Sport in the city

From fishing hidden waters and riding on Rotten Row to virtual clays and rifle shooting, sporting opportunities in London are more accessible than ever

- Janet Menzies

THERE IS a forest of more than eight million trees in the south-east of England, with a massive river, chalkstreams and many waterways and wetlands. There's riding, shooting and fishing, and a family of beavers living a three-minute walk from Greenford Underground station on the Central line. London, yes London, is a country paradise that unites sport and the city, so just like that you can shoot your rifle with a fund manager under London Bridge, get mounted in Hyde Park, catch a carp at Paddington and be carried away with clays at Canary Wharf.

London has dozens of sporting venues, even in the heart of the City or the West End.

If you have had a bad day at the office you should go and blast away a few virtual clays at Clays bar on Moorgate, rather than send that career-limiting flame mail to your boss. Heading home from the City via London Bridge station, few commuters realise rifles are being fired in a hidden vault beneath the footings of the bridge. Getting off a train at Paddington, it’s hard to imagine the leviathan carp that lurk in the depths of the Grand Union Canal a few yards away.