Refugee Tales 2025: Festival of Walking

Since 2015, Refugee Tales walkers have been embarking on small and large scale walks in solidarity with refugees, asylum seekers, migrants, and people who have been held in immigration detention. We have been met with kindness and hospitality every step of the way.

Working in collaboration with migrants and those who have experienced the UK asylum system - and taking Chaucer’s great poem of journeying as a model - established writers and people with lived experience of detention share their tales with local communities at evening events. We also enjoy live performances from renowned musicians, and our walkers are never too tired for dancing!

The tales we tell are published in five volumes by Comma Press. Some have been written collaboratively with authors such as Ali Smith, Nobel Prize winner Abdulrazak Gurnah, Kamila Shamsie, Patrick Gale, and Bernardine Evaristo. Others are first-hand accounts told directly by the people who experienced them.

In sharing these stories, Refugee Tales gathers and communicates experiences of migration, and we seek to show the reality of immigration detention. As we walk, we create a space in which the language of welcome is the prevailing discourse.

(Copyright for all images: UNHCR/Andrew Testa.)

Feedback from The Walk of 2024

"I will never forget these five days. They were the most beautiful days of my life after separating from my family".

“The community experience […] shows me that a different way is possible; one of total inclusivity and mutual respect. It enables me to bear witness to the wider worlds. That a more just and fairer way of being is possible and that small groups of ‘ordinary’ people can make a difference.”

"One of the greatest experiences at Refugee Tales is meeting with people; people just accept you for the way you are without asking questions."

“7 years [ago] I left my country, these 5 days it was like I was back home; I was very happy, I was happy because I didn’t have time to think about bad things. […] Thank you to Refugee Tales for these five days. They help me and one day I help also. You help me and I return that.”

From Wednesday 9th - Sunday 13th July, Refugee Tales is walking from Southwark to Wimbledon.

Every day, we will walk between 8 and 11 miles, and our route takes us from Southwark, crossing the Thames to Hackney, north towards Muswell Hill, west on to Kenton on to Brentford and finishing in Wimbledon. Our evening events will take place in Hackney, Muswell Hill, Kenton, Brentford, and Wimbledon.

At our lunchtime stops, we will pause to eat, rest, hear talks, and reflect on this year's theme, summarised here by David Herd, Co-Editor of Refugee Tales :

2025 sees the 10th Anniversary of Refugee Tales. To mark this moment the project will stage The Refugee Tales Festival of Walking – still calling for a future without detention, still calling, as an urgent first step, for an end to indefinite detention.

We are not yet able to celebrate a change of law. 10 years since we first issued our call for change, the UK is still the only country in Western Europe that detains people indefinitely under immigration rules. It is still a scandal. The need for a change of law is more pressing than ever.

But if the policy change we walk for hasn’t yet occurred, so much has been achieved through the project’s walking. Week by week, the Refugee Tales Self-Advocacy group takes the call for change directly to politicians. Year by year, the project’s network of solidarity has extended and is now international in scope. The stories, shared in the first person and in collaboration with writers, and first heard in the context of the walking community, have travelled the world, establishing Refugee Tales as a space in which better imagining can happen.

This year, as we circle London, starting in Southwark and following the Capital Ring, we will celebrate the continued commitment of Refugee Tales. We will salute those who have so bravely shared their stories in calling for change. We will welcome back writers, musicians, film-makers and hosts who have demonstrated solidarity. We will hold a series of panels which will state loudly and clearly why we must have a future without detention, why, as matter of urgency, indefinite detention must end.

Refugee Tales, as we have repeatedly said, is A Walk in Solidarity with Refugees, people seeking asylum and people who have experienced immigration detention. In this 10th Anniversary year, we mark the fact that the project continues to walk. We renew our call on the UK government to recognise its commitments under human rights. We celebrate the project’s commitment to a politics of welcome.

Thank you for joining the Refugee Tales Festival of Walking.

There will be public evening events on Wednesday - Sunday, and a private event held on Tuesday 8th July at Parliament. Each of the evening events are hosted in the manner of the Canterbury Tales. Our hosts will bring us together as we listen to readings from Refugee Tales, enjoy performances from musicians, and enact the hospitality and welcome we walk for.

• Full Walker 5-Day ticket: which covers 5 guided walks, overnight accommodation, breakfasts, lunches, evening meals, and all evening events. Please note that walkers who wish to stay with us overnight must be 18+. To walk without a guardian, people must be 18+ or 16+ with written consent from a guardian.

