My argument for leaving your Oyster card at home

There came a point sometime in October where I looked at my TFL charges, sighed deeply, and thought, what if I just... walked?

And boy did I walk. I now average 17,000 steps a day and I know this city better than I ever expected to. I know hidden quiet spots around campus, I know the dogs I pass by, which breakfast shops the locals love and get to enjoy the sun while it’s out. So, here's everything I've noticed since I started moving through London on my own two feet, and my best argument for why I think you should too.

👀 You Start Actually Seeing Things

When you're on the bus or the Tube, you're in transit. You're between places. But when you walk, you're in a place.

I personally love the walking maps dotted around the city and the little quotes written on the pavement. I always take a moment to look at them, take a picture and keep them in my pocket for the rest of the day. None of this exists on the Northern line.

Walking turned London from a backdrop into something I'm actually living inside of.

🗺️ You Learn Your Area. Like, Actually Learn It.

Not just the Pret locations (though yes of course those too). I mean the stuff that stops you mid-step.

Like the Golden Hinde, a whole ship that has circumnavigated the world, just sitting quietly off Borough Market. The little silver dragons that mark the boundary of the City of London, claws out, holding a shield, standing guard at intersections like nobody told them the empire ended. The Temple Church, built by the Knights Templar in 1185, which I only discovered because I was walking with a friend and suddenly there it was.

🚶‍♀️It Is, Genuinely, Very Good for You

17,000 steps a day. That's just from getting places. No gym membership, no scheduled workout, no guilt. Just movement built naturally into the day.

I'm not going to lecture you about cardio. But I will say: I feel noticeably better. Clearer. Less stiff from sitting in the library for three hours. Walking to and from things is one of those habits that improves your life without requiring you to overhaul it. It also guarantees a good night’s sleep, and let’s be honest, we all need to be sleeping at a better time.

❤️‍🩹 You Find Things That Feel Like Yours

This is my favourite part. When you walk regularly, you start discovering spots that feel almost accidental. A tiny courtyard tucked between two buildings, a café you would never have Googled, a patch of green with the most perfect bench where you can just breathe for a moment. It’s how this city is slowly but surely becoming mine, my home.

It’s also how I met my first friend in the city

The Time Becomes Yours

A 30-minute walk is 30 minutes that can be whatever you need it to be.

Some days I call my mum or catch up with a friend I haven't spoken to in weeks. Some days, I put on a podcast episode I've been saving. 

I love watching the sunset on Waterloo while listening to Waterloo Sunset by the Kinks

Commuting by bus often means sitting next to someone's loudspeaker phone call or standing squashed in someone's armpit. Walking means the time is just yours, the space is yours, and you watch the city go by as you catch up.