🚲 An amazing new way to cycle from Greenwich to Westminster
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- Опубліковано 13 кві 2024
- You can cycle from Greenwich in south east London to Westminster in central London, entirely on quiet streets and protected cycle lanes. #londonlovescycling
The route is 9.8km long (6.1 miles) and makes use of Cycleway 4, Cycleway 14, and quiet backstreet routes around Waterloo, as well as Westminster Bridge.
If you find this video useful or you just enjoy watching it please remember to subscribe to the channel and hit the bell icon so you're alerted to new videos, as I try to post new ones like it every week.
And if you like what the channel is doing, you can also contribute to the London Cycle Routes Patreon below. It really helps keep the channel going:
/ londoncycleroutes
You can see a digital map of the route and download a GPS/GPX file to use on whatever device or app you want here:
www.komoot.com/tour/151243740...
And you can find a viewer-created and maintained map of all the London Cycle Routes videos here:
www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/vie...
I also highly recommend the Safe Cycle London map for route planning, which is compiled by @SafeCycleLDN on twitter:
www.google.com/mymaps/viewer?...
If only regional areas of the country had as much local political will power, support and money to spend to build such wonderful viable alternatives of transport as this.
Great video mate.
Thanks Jack and I totally agree, needs spreading around the country
Excellent work as always. TfL are looking at improvements to the signal timings at Lower Road outside Surrey Quays station, and yellow box enforcement, pretty much as you suggested.
The Tanner Street C14 link is absolutely crucial to connecting large swathes of Southeast London to Central London.
That’s great news about the Surrey Quays potential improvements, keep up the great work
The best it has ever been to go between Greenwich and Westminister.👍🏼
It really is!
CS4 is amazing. Such a game changer
It really is!
7:38 love that acknowledgment from the pedestrian waiting to cross ❤
textbook use of a bus stop bypass!
Another great video. part of Cycleway 4, which is connecting communities between central London and Greenwich on a safer and mostly protected cycle route in definite.
Game changing route!
Hi there, part of the problem with the side road issue is also to do with the fact that markings and signage are for 'Give Way' which means drivers proceed if the way is clear. The problem is, we're trained to give way to the right and so, are not used to giving way to cycle traffic on the left (its the reason why I prefer the Dutch cycle lane approach.) Its a habit we really should snap out of. The easiest way to remedy some of this problem is to use a stop sign 🛑 because by law you have to intentionally stop behind a solid white line before being allowed to proceed, regardless of traffic. This would make drivers stop to get time to fully look at the cycle traffic around, especially coming from the left on these types of cycleway.
That’s a good point about stop signs, not a bad idea to improve things!
nice looking spring day for sure
It was a nice crisp one!
@@Londoncycleroutes - perfect for a cycle
I was just thinking how inviting, relaxed and comfortable Lower Marsh looked, and you pointed it out!
Loving this overall route, but *really* loving the diversion for the latter 1/3. You've included some fascinating and virile centres of alternate lifestyle that makes London so remarkable.
I spent a good chunk of this sunny Saturday on Lower Marsh having lunch, it's a great spot!
Waterloo is my London terminus and I'm ashamed to say I've never walked down Lower Marsh in about twenty years of visiting London.
@@Talkathon408 welcome to your new favourite street haha
@@Talkathon408 Since emigrating to North Am as a child, and only being back in London on work sojourns, I too used Waterloo when commuting in from Alton before residing in Balham for my jobs on Denmark Street, and I too had no idea that such a gem existed so close to Waterloo.
It's ironic, but it seems for all the down-talk London gets (some of it perhaps justified) it seems to be in far better shape now than when I was last resident twelve years ago. This channel has done far more to tempt me back than any other source.
Great video and really helpful. Thanks for sharing
Thanks for watching!
Great videos, thanks so much for these. Would love to see Greenwich to Denmark Hill!
That may be possible I’ll see what I can do!
@@Londoncycleroutes awesome!
Great. Interesting as ever.
🙏 thank you
Tried CS4 a few weeks ago and it really is fantastic. Lovely day for it in your video!
It was gorgeous!
Great route thank you coming to London in a couple of weeks full on Brompton tourist mode 😂❤
Enjoy!
I did the whole length of CS4 last monday, its a game changer, a few things to be ironed out i waited ages at the lights in surrey queys whixh wasnt great it seemed to skip a cycle. Cant wait for it to fully join up and connect to Woolwich and oof maybe even Abbey Wood in the future.
