Our Story
Striding Cities began over a decade ago on the early-morning streets of London — a photography student's search for compelling locations that grew into a genuine passion for the city, and a mission to help other people discover it at its most authentic and beautiful.
For more than ten years, we've been creating, testing and refining routes, always asking the same question: how do we make real exploration easier, and more rewarding, for the people who live in, work in, or visit 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
How a Route Works: Our Three-Layer Guide
Every route comes with a detailed guide split into three layers, so you can go as deep as you like — and find something new every time you come back:
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Familiarisation Guide — the route video, audio guide, and Google/Strava maps, so you already know the route in your head before you run it outdoors for the first time.
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Sightseeing Guide — photo galleries, 360° virtual tours and the history behind what you're passing, once you know the route and want to understand it.
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Connoisseur's Guide — local pubs, cafés and add-on routes, for when you want to slow down and properly get to know an area.
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Know the Route Before You Run It
The Familiarisation video is filmed from the runner's POV specifically so you can preview a route before you ever set foot on it. Most people watch it the evening before. Some prefer to run alongside it — treadmill included: play the video at your own pace, move to it, and you'll arrive at the real route already knowing every turn, junction and landmark.
Wherever in the world you are, it's also a way to experience a London route in full before you've booked the flight. But the goal is always the same: getting you outside, onto the real streets of London, striding through the real thing.
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 the Across London Visual Marathon — 16 short, interconnecting routes covering most of London's sights between the Royal Docks in the east and Hyde Park in the west. Together they form a 50km journey; individually, each one is a short, manageable route you can complete on its own.
Our Full London Collection
We've mapped over 15 further London routes, to be released as themed collections through 2026 and 2027:
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Central London Collections — sightseeing, shopping, entertainment, and dining.
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Around Central London Collection — Covering Battersea, Sloane Square, Knightsbridge, Hyde Park, Camden Town, Kings Cross, Holborn, Lambeth, and Vauxhall
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 work 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 project of route creation and refinement.
Today, Philip is bringing that passion to fellow explorers — building a way to share not just routes, but a deeper connection to London itself.