinions of a couple of friends who had studied at Abertay University and the art college. They were fairly succinct, managing to convey their feelings uniquely in four-letter words. I struggled to reconcile this anecdotal […]
London Inner Ring Stage 1: King’s Cross to the Olympic Park
The regeneration of North London’s ancient supply routes It’s hard to imagine a walk anywhere that more epitomises the transformation of British cities, passing as it does through two massive urban regeneration zones, King’s Cross and The Olympic Park; but also passing through London’s first municipal park. WALK DATA Distance: 11-13 km (7-8 miles); can […]
Urban blogs and books we especially like
Blogs and websites Jones The Planner: http://www.jonestheplanner.co.uk/ A series exploring architecture, urban design and planning issues in Britain’s towns and cities. Adrian Jones never pulls his punches, breathtakingly good and great reading even if you’re not an architectural expert. @jonestheplanner Urban Explorer: http://www.theurbanexplorer.co.uk/ If Urban Rambles are much too tame for you, then give this site a go; exploring […]
Glasgow
Weegie Wonderland: a flourishing city Author: Annabel Britton This walk delves right into the Glasgow story. Social and economic circumstance has shaped so much of this city, it’s almost one of the most perfect canvases for an urban ramble one could wish for! BEST FOR ‘Green Spaces’ Parks, gardens, squares, cemeteries Glasgow Green, Necropolis, Botanic Gardens, […]
Aberdeen
Grey but great Author: Annabel Britton The vast majority of this walk is alongside water – the river, the beach and of course, the harbour. It is one of few British cities where our maritime history feels so contemporary: Britannia may no longer rule the waves, but Aberdeen keeps an oily grip over Forties. This […]
The different types of urban green spaces
In devising great routes for urban rambles, I have tried to maximise the amount of the route through green spaces, as these typically provide the greatest pleasure, walkability and interest. In this chapter I look at all the different type of urban green spaces and consider three things: Their origin Their development Their walkability today […]
A brief history of urban green spaces
The green and walkable city is back (after a couple of millennia) The Romans were the first civilization to recognise the benefits of rural features within a city; from the Campus Martius that was transformed into plush parkland by Augustus, incorporating lakes and space for recreation & leisure; to the ‘horti’ (urban villas within a […]
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