The other evening, late on, the lights skipped a cycle the same way. I haven’t noticed it doing this at rush hour. I wonder if cyclist priority decreases outside peak times.
@@a1white I think I was there about 2pm so maybe it does skip outside of commuting hours, but it's dangerous to do that, a food delivery rider was waiting with me, he got fed up after a couple minutes, decided to go and nearly got taken out by a car coming from the right by the wetherspoons
yeah that would be ace - I reckon I can do a route to Woolwich with it as it is with a bit of clever routing, will do a video soon
@@a1white that's slightly worrying
If you want to cross at London Bridge and don't want to face the junction on the North side, you can carry your bike down a short staircase found on the left about 30m before the junction. It takes you directly onto CS3
Thanks useful! On the north side you can always use fish street hill to access the bridge southbound, and northbound they should be reopening Arthur street to cycles only within a few months (it was closed for works at Bank station) which will be a good option northbound on the bridge to CS3. Southern junction is still an issue and needs sorting though imo!
7:35 good guy giving way there. I see this too rarely so it’s good to see. bravo
cheers! I always try to stop for pedestrians
Thanks for that. When I did it a couple of weeks ago I cycled past London Bridge stattion which was horrendous for close passing taxis. This is much better.
Yeah they really need to sort out Tooley street considering C4 funnels cycles onto it!
Sounds like you're a Jago Hazzard fan!
His videos are great! And a nice guy in person too
Super helpful video. Cheers!
glad it was helpful! enjoy
Great video - very jealous of C4 - looks great to ride along and connecting up with places like Surrey Quays Station really helps to make it effective!
It’s a dream! Keep up the great work
As you commented regarding Westminister Bridge, I always use the bus lane when going southbound. That cycle path is far too dangerous with tourist, considering the council gave that a revamp a few years back. Heading down Victoria Embarkment is another hot spot, especially with the Thames tunnel works section. and tourist
Yes this is an increasingly popular choice!
You've done me a real favour by cycling this route and also in your previous video “London Bridge to Greenwich”! It's just a great pity it took so long to complete - must be more than 10 years. I'm now retired and cycle in different areas around Croydon.
Just a point of correction: in this video at 8:57 you mention cycling under the Southeastern railway lines. At that point, the viaduct actually carries the Southern, Southeastern and Thameslink lines, similarly in that aforementioned video.
It did take ages! And thank you that’s good knowledge about the viaduct
Great ride. I really think it's time that maybe the traffic lights at 11:45 should be removed now. They feel like overkill considering so much traffic has been reduced and removed from the area.
Yeah that’s not a bad shout, don’t think I’ve ever seen it busy enough to warrant
What a lovely route. I would be interested to see your take on the new C9 expansion in Brentford when it's complete. I live in the area and have been watching it slowly expand down the high street, the section through Watermans park is quite nice, and the junction at Kew bridge seems to be safe. l like to use that junction to get into Chiswick using the quiet roads that follow along the Thames on the north side. It's less direct but there's something nice about having the river alongside you the whole way, and some nice little parks by the river to take a break.
Yep I’ll definitely be heading over the Brentford and seeing how it all connects as soon as that phase opens!
Nice route. I have used similar. C14 is a very useful for connecting C4 to other routes (including also C6). I agree, the way C4 ends at the busy junction at the south of London Bridge is not that ideal
yeah C14 is to me almost like the western extension of C14. I never really bother with the bit of C4 on Tooley Street
Thanks
Thank you Stephen, very kind!
Another idea: Now the bridge at Dalston Kingsland has been replaced, I'm hoping there may be routes using it you can film, with a healthy critque of C1.
Yeah I intend to do something with C1, though I’m hoping for Hoxton east LTN and Mildmay LTN soon to make it good first
Distinct lack of Santander hire bike docking stations on the Eastern part of this route. I suppose to discourage cycling through the foot tunnels, although at weekday morning rush hour most folk in the Greenwich Foot Tunnel are on bikes.
If you look at a map of the stations there’s basically just a big gap around Greenwich etc - they were rolled out by borough and I don’t think it was included! Have done a similar route with a friend on a Boris bike and we walked through the tunnel and used the dock and island gardens and walked back to Greenwich
Fab route and good choices. One of the issues I often find is the confident usually male cyclist who is perhaps less aware of the needs of children when it comes to safe routes and I like that your routes are those I would have felt very happy cycling with my kids when they were younger. (They are both in their 20s now, so less of an issue).