• Day Walk tickets - which covers a guided walk, an evening meal and entry to the evening event. You are welcome to book multiple Day Walk tickets if you wish to organise your own accomodation.

• Walk Ambassador Tickets: In our 10th anniversary year we offer 10 Ambassador Tickets at half price for anyone who sets up a Just Giving page to fundraise for Gatwick Detainees Welfare Group. To access these tickets, please contact [email protected]

Our lunches and evening meals will be prepared by professional caterers.

The Walk ( 8 miles)

Registration: 9 am outside the George Inn (75 Borough High St, Southwark, SE1 1NH).

N.B. Day Walkers, please remember to bring a packed lunch.

The route:

Our starting point is The George Inn, Southwark, the only surviving galleried coaching inn in London. Borough High Street once had a great number of inns, one of which featured as the setting off point of the Canterbury Tales.

From The George we cross the River Thames on London Bridge with outstanding views in both directions, notably of Tower Bridge. On the north side of the river, we walk round the church of St Magnus the Martyr which stood at the north end of Old London Bridge from 1209 until 1831. We turn east along the riverbank and pass Old Billingsgate Fish Market and the Custom House before reaching the Tower of London. We skirt the Tower to the north and continue east across the north end of Tower Bridge into St Katharine Dock, one of the commercial docks that made up the Port of London. Designed by Thomas Telford these docks opened in 1828. We pass the Dickens Inn, an early 18th century warehouse building, and Hermitage Basin, a remnant of the London Docks. We follow a disused canal to Tobacco Dock and Wapping Lane.

Turning north and crossing The Highway we enter St Georges Gardens, adjacent to St George in the East church. Lunch with a panel discussion is at this Hawksmoor church, built in the early 18th century. Badly bombed in WWII (when the docks were targeted) the inside is now modern. There will be an opportunity to see the nearby mural commemorating The Battle of Cable Street. After lunch, we cross The Highway again and rejoin the old canal to reach Shadwell Basin and then the River Thames. After approx. 1.5km/1 mile we reach Limehouse Basin and leave the river. Turning north we follow the Regent’s Canal and Mile End Park to Victoria Park. Victoria Park, opened in 1845. It is a wonderful open space (and has loos and a café). Our destination, the Hackney Picturehouse, is just north of Victoria Park.

The Evening Event: 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

Venue: Hackney Picturehouse

Evening Event programme: A Refugee Tales evening of film. We will notify you once the programme is released. Your walk tickets include entrance to the evening events but if your friends and family would like to join you, there will be a separate Eventbrite page for them to book their place.

The Walk (11 miles)

Registration: 9 am Frampton Park Baptist Church

N.B. Day Walkers, please remember to bring a packed lunch.

The route:

A day of surprises. Although our walk takes us through a very busy part of north London, we shall discover marshland, parks and riverside walks.

We leave Hackney and walk along Homerton High Street to join the River Lee Navigation, which becomes the River Lea. This part of the River Lea has been an important trading and communication route since prehistoric times. You will notice many colourful house boats and ducks. We pass the Middlesex Filter Beds Nature Reserve and soon after cross the bridge and follow the River Lea on the left bank. We cross the river at the Wilton Point Footbridge and are then on the Walthamstow Marshes. These are a precious urban refuge for over 400 plant and animal species. At the Springfield Marina, we cross the river and enter Springfield Park. We exit the park into Stamford Hill and walk down to Stoke Newington Abney Park Cemetery. Many dissenters were buried here, including that of the founder of the Salvation Army, William Booth. We will make a brief stop here. We then walk down Stoke Newington Church Street to St Mary’s Church with its magnificent spire (designed by to look like Salisbury Cathedral!). We walk across Clissold Park, past its ponds and then out onto a busy road until we reach The Castle, a disguised pumping station, now an activities centre. We then join the New River and walk alongside West Reservoir (full of bird life), before leaving and walking along some roads until we reach another green space, Finsbury Park. We cross the railway before joining The Parkland Walk, almost two miles of nature reserve. It was formally a railway line but is now a much-loved oasis in this busy part of London. We leave the Walk just before Highgate Station and cross Queen’s Wood on our way to Muswell Methodist Church.

The Evening Event: 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

Venue: Muswell Hill Methodist Church, (28 Page's Lane, London, N10 1PP).

Evening Event lineup: We will notify you once this is released. Your walk tickets include entrance to the evening events but if your friends and family would like to join you, there will be a separate Eventbrite page for them to book their place.

The Walk (13 miles)

Registration: 9 am Muswell Hill Methodist Church

N.B. Day Walkers, please remember to bring a packed lunch.

