Article: London: the step-by-step guide Michael Leapman walks through Highgate, and suggests some alternative Christmas constitutionals A good Christmas walk helps the digestive juices and gets you away from the television. If you don't happen to live near Highgate, these four routes i n other areas were published in the summer but make good winter walking as well . The Wimbledon, N orth Downs and Epping walks could be muddy, so take suitable footwear. Also tak e bread for the ducks (except on the North Downs walk, where there are none) - surplus plum pudding is too rich for them. Distance: Three and a half miles Time: Under two hours Underground: Archway (Northern Line) Buses: 4, 143, 210, 271, C11, C12, W5 Parking: On Highgate Hill, north of the cat statue

For the panto season, here is a walk that starts and ends near a statue of Dick Whittington's cat and, as a bonus, takes in a magnificent panorama of London.

From Archway Tube, walk north up Highgate Hill. After about 200 yards, on your left, the cat sits patiently on a stone, protected by a black iron grille. This is supposed to be the spot where Whittington, on his way north after failing to make good in London, sat on a milestone with his cat and, inspired by the sound of Bow Bells, decided to make a last stab at success. His perseverance paid off and he was Lord Mayor of London three times between 1397 and 1420. The replica stone was put here in 1821 andthe cat added in 1964.

Uphill, ...

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