Places Less Visited: The Line, London’s Hidden Art Walk

Places Less Visited: London’s first public art walk, following the Greenwich Meridian along East London’s waterways, and free to explore.

Discovering The Line

I was amazed and pleased to discover The Line, London’s first dedicated public art walk. It connects three boroughs, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Greenwich, and follows the line of the Greenwich Meridian between the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and The O2.

Along the way, sculptures and installations by leading artists sit beside canals, creeks and the Thames, mixed in with old industrial buildings, wildlife and new neighbourhoods. Works come and go, so the walk keeps changing, and it costs nothing to explore.

Walking the Route

The route is three miles as the crow flies, however most of the walk is along winding waterways, so it takes around three hours to complete the entire route. You can walk The Line in one go or visit different sections on different days. One of the joys of The Line is that it’s constantly changing: different seasons, times of day and tides mean it’s always worth a return visit.

The route also involves crossing the River Thames by cable car, today called the IFS Cloud Cable Car, for views back over the city.

• Start: Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford.
• Finish: The O2 at North Greenwich, where Antony Gormley’s Quantum Cloud rises beside the river.
• Time: Around three hours, or split it over two visits.