I’m a big fan of hiking and have travelled all over the world, taking in some of the most beautiful walking trails imaginable.

But this summer, I wanted to set myself a challenge that would bring me much closer to home. I started walking, in May, along a route that would take me 78 miles around the edge of the London.

Officially, the well-signposted Capital Ring begins at Woolwich foot tunnel but in reality you can start anywhere and there are some excellent downloadable PDFs detailing each of the section available on the TFL website.

On average, I’ve think been walking about eight miles at a time, before finding a nearby train station to get back into central London. I then pick up the route at that point when I’m next ready to walk a section of the Capital Ring.

I published my first blog from the trail on my website Pastinthepresent.net yesterday, whereby I walked from Hackney Wick to Cyprus DLR. During that leg, I learned an awful lot about sewage.

I’ve still got some way to go on my Capital Ring trail, but already I’m appreciating London from a different perspective. Yes, it can be a busy place (I see the hustle and bustle every day given I work in Covent Garden), but there are some very quiet corners as well.

Over the next few weeks I’ll talk about the many wonderful parks that are linked up by the Capital Ring route. I’ve also passed by allotments, through woodland and nature reserves on my journey so far. Time after time, it really has felt like walking through rural Britain.

And as London is not a flat city you can take in some wonderful views if you grab a bench at one of the route’s high points. Often on the walk you can see the skyscrapers of Canary Wharf or the City, but they can appear so far into the distance that they could be on another planet.

We are all guilty of ignoring the interesting places on our doorstep. This is my attempt to discover the hidden corners of my city. It’s turning out to be an enjoyable ride.