I know you put an emphasis on time saving in each video which is good too, but might you also do something around how to safely use the Woolwich Ferry and Greenwich Foot Tunnel as connectors for routes in the east? And of course there is then my favourite Canary Wharf ferry with the walk throught the hotel lobby on the Rotherhithe side. Probably the slowest route, but great fun with the kids if the Thames is lumpy as the Rotherhithe pier moves around quite a lot!
Yeah that’s a good idea actually - I’ve been reticent to use the Greenwich foot tunnel and not considered the ferry but actually maybe it makes sense to do a video with them as a talking point snd being open about their flaws!
Totally agree about the mindset you talk about as well, I think the reaction to C4 has been overwhelmingly positive but one or two people I’ve heard from seen seem baffled by the idea and can’t get their head around why people might want to ride on such a thing
@@Londoncycleroutes I think using the videos to point out weak points in the designs as ridden is very good and ought to be taken seriously by TfL and the London borough councils. I'm sure the lifts for the tunnel will be such a point.
I've been on bits of C4 and its really good. Having had my youngest knocked off her bike at a roundabout, I know only to well how dangerous roads with no cycle paths can be (she was ok fortunately). Sadly out here in Hertfordshire we have (except in Stevenage) poorly connecting urban routes and very few inter-urban routes as the funding and political will is very limited.
You must have shot it in the morning, normally Westminster area is crawling with tourists :-)
It was pretty busy as it was! But yes it was the morning
Great video. Would be grateful for tips on how to get from east C4 to bank - as mentioned tooley street and south London bridge is bad but so is tower bridge. Is there any decent way to get from South East to north without going all the way to blackfriars bridge?
Southwark bridge is an OK option- the bridge itself is good and leads to Queen St, with a crossing to Queen Victoria St which goes to Bank nicely. But Southwark Bridge Road leading to it is patchy when it comes to cycle lanes. Best reached by C14 and then turn right on Southwark Bridge Road
The width of the path changes continuously, which gets pretty tricky when there are many bikes. I hope street designers get a bit more standard on that.
I think it’s a case of squeezing it in where they can really!
@@Londoncycleroutes Yes, of course that's the reason behind it. However, it will cause accidents when bikes are overtaken by faster bikes: when the paths get crowded.
Brilliant thanks. Can I find this route on kamoot - I've just downloaded.
I plan to go along the Thames North, walk through the Greenwich tunnel as I don't think I have & then do this route back.
I've never cycled to Greenwich as it's a bit far. And I don't have a fixed route back south of the river... I know I end up on union street a lot & the cut & lower marsh are great but that whole area - Lambeth North means I don't know where I am. So I will do this route as you have as that section I find a jumble x
Maybe with nicer weather coming up I should just spend a couple of afternoons cycle around. But I often end up heading towards the massive roundabout the bricklayers arms & then have to walk end then it's elephant and castle omg.... That whole area is a lot x
Yep there’s a link in the description to the Komoot page!
Keep up the good work! I'm curious to know your opinion on who would be the best candidate for London Mayor regarding cycling infrastructure?
I’d rather not get party political, but the answer is definitely not Susan hall!
Yeah that's fair enough@@Londoncycleroutes
10:18 she didn't even look for any oncoming traffic, nor stop before crossing. Only looked to one side rushing straight onto the crossing. Good reflex on your side ;-)
Haha thanks… I probably should have been a bit more cautious but I remember the encounter and it felt like she was stopped back on the pavement one second then about to step on it the next. Dont think her flow was interrupted though so fine all around
@@Londoncycleroutes to be honest, she did not even give you the chance to notice her, or predict her next move? lol , but you're right she stopped for a second before rushing in.
It’s because it’s a one way street for motor vehicles with a cycle contraflow so pedestrians will often not look in the direction of the contraflow, as was the case here. You need to be really careful around these. The cyclist should have anticipated this and stopped here really and not proceeded through but fortunately nothing came of it in the end and we’ve all done similar at one time or another, just one to be aware of in future as it’s a common scenario in contraflow designs.
@@andyuk2010 thank you for clarifying this.
@@andyuk2010 yes that's a fair point!
4:36 wondering what the reason for a red cycle signal is here - thought it might be the crossing but the carriageway signal is green?
That's part of of old cycleway where you rejoined the main road, note the arrow on the ground, no longer needed (might have been fixed now and linked to the crossing )
@@monkeyboyshires ah thank you I didn't know that! I thought it might be a weird way of signalising the junction in one direction or something to prevent conflict
One question I wanted to ask you for the 10k Q&A but was too late.
