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Walking the Tube: a step by step guide
Mark Blunden and Anna Davis22 Jan 2009
HEALTH campaigners today urged commuters to walk between Underground stations instead of using them.
Ministers and doctors trying to combat obesity are backing the drive.
A new map has been released detailing the number of steps that an adult walking at medium pace would take to travel between each central London station.
It shows, for example, how alighting at St Paul's and walking 947 steps to Bank would burn almost 30 calories - equivalent of a double vodka.
The shortest walk is between Cannon Street and Monument, which takes 99 steps, while the longest is King's Cross to Farringdon, which takes 2,438 steps. People in search of a real workout could attempt the entire Circle line at 31,536 steps.
The map, compiled by insurance firm PruHealth, was calculated by volunteers using pedometers. Chief executive Shaun Matisonn said: "Taking 10,000 steps a day can help protect you against a wide range of diseases including strokes, diabetes and some types of cancer."
KEY: Numbers show how many steps were taken by PruHealth volunteers to walk between each Tube station. Walking 1,000 steps at a medium pace burned off about 30 calories. Walking 1,000 steps at a medium pace took about 7.5 minutes (CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE)
Judy O'Sullivan, a cardiac nurse for the British Heart Foundation, said: "If you work near Covent Garden and catch the Piccadilly line then get off at Green Park and walk briskly for 15 minutes each way then that's half your daily physical activity requirement."
Walking up escalators is also important and Ms O'Sullivan said the health benefits of walking outweighed the risks of air pollution. Researchers calculated it took about 4.5 seconds to walk 10 steps at a rate of four miles per hour, while 1,000 steps took 7.5 minutes. At this rate, walkers burned about three calories per 100 steps, or one calorie every 15 seconds.
This would see travellers use nearly 100 calories by walking from Green Park to Covent Garden and back again, a journey which would take about 25 minutes. A Department of Health spokesman said: "In London we tend to rely on Tubes and buses to get around these days when we could be using our feet.
"Think about walking. If the journey is too far, you could always stop [your Tube or bus trip] a bit earlier, and walk the rest of the journey."
Government figures show more than 21 per cent of London's 10- to 11-year-olds are obese, three per cent more than the national average. Almost 10 per cent of the adult population are obese in parts of the capital, including Barking and Dagenham and Bexley.
In Enfield, Newham and Greenwich, eight per cent of adults are so overweight that their health is in danger.
And here are the calories we burned off
Marble Arch to Chancery Lane (Central Line)
Quickest walk taking in all stations: 4,927 steps
Burns: up to 147 calories
Equivalent to: one doughnut.
Route: From Marble Arch walk straight along Oxford Street, past Oxford Circus and Tottenham Court Road Tube stations, down New Oxford Street taking in Holborn Tube and then walk along High Holborn.
Monument to King's Cross (Circle Line)
Quickest walk: 7,888 steps
Burns: up to 236 calories
Equivalent to: one chicken tikka masala.
Route: From Monument walk along Eastcheap and Byward Street to Tower Hill, up Minories to Aldgate, along Houndsditch and Bishopsgate to Liverpool Street station, cut through Finsbury Circus to Moorgate. Walk through the Barbican estate to Barbican Tube, down Charterhouse Street for Farringdon, then Farringdon Road, King's Cross Road, Acton Street and Gray's Inn Road to King's Cross station.
South Kensington to Bayswater (Circle Line)
Quickest walk: 5,833 steps
Burns up to: 174 calories
Equivalent to: one Cadbury's Creme Egg.
Route: from South Kensington tube walk along Thurloe Street and Stanhope Gardens to Gloucester Road, then along Cromwell Road and Marloes Road to High Street Kensington station, along Kensington High Street, up Kensington Church Street, then Bayswater Road and Queensway to Bayswater.
Reader views (19)
Love this maps! 
- livetube, http://livtube.com, 04/02/2009 13:13
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Where can you get a print copy of this? I get the bus from London Bridge to Holborn and back every day and it takes me between 25 - to 55 minutes depending on traffic, never under half an hour.
How far should I walk to burn off laksa noodle soup? If I am going to walk, I may as well replenish.
Do you think London Transport would pay us? They should! They're the one advertising "London - You're better off on foot". Well, we all know that don't we.
