Going round in circles: a walking tour of London town.

I've lived in London for my entire life and as such you would have thought that i have been responsible for helping thousands of tourists to successfully venture around the city. From accompanying friends and making tours to pointing people in the right direction and lending a hand with our geographically inaccurate tube maps. However, as it turns out i don't know any of the names of buildings, get lost and wildly underestimate walkable routes. More than anything i've been responsible for sending people in the wrong direction. So with a foreign friend on the way i took the time to do a little research and find a great route to see the best of London town.

My route: London Eye, South Bank Centre, The Globe, Borough Market, Tower Bridge, The Tower of London, St Paul's Cathedral, Covent Garden, Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus, Regent Street, Oxford Circus, Bond Street, Hyde Park, St James Park, Big Ben and The Houses of Parliament.

Starting Point: The London Eye
Obviously a visual masterpiece, the Eye is a great place to start a walking tour on a high. Prices for a 'ride' are astronomical but the view from the river is excellent regardless of whether you go up or not, and from here a great walk down the river commences.

Walking along the river and down the South Bank Centre is one of my favourite things to do. Always dressed in bright colours the arts centre has an incredible marketing team who have created a strong, fun and friendly theme for the area that has transformed it from the skater park it was 10 years previous.

Continue walking along and you will get to one of my favourite places: The Globe. Standing tickets to any production, and there are many options if you're not a fan of Shakespeare, are just £5 and gorgeous if the rain stays away. Otherwise, the outside looks a treat and has excellent views of St Paul's over the river, and the Tate Modern and Bankside gallery next door.

There are several other attractions on the way to the next place: The Clink Prison Museum, The Golden Hinde Ship and Southwark Cathedral. But Borough Market is the best place to stop! Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays there's a massive food stall market, big English burgers, pans of paella, giant wheels of cheese and cakes galore. Anyone coming to London should make it their business to have lunch here; grab your favourite and sit down on the grass of Southwark Cathedral to give your legs a break from the route so far.

Still along the river the next stop is Tower Bridge, and walking along it to the Tower of London takes you back hundreds of years to a time of royal power and heritage. At this point the best idea is to get a big red bus along the North side of the river; not only an important experience in London but a physical necessity given the amount of walking so far! Depending on your religious stance a stop at St Paul's is a good stop on the journey aswell, however not personally my cup of tea as gargoyles sometimes shriek when i get too close.

You can get off the bus just before Charing Cross and head up Bedford Street to Covent Garden. An expensive place to grab food, Covent Garden is a really nice place to explore; there are artists clattered around sweet shops to meander around. Long Acre road (the road of the station) takes you to Leicester Square, Trafalgar Square and then Piccadilly Circus, both obvious places for tourists and easy to walk through.

The best and most iconic shopping can be done from here on. Regent Street leads to Oxford Circus, which connects Bond Street and famous Selfridges. Although you can get a bus if you're not up for more walking i wouldn't recommend it; the roads get massively congested and your bound to find shops you want to stick your nose in making the oyster fare null and void. Aligned to the left of Regent Street is a cluster of Italian restaurants that are great for dinner, and to the right is Carnaby Street, which has several little eateries with bistro food and bakeries.

At the end of Bond Street is Hyde Park, and at the end of that is Green Park with Buckingham Palace standing regal. Follow Spur Road down to the river and you've reached Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and back to the beginning again- a view of the Eye. 

You've gone round in a circle, seen the best that London has to offer and you will probably need a bath full of radox to heal your aching legs! However, since the route is circular you can choose which places to begin and end at, making this route incredibly due able. Plus, whenever you get too tired to carry on you can stop and return the following day. Either way, London can be ticked off your list and i can promise you that you won't get lost. Unlike when you stop me on the street i've checked my facts, road names and cultural sites and i am pointing you in the right direction.