When Wren Ride

Christopher Wren rebuilt London after the Great Fire. This ride tracks his handiwork end to end, minus the queues.

Every visitor to London ends up outside St Paul's eventually. Fewer make it to the quieter Wren churches scattered through the City, or realise that Hampton Court's baroque wing and a fair chunk of the skyline between Greenwich and Chelsea trace back to the same architect. This route joins the dots using the paths and towpaths Londoners actually ride, rather than the walking route between the postcard stops.

It works as a day out for anyone visiting who wants more than a bus tour, and just as well for anyone local looking for a reason to ride somewhere other than the usual loop. Expect royal parks, quiet Thames-side lanes, a couple of hills disguised as bridges, and enough history to make the pub stops feel earned.

Ride Details

• Ride Level: Easy / Green
• Distance: 42km / 26 miles
• Terrain: 40% off-road on well-maintained paths, parkland and towpaths
• Bike: Any bike
• Includes: GPX file and printable Ride Guide

The Route

Start beside the Long Water at Hampton Court Palace, worth a pause for the view back at the baroque wing Wren built for William and Mary, tacked onto Henry VIII's Tudor palace with more confidence than diplomacy. From there it's parkland riding through Bushy Park and into Kingston on a good network of bike paths, then into Richmond Park via the Tamsin Trail.

Cross Barnes Common to reach the Thames again at Putney, and follow the river to Chelsea, where the Royal Hospital's red brick and the Chelsea Pensioners' scarlet coats are best seen from the water side before circling round to the front gate.

From there the route threads past Buckingham Palace (no Wren connection, but hard to avoid), across Trafalgar Square, and along the Strand to Fleet Street, once home to the national press and now mostly banks and coffee chains, with St Bride's tucked just off the street. A short climb up Ludgate brings you to the west front of St Paul's Cathedral, still the best-known thing Wren ever built.

The City of London on a quiet day is close to empty of traffic and full of alleys worth getting lost in, with the Monument worth a stop on the way through.

East from the City, the route turns properly Dickensian: cobbled lanes around St Katharine Docks, Tower Bridge from below, and the old warehouse streets of Wapping, where the Captain Kidd and the Prospect of Whitby have both been pouring drinks since long before anyone thought to put a cycle path outside.

Round the bottom of the Isle of Dogs through Island Gardens for the best view going of the Old Royal Naval College, then through the foot tunnel to Greenwich.

The Monument's Second Job

Wren and Hooke built the Monument to mark where the Great Fire started, in 1666, a few hundred metres from Pudding Lane. It's 202 feet tall, which happens to be the exact distance to where the fire began, the kind of detail Wren liked. Less well known: the central shaft doubles as a zenith telescope, built so Hooke could run astronomical experiments from the base. It didn't work especially well; London's traffic vibrations disrupted the readings even in the 1670s. The lab is still down there, sealed under the entrance steps.

Along the Way

Places to Visit: Hampton Court Palace, Richmond Park, Chelsea Royal Hospital, St Paul's Cathedral, the Monument, St Katharine Docks, the Old Royal Naval College and the Painted Hall.

Places to Eat: The Captain Kidd, Wapping. The Prospect of Whitby, Wapping. Greenwich Market for something after the ride.

Finish

Finish beside the Cutty Sark in Greenwich, with tea, a proper lunch, or a walk through the Painted Hall to reward yourself for getting this far without touching a bus.

Start and End Points

Start: Hampton Court Palace, East Molesey. Finish: Greenwich, SE10.

Ride Details

• Distance: 42km / 26 miles
• Climb: 230m / 760ft
• Percentage off-road: 40%
• Trail surface: parkland paths, towpaths, cycle lanes and quiet streets
• Technical Grade: Green — Easy
• Mudometer: Mostly paved and gravel paths, minimal mud, rideable year-round

Is this ride for me?

At 42km this is longer than most of our Green rides, but it's built to be ridden slowly rather than raced. Nothing on the route is technically difficult, so the extra distance is really an invitation: set aside a full day, stop at the churches, get a coffee in Chelsea, and don't rush past the pubs in Wapping. The riding takes half the time. Enjoying London properly takes the rest.

Read more about our grades here.

Is my bike OK for this ride?

Any bike will do this comfortably: hybrids, gravel, road, e-bikes, folding bikes. The off-road sections are well-surfaced paths and towpaths, nothing technical.