Continuing our series on walking around the capital, in partnership with Walk London.
If you're looking for an alternative and inexpensive way to spend Mother's Day, a 'walk and talk' through London is hard to beat. Many areas around the edge of London are both green and pleasant, but you can also find picturesque walks close to the centre.
One stretch guaranteed to win you brownie points is the canal-side walk from Little Venice to Camden Lock, section 2 of the Jubilee Greenway. The two mile amble starts and ends in areas packed with food and drink options, passing through Maida Vale, Regent's Park and London Zoo along the way.
The starting point of Little Venice (closest Tube Warwick Avenue) has bags of charm, and plenty of fine places to eat. You might treat mum to a hearty meal at Gordon Ramsay's Warrington Pub and Dining Room, for example, or the excellent Bridge House, which describes itself as 'the pub equivalent of a big warm hug'.
Stomachs lined, you can now head eastwards along the canal, gazing longingly at the elegant properties on either side. You'll soon reach the Maida Vale tunnel, which requires a short street-level diversion. This is no bad thing. You'll pass a local landmark known as Crocker's Folly, which is surrounded in legends and ghost stories, before rejoining the canal at the Upside-Down house (so named because its bedrooms are downstairs).
A mile-long stretch then leads you around the northern edges of Regent's Park, where glorious mansions dominate the banks. As you approach London Zoo, look out for 'Blow-up Bridge', marked with a plaque. The crossing was destroyed in a barge explosion in 1874, and was partly reassembled from the same materials.
After passing the Zoo, you'll turn a bend and head into Camden Lock. Here you'll find all manner of cafes and food stalls to toast the end of your walk. If you need to return to Little Venice, seek out the canal boat tours at Camden Lock, which run regular trips back along the route you've just walked. Otherwise, Camden Town Tube station is a short walk away.
Little Venice to Camden Lock is just one section of the 37-mile Jubilee Greenway Walk, which connects many of the capital's royal and Olympic sites. Follow the entire route over on Walk London and Walk 4 Life.
