Explore London
A 20-mile lap of your own city that most Londoners never get round to riding.
A quick search shows London is consistently one of the three most visited cities in the world. Visitors flock in to see the sights. Fewer Londoners take the time to look at their own home town. This route was created for the London Cycling Campaign, and it's also a useful winter ride for the months when the bridleways elsewhere are a muddy morass and a mostly-paved route through the city starts to look appealing.
Ride Details
Ride Level: Easy (Green)
Distance: 30 km / 19 miles
Terrain: Cycleways, traffic-free paths and quiet roads through parks and the City (around 10% off-road)
Bike: Suitable for all bikes
Includes: GPX route file and printable Ride Guide
The Route
A fascinating circular tour of the capital, using a network of cycleways, traffic-free paths and quiet roads. Ride through the medieval City and the heart of the UK's financial might, past the repurposed remains of Britain's imperial trading past, then on through the old stews of Tudor London. Cross the river into the heart of government and the seat of the modern monarchy, complete with its pomp and circumstance.
The route passes the sights that draw millions from across the globe, and plenty of the less well-known oddities that make London the fascinating city its own inhabitants rarely stop to visit.
Take a day off to do this one properly. It isn't about distance or speed. Bring a lock and stop to look at things. There's something unexpected at every turn, and it's entirely possible some museum, pub, restaurant or magnificent building will eat your afternoon without you noticing.
A Ride For When Everywhere Else Is Mud
Most of our routes get harder to recommend in winter. Bridleways turn to porridge, natural surfaces disappear under standing water, and the fun drains out of a ride fast. This one doesn't, because it's built almost entirely on cycleways, traffic-free paths and shared paths through parks rather than anything that can turn to mud. A handful of busy junctions can be crossed on foot at the lights if you'd rather not mix it with traffic. It's the route to reach for when the rest of the GPX library is best left until spring.
Finish
Back to Blackfriars having covered barely a fifth of the ground a car would take to see less of the city. Recommended by the London Cycling Campaign, and by us.
Start and End Points
Start and Finish: Blackfriars Station
Ride Details
- Distance: 30 km | 19 miles
- Climb: 120 m | 390 ft
- Percentage off-road: 10%
- Trail surface: Quiet Roads | Cycleways | Gravel
- Technical Grade: Green - Easy
- Mudometer: All seasons, rideable year round.
Is this ride for me?
Easy
A gentle ride at an easy pace. Few or no hills, on well-maintained gravel paths, bike lanes and shared-use paths. Suitable for riders who can pedal for about an hour without stopping.
Suitable for hybrids, folding bikes, MTB, gravel, road bikes and ebikes. Anything goes.
Read more about our grades here
Is my bike OK for this ride?
Suitable for all bikes.