The Capital Ring is a 78-mile (125 km) walking route encircling inner London that links the astonishing number of islands of green space - parks, woodlands, abandoned railway lines, towpaths and nature reserves - which still survive in the very heart of the city.

The Ring takes in many of London's leading attractions - for example, the Thames Barrier, Eltham Palace and Richmond Park - as well as overlooked gems such as Oxleas Meadows, the Parkland Walk and Abbey Mills Pumping Station, and gives a close-up view of the ever-changing Olympic Park.

This guide divides the route into 15 sections, each starting and finishing at a public transport point, and is packed with a vast amount of information.

Colin Saunders is a member of the London Walking Forum, which first conceived two London orbital walking routes, and is the author of Aurum's guide on The Capital Ring, as well as of the new guide to The North Downs Way. He lives in North London.