58km Docks and Palaces
The view over Greenwich Hospital and London
London’s grand corridor
Ride Overview
Beside the Thames; from Chiswick to Greenwich and back
A ride along the grand corridor of power and trade, where at every turn there are stories of might, great wealth and of course the constant re-invention of the city. The route is spectacular and you are spoilt for choice in terms of stops - both cultural and gastronomic, so much so that the route could take a lifetime to complete. A large part of the route uses the city’s extensive network of segregated cycle lanes.
Revised January 2023
Ride Practicalities
The ride of course, can be done in two separate halves, using Royal Greenwich as the mid-point. The Uber Thames Clipper would transport you and your bike from the centre of London to and from Greenwich.
Be aware that the C4 through Bermondsey is not yet finished and there are 2km (1mile) of road cycling without a cycle lane and which can be quite busy.
START/FINISH: Chiswick DISTANCE: 58km. TOTAL ASCENT: 321m TERRAIN AND SURFACES: Segregated cycle-ways and quiet back roads. FOOD AND DRINK: Chiswick; Chiswick House Cafe, and The George and Devonshire. Limehouse; The Yurt. Greenwich; The Trafalgar Tavern, Pavillion Café in the Park MAINLINE TRAIN SERVICES: Chiswick and Greenwich and others along the route. Both DLR and Uber Thames Clipper operate from Greenwich LINKS TO OTHER RIDES: Greenwich to Hampton Court , Hyde Park to Purfleet, Blackfriars to Erith
Ride Notes
The ‘earthly paradise’ of Chiswick House and gardens was designed by the Third Earl of Burlington as the kind of house and garden that might have been found in the suburbs of ancient Rome. It became not only one of the great glories of England but it has also inspired a whole movement in worldwide landscape design including that of Central Park in New York. It is a beautiful place to while away a bit of time as you wait for your cycling companions.
Everything about the next few hundred metres is more reminiscent of a southern English village than a suburb in a great world city; the great house and grounds, the George and Devonshire pub, the small streets of weatherboard cottages, a quintessential English church with its ragstone tower, followed by Chiswick Mall, one of the most exquisite riverside frontages in the whole of England.
After the delights of Chiswick, the route weaves through Brackenbury village, Shepherd’s Bush and into Notting Hill. Between 1834-47, Notting Hill was known for its Hippodrome, which was built to rival the racecourses of Ascot and Epsom. A grandstand with excellent views of the whole circuit, was built on top of the hill, near to where St. John’s Church stands today. However the bottom of the course was often waterlogged and the course was not a success, so the landowner, James Ladbroke, decided instead to build a suburb for the wealthy elite. The riding through the quiet streets of tall stuccoed houses which exude wealth and status, is a superb experience.
Continuing on through Bayswater with its eclectic mix of mansions and cheapish tourist hostels, you ride through the grandest of all Royal Parks to Kensington Palace. The asthmatic William III was the first Royal occupant having chosen it for its position away from the smog and dirty air of the city. Unfortunately for him, he also died there from having caught a chill whilst sitting beside an open window. The Palace continues to serve as a home to close family members of the monarch.
The route continues through the Royal Parks along the ‘Routes du Roi’, a road which linked the palaces of Kensington and St. James’s. As you can imagine, it’s a fabulous processional route lined by stately London Plane trees. It was the first London street to be lit - with 300 lanterns in part it was claimed, to deter highwayman. The English did not care for the French name of the road and the name was ‘Anglicised’ to ‘Rotten Row’, a name it still retains to this day.
The next two kilometres pass the great architectural set pieces of London; Buckingham Palace, The Mall, Horseguards and Parliament Square, where if you time it correctly Big Ben will chime the Westminster Quarters, a four note tune on which Handel based one of his best known pieces - ‘I know that my redeemer liveth’.
Following C3, the main east-west cycle route through London, you ride beside the Thames on the Victoria Embankment, the capital’s first electrically lit street. The cycle path along the Embankment is joyous; the views are extensive and constantly changing and of course, you are completely segregated from traffic. As you pedal, you pass the oldest standing structure in London, the 3,500 year old Egyptian obelisk known as Cleopatra’s Needle . Underneath it is buried a Victorian time capsule, containing among other things, newspapers of the day, railway timetables and pictures of the twelve prettiest women in England.
The next few kilometres along C3, take you through the City of London, past the Tower and into a very different London, where the streets are narrower and there are fewer trees and parks. As you ride along the segregated cycle lane of Cable Street, you’ll notice the huge mural which commemorates the defeat of British fascism by a crowd of ordinary men and women who refused to allow a fascist march pass through to its intended destination in the heart of Jewish London.
The route continues through the East End and skirts the London Dockland, and arrives at the Royal Docks for the highlight of the ride. The idea of a car-free crossing of the Thames originated in the 1990s and was completed in time for the 2012 Olympic Games. The views from the gondola over London are unforgettable.
The Painted Hall, Greenwich
Landing in North Greenwich, the traffic-free ride continues beside the Thames to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Greenwich. There is a stiff ride up into the park where the reward is a stupendous view over London, after which there is a freewheel back to the river and Sir Christopher Wren’s Greenwich Hospital. If you have had enough riding for one day, there is an Uber Thames Clipper which will whisk you and your bike back to central London.
From Greenwich, the route follows the segregated cycleway C4 quickly through some of the scruffier parts of Deptford and onto Bermondsey, Borough and Southwark. Two hundred years ago, many of London’s dirtier industries were centred in this district, including leather, brewing and glass and it was reputed to be one of the ‘stinkiest’ and least pleasant parts of the city. Today, it is a smart part of town with the many striking Victorian hop and leather markets turned into expensive flats and offices. Look out too, for the fabulous views of the Shard.
In Lambeth, you join C5, another clearly signed and traffic-free route which takes you into Vauxhall’s Spring Gardens. There have been pleasure gardens here since 1661, and they reached their apogee in Victorian times when you could take balloon rides from the park. Today, the gardens are little more than a grass open space, but in their heyday they were extensive and full of entertainment. Tivoli, in Copenhagen is modelled upon them.
On arriving at Vauxhall you take another segregated path across the river and onto the Chelsea Embankment, passing the massive complex of Dolphin Square, which upon its completion in 1937 was the largest block of flats in Europe. There are 1,250 private apartments, many belonging to MPs contained within. Opposite the entrance, is Pimlico Gardens where there is a monument to William Huskisson, who is dressed in a fine Roman toga. The inscription declares him to be a statesman but it is not for this that he was known - he was the first person to be killed on British railways.
There are great views to the newly renovated Battersea Power Station and later of the Royal Hospital, Chelsea. The route continues with a couple of twists and turns, into Brompton Garden Cemetery, with its lime tree avenue, wildflowers and intriguing funeral monuments. Many of the great and good from the last two hundred years are buried here, including the suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst.
There are only five kilometres remaining, including two along a busy-ish Lillie road and then its back onto the Thames embankment at Hammersmith. You ride past boat clubs, fine houses and several riverside pubs before turning into Chiswick House. The George and Devonshire across the road, will happily assuage your thirst.
Every route on this website has been carefully researched as well as ridden. However situations on the ground can change quickly. If you know of changes to this route, or cafes, pubs and the like which you think other cyclists need to know about, feel free to share your thoughts below.
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