How often do you take into account if the routes you plan can easily be done in reverse/opposite way, in this case Westminster to Greenwich, or do your routes only work one way more often than not?
Always! If a route isn’t symmetrical I’ll always note it in the commentary, otherwise you can assume it works both ways
Are there any plans to improve the crossing at Tower Bridge for cyclists? Would be nice to have some sort of joining up of this with C3 and C2(? the one with the new link up into Whitechapel Road)
I guess north of the bridge is Tower Hamlets. Not likely from them these days
I wish there was… unfortunately not though. It would be tricky as quite a narrow carriageway and obviously a historic monument of sorts with overflowing pavements. I guess you could make it one way and make another bridge one way in the opposite direction and use the space for lanes?
@@Londoncycleroutes London Bridge is an idea. You were complaining about it. Take two pain-points out of the equation at once. (Again, not very likely)
Biking to and from Canary Wharf maybe?
Definitely should do more videos for Canary Wharf, is there a particular place it would be useful for you to start from? (I’ve done a couple like Westminster already)
@@Londoncycleroutes Perhaps down from Hackney, via Victoria Park & Mile End Park?
@@EdamL22 I was waiting for C37 to be built before doing this one but it looks like it's not happening any time soon so maybe a good time for work out an alternative route!
For purly selfish reason,s something like Balham / Streatham Hill to Brentford....
I’ll see what I can do with this! A new lane to Brentford should be opening soon so might try to connect to that
What speed do you often use in your videos? I've used 3x on my ones, but I think it's too fast at some points when commenting on places that I cycle around.
I use 2x as the default and basically never go faster (except on the first one I did I think) but on shorter videos I sometimes do something like 1.8x so there’s more time to chat over it
@@Londoncycleroutes good point with the shorter videos. I've used 3x even on the shorter one, at some point I had nothing to add, and at others I didn't manage to say all I wanted. But it's already uploaded and edited etc. , so I will try the 2x for the next videos. Thank you.
Could you do Epping to Greenwich via tower bridge?
Definitely want to try some routes to Epping- not sure I’ll use tower bridge as it’s not chill enough for a video but there might be another way to cross, and a route could be adapted
@@Londoncycleroutes iv been trying to find a way too, im cycling down from Colchester going to Frankfurt, Germany via dover. The tilbury ferry closed for good and the Woolwich ferry is too unreliable, where would be best to cross the themes if im coming from Epping Forrest?
@@tresiefourpaws it might be worth a very short detour to go via Blackfriars bridge because of the quality of the cycle lanes vs others
@@Londoncycleroutes ok, thanks! :D
I feel like this video will change my life! I knew all the roads but never stitched the route together like this - the bit after lower marsh onto upper marsh blew my mind.
Appreciate the customary warning about Westminster. Travelling the other way (as you said) is just awful either in bike or bus lane - I am truly shocked they haven’t sorted this. I know there’s another quite famous cyclist and his cat who petition for this to change.
Thank you so much for this and your historical insights too! I think overall this is definitely quicker than C10!
So pleased! The lower / upper marsh connection is one I’ve only started doing myself recently! Enjoy
What I find to be a bigger problem with bike lanes is pedestrians usually walking two or three abreast and hogging the lane. It's really irksome especially when there are pavements alongside so many bike paths. I don't get it . Are they ever ticketed for being in the bike lane no? are they a hazard to cyclists ? yes.
Yeah it’s annoying - I think most people are basically ok, it’s just tourists really who don’t understand the city or where to walk
Having a passenger on a scooter is not something that should be encouraged. I mean putting aside the fact those things are illegal at the moment (that should change I'll admit), they're not designed to take that kinda weight. They're not easy things to control when used in that way and much more likely to cause serious injury to pedestrians if they get hit by them. This is why such riding is banned on hire scooters.
True!
It is crazy. I can drive a 2 ton car as fast as I like around town having to follow speed limits only when I think I might get caught, or I can legally scoot only on a hire scooter below 12.5mph. Please give me an option to legally own, and use a scooter that goes 20mph uphill with 90kg me on it and insure the scooter and myself.
@@onlineo2263 I get what you're saying and it's also true that most pedestrians are killed by cars but these scooters are ridden on shared use paths and sometimes pavements.
On the power side, there's currently a consultation on increasing the power of electric bikes and allowing throttles (to help the disabled and make cargobikes more efficient in hilly areas). So I suspect the govt' will regulate private e-scooters soon.