Taking a bike to London?

[LeadFarmer]

I fancy driving down to that there London (from the north) taking my bike with me to then cycle around sightseeing in the capital, but I need to find somewhere say 5 miles out of the city to park my car, then cycle in. But I expect everywhere to be resident parking. Don't want to take the train.

Any suggestions for areas to park, and good routes in the city for cycling please?

[Auslander]

LeadFarmer said:

I fancy driving down to that there London (from the north) taking my bike with me to then cycle around sightseeing in the capital, but I need to find somewhere say 5 miles out of the city to park my car, then cycle in. But I expect everywhere to be resident parking. Don't want to take the train.

Any suggestions for areas to park, and good routes in the city for cycling please?

Wandsworth Southside - or potentially the Sainsbury's.

I park in Sainsbury's when I stay at the Premier Inn - the hotel has a deal with Sainsbury's, so not sure what the price is if you aren't at the hotel.

But Southside is only about £9 for the day.

It's 10km from Waterloo or a bit longer if you want to go through Battersea Park or via Clapham Common.

[mikeiow]

JustPark.com or Parkonmydrive has worked for us multiple times….

Essentially look at the area you want to get to & find someone with a driveway to ‘hire’ for the day.

I’ve twice recently driven to Stanmore and then the City (much cheaper than the train for us with our EV, & I’d be driving & parking locally for the train anyway…)

[andy-ski]

Coming from the north don’t drive round to the Southside, it’ll take forever!
I’d suggest near the Hanger Lane roundabout, some free parking near the shops and park there, and it’s just outside the ULEZ if that matters. You can then ride easily along the canal to Paddington.

[Tabs]

I'd put my helmet and kit in a backpack, catch the train, and rent a bike. Saves the worry of securing your own bike if you want to sightsee etc.

[bigtomski]

If you come on a weekend there's loads of places near me in Hackney you can park for free. Just at the end of my road is a whole area which is free on weekends for example. Happy to point them out to you. I'm in the N1 postcode near Newington Green.
It's about a mile and a half from the city where I am, so really easy to cycle into the centre. I do it all the time by bike for my commute.
If coming on a weekday, Justpark has lots of choice for about £15 a day or so near me or in some cases for a bit more even closer to the city.
No congestion charge either, it starts about a mile from where I am.

[LeadFarmer]

bigtomski said:

If you come on a weekend there's loads of places near me in Hackney you can park for free. Just at the end of my road is a whole area which is free on weekends for example. Happy to point them out to you. I'm in the N1 postcode near Newington Green.
It's about a mile and a half from the city where I am, so really easy to cycle into the centre. I do it all the time by bike for my commute.
If coming on a weekday, Justpark has lots of choice for about £15 a day or so near me or in some cases for a bit more even closer to the city.
No congestion charge either, it starts about a mile from where I am.

Thanks, sounds good, I may message you nearer the time, but being realistic I may not be doing this until Spring when the weather should be ok, but your location sounds ideal, cheers.

[mattvanders]

Once a year I normally do a group mountain biking ride starting at Stratford shopping centre (so parking is available) and ride along the canals past Victoria park and along to Islington before getting up to Camden Town for a spot of food. Then back along the canal to then come off and past London zoo, Buckingham palace, down to Big Ben and back along the super cycle highway to wrapping and back onto the canal back to Stratford.

[bigtomski]

LeadFarmer said:

Thanks, sounds good, I may message you nearer the time, but being realistic I may not be doing this until Spring when the weather should be ok, but your location sounds ideal, cheers.

Anytime, just message me if I can help when you do come. I know loads of great cycle routes around here and into the city and places you can visit etc.
I actually also have a permit for any vehicle to use a dedicated parking space which I rent from the council, also at the end of my road.
As I also have a permit for on street parking I only use the space when the road is full. Welcome to use it if you do come on a weekday.
The space is by the council flats but it's perfectly safe and a great area. We've been here 22 years and never had a problem and that included parking a brand new Giulia Quadrafoglio there for 10 days.

[RoadToad84]

Cockfosters is good for (free) parking. Might be a little further out than your ideal though.

[deckster]

Tabs said:

I'd put my helmet and kit in a backpack, catch the train, and rent a bike. Saves the worry of securing your own bike if you want to sightsee etc.

This, all day long.

[AllyBee]

A heads up. You can take bikes on the Tube as far as Leytonstone, if you're coming from the North, the Central Line starts at Epping (pretty easy to cycle to the city from there via Olympic park and Victoria park), lots of on street parking at the weekends.