The route:

A day of contrasts – from a model garden suburb to large open spaces rich with wildlife.

We leave Muswell Hill and walk west towards East Finchley, crossing Cherry Tree Wood. We continue west past the iconic East Finchley underground station (enjoy the classic 1930’s architecture and the sculptures of the archers). We then walk into Hampstead Garden Suburb, which was started in the early 1900’s as a model housing estate for all. We will go past some of the original houses and through the centre of the ‘village’. We then follow woods and playing fields as we head towards the River Brent. We cross the River at Silk Screen and then walk beside the river with its allotments to Old St Andrew Church, a Romanian Orthodox church dating back to the Saxon period. We continue walking west to Brent Reservoir. This is a good place to see birdlife – bring your binoculars! Our next green space is Fryent Country Park, with its meadows, woods, hedgerows and ponds including records of 80 species of birds, 21 butterflies and 500 wildflowers. From the highest point you can get amazing views back to the City of London. We then walk up towards Preston Park and across Northwick Park towards our destination, St Mary the Virgin Church, Kenton.

The Evening Event: 7:00 pm - 8.30 pm

Venue: St Mary The Virgin, Kenton (tbc)

Evening Event lineup: We will notify you once this is released. Your walk tickets include entrance to the evening events but if your friends and family would like to join you, there will be a separate Eventbrite page for them to book their place.

The Walk (12 miles)

Registration: 9 am to be confirmed.

N.B. Day Walkers, please remember to bring a packed lunch.

The route:

A day with precious remnants of ancient woodland and a gentle walk along the River Brent.

We leave Kenton and walk up towards Harrow on the Hill, the highest point of the walk. This is the furthest point from Central London and the walk weaves between the red brick buildings of the famous public school where Winston Churchill, Byron and Trollope were educated. The road the then curves downhill and we cross playing fields before entering North Greenford. There are woods alongside the route here. We are soon in the Horsenden Hill Green Space, another natural area bordering the Grand Union Canal. This is a remnant of ancient woodland and a conservation area. We cross Western Avenue before turning into Pear Tree Park. At the end of this park, we find the River Brent. We go past Hanwell Zoo and the Church of St Mark. There is a spectacular viaduct that crosses over the path (a testament to Victorian engineering). We then continue beside the River Brent, past Osterley Island and across the M4, where we will see the beginning of the Grand Union Canal. We follow the River Brent until we reach Brentford and the School for Girls.

The Evening Event: 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

Venue: Brentford School for Girls (5 Boston Manor Road, Brentford, TW8 0PG).

Evening Event lineup: We will notify you once this is released. Your walk tickets include entrance to the evening events but if your friends and family would like to join you, there will be a separate Eventbrite page for them to book.

The Walk (9 miles)

Registration: 9am to be confimed.

N.B. Day Walkers, please remember to bring a packed lunch.

The route:

We walk a beautiful stretch of the River Thames and cross Richmond Park and Wimbledon Common.

The walk will leave Brentford Station and join the River Brent, walking south along a very peaceful stretch until we reach Tallow Road/Brentford Lock. We then head west for a short while before picking up the path south to Syon Park. We follow the path across the park, passing the grand 16th century home of the Duke of Northumberland, Syon House. (toilets are available for walkers here). This path through parkland takes us to Isleworth and the River Thames. You will notice one of the famous islands in the river, Isleworth Ait. This is a bird sanctuary. We pass the famous riverside pub, The London Apprentice, and follow the Thames Path North Bank to Richmond Lock Footbridge. This is where we cross the river and head south along the river path to Richmond. We walk under Twickenham Bridge and Richmond Bridge, until we reach Buccleuch Gardens where we leave the river. We cross Petersham Meadows and enter Richmond Park by Petersham Gate. Just a short way into the park we can divert to a famous landmark (visited on a previous Refugee Tales walk) King Henry’s Mound. It is possible to see St Paul’s on a clear day. The mound covers a Bronze Age burial chamber. Richmond Park should provide sight of the red and fallow deer that roam the park and waterfowl on the Pen Ponds. This walk across the park will take us eventually to Robin Hood Gate. Once across the road and past the playing fields we are soon on Wimbledon Common. We cross the common and head into Wimbledon and the Merton Art Space, which is our final destination.

Venue: Merton Art Space, 35 Wimbledon Hill Road, Wimbledon, SW19 7QD.

This will include a live music performance and other surprises! More details to be announced.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

George Inn, 75 Borough High St,, London, United Kingdom