- Karen, London, 23/01/2009 17:04
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Some very dubious calorie claims here.
"30 calories - equivalent of a double vodka". Erm, a single shot of vodka is about 55 calories. So you're out by a factor of 4 (almost).
And as for thinking that a chicken tikka masala contains 236 calories, you have to be out of your mind, surely? Just Google that one, and you'll see that most instances of this dish would come out as significantly more than 1000 calories.
Aside from that dodgy calorie counting though, it's true that it is a very good idea to walk instead of taking the tube. Walking has long been the 'smart' way of getting around London.
- Dave, London, UK, 23/01/2009 10:59
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Please publish a link to the map or where it can be purchased.
- Euan Mcmaster, Beckenham, Kent, 22/01/2009 23:17
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The walk between Blackfriars and Temple is a lovely one along the Thames -beats the tube journey any day.
- Shirley, London, 22/01/2009 21:42
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I always walk between Embankment and Waterloo rather than change trains, which can be a hassle with crowded trains and long winding passages between platforms. Its a great walk with fabulous views - highly recommended.
- Trevor, London (where else?), 22/01/2009 17:57
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its a pity there is not a weblink to the map. I have tried to google without success. I am interested in areas just outside the map in the article.
- Ian, London, UK, 22/01/2009 17:43
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During the summer it's lovely to walk between stations, espcially if you go down back streets or on Sundays if you don't mind 'getting lost' just to explore, you see what a marvel this city really is.
Yes when it's wet, dark or a dangerous neighbourhood it's not the best idea, but on a sunny day it's a very enjoyable free pleasure.
- S-M Hearmon, London, UK, 22/01/2009 16:06
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Surely if you walk between tube stations you risk getting run over by a train ...?
- Marke, Houston, Texas, 22/01/2009 15:00
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Pat is right the only thing they left out was the extreme temperature during hot weather.
- Mike Melbourne, Bedford England, 22/01/2009 14:29
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Nick from London is probably right, but I think the stupidity goes further. People shouldn't need to be told something as obvious as this. And why would anyone look at a tube map but not a street map when they are going somewhere new? Do people really need this much spoon feeding these days? No, silly question, of course they do!
- Sarah Bradshaw, Enfield, Middx, 22/01/2009 14:22
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Great idea. Where can I download a copy of the map?
- John, Blackheath, 22/01/2009 14:16
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Most people are too stupid to walk and talk. I walk from Bank to London Bridge and back daily and am always being rammed by people with their brains in the off position screeching into their mobiles. Walking using a mobile should be treated the same as riving while using one.
- Nick London, LONDON, 22/01/2009 13:14
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I think this is an excellent idea - if you know where you are walking. The major problem with congestion on the underground and not walking between stations is they do not know where to go or how close stations actually are! A map that shows the walking route between tube stations would be much more useful and possible more likely to encourage walking. People commuting to work are concerned about time - so by showing them the route and the approx time taken - this is information they need. Only the health conscious will be concerned with steps (and this is not always a commuters main concern).
- Aideen, Uxbridge, England, 22/01/2009 12:19
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I did this today, and it's a great idea. I walked from Edgware Road to Baker Street. Not only did I escape a crowded tube, I got some exercise.
- Nobby Clark, Perth, Scotland, 22/01/2009 12:17
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This is a great idea. The tube map, while iconic, does distort distances, and I think a lot of people will be surprised at how quickly they can walk through parts of London that they might never have seen above ground before. And in central London you can also sightsee as you go!
- Freya, London, 22/01/2009 12:11
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Has the bright spark who thought of this actually looked out of the window recently? It is freezing, wet and dark. I spend long enough shuffling behind people when trying to get in or out of stations and changing lines, without this!
- Ruby, West London, 22/01/2009 12:00
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Not only is it healthier to walk between certain tube stops (according to PruHealth), it's also makes sense as it's much quicker in most cases for journeys of only one or two stops. By the time you've gone down the escalators or waited for the lift, walked through the walkways, waited for the train, then back through the walkways and up escalators / lift at the other end (and not taking into account any delays that might occur), you could have walked it in much less time.
- Pat, East Kent UK, 22/01/2009 11:40
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Isn't this a bit dangerous? What happens if there's a train coming and you are in the tunnel with nowhere to hide?
- Marc, Harrow, UK, 22/01/2009 10:37
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