[yellowjack]

AllyBee said:

A heads up. You can take bikes on the Tube as far as Leytonstone, if you're coming from the North, the Central Line starts at Epping (pretty easy to cycle to the city from there via Olympic park and Victoria park), lots of on street parking at the weekends.

Epping and Debden stations have decent sized car parks, with a smaller one at Theydon Bois. Bike on the train as far as Woodford or Leytonstone and ride from there.

There's also Cheshunt, not sure about car parking facilities there but that's at the top of the Lee Valley which you can follow to ride to the Olympic Park at Stratford and explore out from there.

Coming in from the west I've often parked around the Kew area. Restricted parking in the morning but after a certain time it's free on street. When my son was back and forth to the passport office and the Japanese Consulate for his visa(s) I'd park in Kew and take my bike to ride in to London from there to kill time.

Not sure which way you'd be coming in though? M1? A10? M11? M40? Plenty of Network Rail stations encircling London, many have car parking, and taking the train for even just the last part to get you inside the M25 can save you worrying about the C-charge or the LEZ/ULEZs. I've parked near Alexandra Palace in the past, off Priory Road to the south of Ally Pally, where there are (or definitely used to be) roads without parking restrictions.

I rode in from Farnborough a couple of times (no real use to you coming from the north, I know) almost entirely traffic free by following the Basingstoke Canal, Wey Navigation, and the Thames Path up as far as Tower Bridge and back. That's a lovely, flat route. Except for the Kensington and Chelsea bit, where the local council seem to delight in making life deliberately as difficult as possible for cyclists.

[LeadFarmer]

Tabs said:

I'd put my helmet and kit in a backpack, catch the train, and rent a bike. Saves the worry of securing your own bike if you want to sightsee etc.

We had a bike rental scheme (like the London Santander bikes) in my city and they were awful bikes to ride. The scene got cancelled as bikes got stolen!!

On that note, what are the Santander bikes like to ride around the city for a full day? Are they horrible to ride? I'm a tall bloke and my bike has 23" frame, would these be suitable? Are there plentiful supply, or always taken and in use? Am I right to assume the system is designed for short rides, from one docking station to another, then grab another bike when needed, rather than keeping it for the day and locking up outside a building whilst you go inside?

Edited by LeadFarmer on Saturday 5th November 13:42

[dontlookdown]

LeadFarmer said:

We had a bike rental scheme (like the London Santander bikes) in my city and they were awful bikes to ride. The scene got cancelled as bikes got stolen!!

On that note, what are the Santander bikes like to ride around the city for a full day? Are they horrible to ride? I'm a tall bloke and my bike has 23" frame, would these be suitable? Are there plentiful supply, or always taken and in use? Am I right to assume the system is designed for short rides, from one docking station to another, then grab another bike when needed, rather than keeping it for the day and locking up outside a building whilst you go inside?

Edited by LeadFarmer on Saturday 5th November 13:42

Yes, Boris bikes are v heavy and not great to ride.

You can also take your bike anywhere on the new Elizabeth line at weekends, although currently that means Saturday only as it is not running on Sundays for a while.

All the stations have lifts etc.

[Auslander]

Santander bikes aren't great - and they can be a soul destroying experience if you get a bad one. I always have a look at a few before selecting one. Strangely, the older bikes (with rear lights in the frame rather than mudguard) seem to ride better. Suspect cost cutting.

They're not really designed for locking up when visiting a building, you're best docking them and picking another up - if only because you don't want a charge for a stolen one.

However, if you're just pottering around, they're OK. I'll do a 10km commute from hotel to office on them to save taking my own bike in the car.

[bigtomski]

Lime bikes I have found are the best hire bikes to ride. They're electrically assisted. Loads of them are available!
They don't need docking and can be left pretty much anywhere as long as inside the zone which is pretty huge.
The app is also so easy to use.

[numtumfutunch]

Hammersmith

DYOR obvs however I'm pretty sure the roads off Fulham Palace Road just south of the gyratory are free parking at the weekend

Skip onto the Thames and venture into town then the world's your lobster (Rodney)

Hammersmith is just off the extension of the M4, north London options are available although I can't think of any places with as stress free a ride into the centre as the above

Photos please!

[2ky]

Did exactly this when recently visiting the cycle show, I was staying at the travelodge near Elstree studios and cycled in to London.

Riding around London was great (much better then the rubbish cycle show!) And felt like I was seeing the sites from Zwift!