I’ve mentioned in a few previous posts that I miss living in London, but one of the reasons I have never really spoken about is because I miss how active I was when I was there. I always felt more inclined to walk somewhere, or if I was feeling brave I’d cycle. I even ended up buying my own bike after months of using Boris Bikes, which was an absolute pain to move back to Telford…
Me and my boyfriend would often finish work in Central London at the same time so we’d pick somewhere to meet and hire a Barclays bike for the afternoon. Although at times it was scary with the amount of traffic on the roads – especially that time we went through and underpass and my back fell off the front of the bike – I loved cycling around some of my favourites parts of London.
In case you’re ever feeling brave enough, I thought I’d put together a cycle route around London that will take you past some of the best London attractions.
START
Tower Bridge/Tower of London
As the route is a (sort of) circle, you can pretty much start at any point and work your way around, however I have found that Tower Bridge is one of the best places to start and there are always plenty of bikes available if you’re hiring them.
As the map shows, head over Tower Bridge, which is much steeper than you’d imagine, and head towards London Bridge and the Shard.
London Bridge/The Shard
? 8 minutes
If you want to stop here and dock your bikes for a bit you can spend time exploring the beautiful Borough Market, or head towards Waterloo and the London Eye.
Waterloo/The London Eye
? 11 minutes
You’ll need to dock your bikes if you want to do anything more than cycle past the London eye as it’s a footpath leading up to it, however the best photos are from the next stop – Westminster.
Westminster/Big Ben and Westminster Abbey
? 10 minutes
Literally a few minutes cycle across Westminster Bridge and you’ll find yourself at the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey. There’s a place nearby to dock your cycles if you’re on a Santander cycle, so it’s a great opportunity to get out and have a quick walk around.
St James Park/Buckingham Palace
? 6 minutes
Just a couple of minutes away from Big Ben is St James Park, and with that comes Buckingham Palace. Cycling up the mall towards the palace is such a fun thing to do as it’s a straight route, although there is the option to cycle through the park if you don’t get lost!
Charing Cross/Trafalgar Square
? 8 minutes
Trafalgar square is easy to get to from Buckingham palace as it’s another straight route. There’s plenty of docking stations in this area if you want to break and sit by the fountains watching the world go by.
Piccadilly Circus/Leicester Square
? 6 minutes
A short cycle ride from Trafalgar Square you have Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square. If you want to walk around Leicester Square you’ll have to dock your bikes though, as it’s only through route is a public footpath.
Covent Garden/Strand
? 7 minutes
From Leicester Square Covent Garden is the obvious next choice as it’s one of my favourite places to visit in London. It’s a great place to take a break before cycling down to Strand and back over to Tower Bridge where the route ends!
If you get too distracted by the many bars in the main square you could always end your trip here too 😉
END
Tower Bridge
? 20 minutes
Reward your 9 mile cycle trip with a drink in a local, looking out over at The Tower of London, Tower Bridge and the Shard.
If you’re living in London and travel to work via bike, Leisure Lakes Bikes has teamed up with the Green Commute Initiative in order to make the change not only an easy one, but a lot less stressful on the purse strings. Click here to find out more about the partnership.
Writing this post has made me want to go back and spend the day cycling around London again…
Kirsty Leanne
xoxo
