When people think of the London Metropolitan Green Belt they see idyllic farms, ancient woodland and the low, if still steep, hills that surround the basin of the city. This is a picture that has been formulated after going to country parks on the weekend and from the image portrayed by the media.

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80 years after it was founded, I wanted to see if this was true. Utilising the London Loop and drawing on rolls of paper to create a story map, I wanted to experience how 'green' the Green Belt looks from the border of the city. Drawn over 12 days, camping out in woods and 242km (plus detours) of walking, the 97 vignettes below show my story along the way. From rolling hills and deep woodland to waste reclamation sites and golf courses, the Green Belt is not a monolith but a deeply scarred landscape that contains beauty and wilderness in between the lines of industry and motorways.