Natural England

Inner London

Inner London lies on the banks of the Thames where the river valley widens out into a broad floodplain. Alluvial gravels overlie the heavy London clay, and rise in gentle steps to form river terraces to the north and south. In places, sand and gravel glacial deposits form more noticeable low hills, as at Hampstead.

The gently terraced landform is almost completely obscured by the dense urban development. The central area of London comprises broad formal streets, lined by stone and brick buildings, with narrow streets in the commercial centre and planned layouts of streets and squares in the west end. Surrounding the centre are extensive housing areas, of lines of terrace houses, blocks of flats or estates of semi-detached dwellings, focussed around local shopping centres, offices and small manufacturing works.

For further details on this character area and for an introduction to the region, please see the PDF documents in the box at the top right hand side of this page.