Just for fun - circumnavigating London

[Kilopylae]

What is the best route that we can come up with for circumnavigating London? By that, I mean travelling in a complete loop around the capital without actually entering London. How exactly 'best' is defined I will leave to be determined, but some obvious points would be faster routes, cheaper routes, and routes that are cleaner circumnavigations (i.e. avoiding doglegs far away from or incursions into London).

To start things off, here is a totally unoptimised starting route:

Reading > Ascot (SWR; Windsor lines)
Ascot > Ash Vale (SWR)
Walking interchange from Ash Vale to North Camp
Reading > Redhill (GWR; North Downs line)
Redhill > Tonbridge (Southern; Redhill–Tonbridge line)
Tonbridge > Maidstone West (Southeastern; Medway Valley line)
Maidstone West > Gravesend (HS1)
Walking interchange from Gravesend railway station to Gravesend Town Pier pier
Gravesend Town Pier > Tilbury Riverside (Gravesend–Tilbury Ferry)
Walking interchange from Tilbury Riverside pier to Tilbury Town railway station
Tilbury Town > Southend Central (c2c; Essex Thameside line)
Walking interchange from Southend Central to Southend Victoria
Southend Victoria > Shenfield (Greater Anglia; Shenfield–Southend line)
Shenfield > Ipswich (Greater Anglia; East Anglia Main Line)
Ipswich > Peterborough (Greater Anglia; Ipswich–Ely line)
Peterborough > Nuneaton (CrossCountry; Birmingham–Peterborough line)
Nuneaton > Coventry (WMR; Coventry–Nuneaton line)
Coventry > Reading (CrossCountry)

How can we improve on that? By attaching specific times, could we make this into a "Tube Challenge" sort of thing? Etc., etc.

 

[MikeWh]

How do you define London? London boroughs? M25? North/South Circular?

 

[fishquinn]

Join the M25 in a car at any junction and then leave at the same junction after completing a full loop

 

[Kilopylae]

Join the M25 in a car at any junction and then leave at the same junction after completing a full loop

Otherwise known as sitting still and waiting for the Earth to rotate! Though I imagine things are eerily quiet at the moment.

 

[telstarbox]

I think North Ockendon would let you down there

 

[jfisher21]

In a few years time you might be able to do Ipswich,Cambridge,Oxford,Reading to cut off a few miles. Not yet though!

 

[Roast Veg]

Let's talk about orbitals! I've often planned trips like this. My own set of rules are as follows:

1) The LU circle line is the innermost orbital, and the reference point for all others
2) Services must be advertised National Rail, London Underground, Light Rail, Preserved Railway, Ferry, Furnicular, Cable Car, advertised bus in the Working Timetable, or a walk of no longer than 30 minutes between points that do not have any advertised fares. Any walk must be immediately followed by travel using another mode of transport
3) An outer orbital may not share a station calling point with any inner orbital, nor must the running line of any outer orbital cross the running line of any inner orbital, unless the outer orbital has no calling points within the inner orbital en route
4) Changes may be made with no less time than a valid routing connection (4 minutes, or 10 minutes at larger stations)
5) If an orbital exists that uses fewer total services then it supercedes one that encircles a smaller area, even if it shares stations (or crosses lines) with the one it supercedes, as long as it does not share stations or cross lines with any other orbital
6) Since this trip is indeterminately in the future, any railway lines currently under construction may be used. This includes HS2, EWR, Crossrail, and Northern Line extension to Battersea right now. Only predicted service patterns may be used,

Phew, lots of rules. Anyway, here's my solution:
1) LU circle line Edgware to Edgware
2) LO Clapham Junction to Highbury and Islington and return via WLL/NLL/ELL/SLL
3) Kentish Town -> Archway -> Upper Holloway -> Leytonstone High Road -> Leytonstone -> Stratford -> Lewisham -> Elmers End -> Wimbledon -> Guildford -> Oxford -> Bedford -> Kentish Town
4) Gravesend -> Strood -> Tonbridge -> Redhill -> Brighton -> Portsmouth Southsea -> Bristol Temple Meads -> Birmingham New Street -> Ely -> Ipswich -> Colchester -> Romford -> Upminster -> Tilbury -> Tilbury Riverside -> Gravesend Piers -> Gravesend
(Hull -> Rotterdam -> Paris -> Cherbourg -> Rosslare -> Dublin -> Holyhead -> Chester -> Leeds -> Hull would be next, if it weren't international...)

Orbitals 3 and 4 aren't particularly "natural" when looked at on a map though. I'd posit that the most organic outer circumnavigations are:

• "Braintree to Stansted via Shenfield, Romford, Upminster, Tilbury, Gravesend, Strood, Tonbridge, Redhill, Reading, Oxford, and Cambridge"
• "Broadstairs to Lowestoft, via Canterbury West, Eastbourne, Portsmouth, Bristol, Birmingham, Ely, and Norwich"

But there's some rather unfortunate geography in the way!

 

[Kilopylae]

Yes, the need for a via Leicester (or in your case Bristol) dogleg for my circumnavigation or your Orbital 4 is rather annoying, not to mention bringing the cost up pretty close to £100.00 even with a railcard and split ticketing

 

[Kilopylae]

And I've just noticed: you've gone clockwise!