Our Story
Striding Cities began over a decade ago in the early morning streets of London. What started as a quest to find photography locations evolved into a passion for London and a mission to help others discover the city at its most authentic and beautiful.
For 10+ years, we've been creating, testing, and refining routes, always asking: how can we make exploration easier and more valuable for everyone who lives, works, or visits London?
Our Mission
Discover London One Stride at a Time
Our mission is to help you explore different areas of London—its history, sights, and hidden corners—without getting lost. That’s why we create short, interconnecting, visually appealing self-guided routes across London that are easy to use and start and end at underground stations.
We’ve found that running and striding with purpose is the most efficient way to truly know a city and believe this approach can transform how people connect with urban spaces everywhere.
We’ve focused on London as our first city—it’s our home, our passion, our first love—but it won’t be our last. We want to help people build lasting connections in cities worldwide. One stride at a time.
Our Layered Approach
Our approach helps you connect with London through your senses and the stories that shape the city. That’s why we’ve split our detailed guides into three layers to help you feel like you already know the route before you do it for real, and to reveal something new every time you return.
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Familiarisation Guide – High-speed videos and Google/Strava maps to help you complete the route confidently on your first attempt.
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Sightseeing Guide – Visual galleries, 360° virtual tours, history, and context for those who want to dive deeper once they know the route.
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Connoisseur’s Guide – Local recommendations and “add-on” routes for regular striders or the deeply curious who want to know the area intimately.
We want our routes to give you the flexibility and freedom to explore London on your terms. That’s why we’ve included visual tools (videos and 360° tours), navigation (Google and Strava maps), and these layers into each of our detailed guides so they continue to add value every time you return.
How We Design Routes
We believe city exploration should engage your mind, body, and all your senses, helping you explore, uncover, and achieve something meaningful with every step—whatever your schedule or pace. That’s why every city route we create combines:
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Visual immersion – High-speed videos show you the route before you go.
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Easy navigation – Google and Strava maps, plus 360° virtual tours.
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Rich discovery – Historic sights, things to do, places to eat and drink.
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Underground connections – Start and end at tube stations.
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Complete freedom – Self-guided design, explore when and how you want.
We recommend completing routes early in the morning, when London wakes, the light breaks over the skyline, and the city feels like it’s yours alone.
Our London Collection
The Launch Collection: Across London Visual Marathon
We’re launching Striding Cities with an Across London Visual Marathon collection that takes in most of London’s sights between the Thames Barrier in the east to Hyde Park in the west. This collection immerses you in London’s history and culture through our visual route format, showcases our concept, and inspires you to try the routes for yourself.
The collection comprises 16 short interconnecting routes, allowing you to choose where you want to explore and how long you want the route to be.
We’ll be launching at the National Running Show at the NEC between 31st January and 1st February 2026, on Stand F3.
Our Full London Collection
We’ve created over 30 additional London routes to be released during 2026/27 as themed collections:
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Central London Collections – Touring sightseeing areas, shopping districts, entertainment quarters, and dining hotspots.
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Themed Adventures – The Monopoly Marathon, West & South London routes, North–South connections, and London’s historical and cultural trails.
Our Expansion Roadmap
We believe this concept can thrive in other historical cities worldwide. But first, we’re focused on proving its value to London’s runners and striders. Once validated, the world of Striding Cities awaits.
London is our first city, our testing ground, our passion. But it won’t be our last.
Meet the Founder
Philip Carey
Striding Cities is the brainchild of Philip Carey, a Londoner with a camera, running shoes, and an insatiable curiosity. What began as a photography student’s search for compelling locations became a decade-long journey of route creation and refinement.
Now, Philip is bringing that passion to fellow explorers, creating a sustainable way to share not just routes, but a deeper connection to London itself.