You can cycle from City Airport in east London to Canary Wharf entirely on quiet streets and protected cycle lanes.
The route is 6km long (3.8 miles) and makes use of the new protected lanes on North Woolwich Road, the Lower Lea crossing and Cycleway 3.
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 and want to support it, you can also contribute to the London Cycle Routes Patreon below. It really helps keep the channel going:
http:/patreon.com/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:
https://www.komoot.com/tour/2379913142?share_token=aUZS8tOD455CUWub1bPlWHKX9xNLciGhRNy5B5yemCBXYVJHMu&ref=wtd
And you can find a viewer-created and maintained map of all the London Cycle Routes videos here:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=1h9Hxm57fPvZmcuSXajM_Wu0G0s6f_bs&ll=51.505213496092054%2C-0.1285238120117249&z=12
I also highly recommend the Safe Cycle London map for route planning, which is compiled by @SafeCycleLDN on twitter:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1XlpvN9R-Wg7qZHyezO8y-eVlftr4e0WX&hl=en&ll=0%2C0&z=11
34 Comments
really wish there were santander docks in canning town and beyond – this cycleway looks fantastic and i would love to use them with the santander bikes!
As a cycling route is really good, and the overall works around the area looks alot prettier than ever before.
As a pedestrian and a bus user, it's okay. It's hard to find access points to cross the road and the bus stop by Thames Barrier are too far apart. Plus a bus terminates there and it doesn't look like a good place for a bus to terminate there.
Due to the removal to one of the roundabouts and the new bus stop placements. I hope TFL can sort that one out.
Deja Vu again….Excellent cycling, albeit like the comment last or second last vid, it looked 'very un-London-like'. My comment was for Beirut (albeit in retrospect, even Beirut is much greener) but as much as I really enjoyed the sense of 'cycling at pace' in this vid, it seemed really detached from London. It might just be the 'redevelopment of the Docklands' writ large. It will take a generation yet for the area to become 'accustomed to itself'.
You can also get the free buses 129 and SL4 for this trip.
I used to fly from City for work so luggage was just a backpack. I tried cycling – the route was similar and already had cycle lanes, but the issue was parking at the airport – its a hole under a flyover, no cameras, nothing. Zero chance bike is there when u get back if left overnight. City Airport could have paid to have Santander cycles extended, actually provide an alternative to cabs, but no. I haven't checked but if Lime has extended this far East, maybe that's an option? Given their rates DLR still more economical!! There was no lockers or left luggage option (eg put a Brompton in storage for the day). I've yet to see a UK airport that actively supports cycling as an option for customers. Meanwhile you arrive in AMS or Sardinia etc and there's rental bicycles on stand at the terminal exits. Same world different planet. Also, thanks for calling out how utterly sh it Poplar High St is as a cycle route. It's a huge rat run, traffic can reach as far as the Lansbury hotel on bad days, and boy racers like to use it as part of a 'no speed cam' high speed loop. Several crashes I've seen. Cyclists should just ride the pavement and be done with it, it's just not safe. That bus gate would have been a genuine improvement but hey ho another corrupt tower Hamlets mayor, so what else is new. Thank you for making these videos. The gains are so incremental it's hard to forget sometimes that there's any progress at all. The Bike Citizens app is my go to for the best routes. Google Maps often treats me as a driver, not on a cyclist.
It's a shame they've just closed the viaduct as soon as the main north woolwich road bit was done. The viaduct was one of the first parts to get cycle lanes on and has been good to use for ages, but it's closed for liek 5 months for resurfacing which is so long. Would have been nice if it was done at the same time. The cycle lane along dock road you said you hope it stays forever, it will stay forever because theres the huge Thameside West devellopment along it(and a new DLR station) which has it in its plans, but we take ages to build here so it's going to be like a decade for any real progress lol.
Wow! Some superb infrastructure going into Newham. The area was a derelict near bomb site when I grew up. Bit of a shame you didn't start from the Free Ferry's northern terminal, as I'd guess that crossing marks the entry/ exit into Newham for several folk.
Where would you say the cutoff point lies for the 'commuter only" cyclist and keener urbanist cyclist (i.e. two below out and out sport cyclist!)? My old work commute was ½ hour up to Race Hill, Brighton and 20 mins home to just in to Hove.
Looks glorious !!!! 2 miles of dedicated cycling 👍, you’d be lucky to get 20 metres around here 😟
Those North Woolwich Road one-way separated lanes look nice, although are they wide enough for comfortable side-by-side cycling? A lot of Dutch one-way cycleways are 2.5m+ for this reason, as well as overtaking and high capacity/throughput, if we are going for "incredibly high quality"
Have you planed to ride and show the entire length of CS3 for example . To get an idea how it does compare.
Great video as always
Dock road cycle lane is terrible; they didn’t fix the pavement before they diverted all the traffic that way so there are so many potholes which is dangerous when cycling, also, there are 2 night clubs in the street on the side of the cycle lane so every Saturday, Sunday and Monday, the amount of broken glass, rubbish and laughing gas bottles is disgusting. The clubs should be responsible for cleaning up the street properly after closing the event. It is not low traffic street, all the traffic is going that way as the other side is close until October 25
Great video. I have no reason to get to City Airport at the moment, but might cycle out there sometime just to checkout that sweet stretch of new cycle path that rune there anyway 😄
Places of interest on the route:
– Thames Barrier Park (at Pontoon Dock) – good view obviously of barrier and there's an interesting maze like garden
– Trinity Buoy Wharf (on west side of Lower Lea crossing on Orchard Place) – lighthouse, a hut with Michael Faraday's stuff, a cafe, some arts stuff. I think you can still get a small boat ferry across to O2 etc. My kids went to Faraday primary school there.
– East India Dock Basin – park with bird viewing
Another way to get to Canary Wharf is to go past East India DLR station and take Blackwall Way as that's had a bus gate for some time and then cycle path on Trafalgar Way.
Surely the blue crossing at 1:30 shouldn’t have give way lines for bikes.
Surely bikes have priority here?
Are the new North Woolwich Road lanes smooth, i.e. not bumpy? Most new lanes I've encountered seem to be hand-finished and give a rough ride.
I stayed at the hotel next to your starting point recently, and took the underground and DLR to get there. The walk from the hotel to the DLR station was incredibly pleasant with the wide pavements and greenery separating you from the road, and for the most part, from the cycle path too. I do think from this video that there were a couple of narrow points on the cycle path which could've been designed better, but that's a very minor quibble. I wish all new development in the UK lived up to this standard
As someone who lives in Royal Wharf, these new cycle lanes are fantastic. The construction works were pretty painful at times, but worth it in the end.
You are correct about the Silvertown Tunnel funding. The Lower Lea Crossing cycle upgrade was constructed using that project money and some political push by City Hall. I think the cycle lane was only widened into the road space by 300mm.
I sold my electric Mini a few days ago as the road works and general traffic is getting worse day by day in London. I've subscribed to a Cowboy Cruise e-bike via Blike and it's being delivered in 2-3 weeks. I'm 36 and the last time I rode a bicycle was in 2005 when I was in high school. Moreover, I want to continue my daily commute from West London to Dorking via Kingston/Esher. Slightly worried about getting robbed with £2.5k e-bike (it does have anti-theft lock). I don't like cycling apparel, I prefer wearing a smart shirt and cardigan with chinos, would this be a problem with pedalling/upper movement? Range on the bike is approx 43 miles and the total commute is 50 miles. Is it worth investing in a 2nd battery or just man up and pedal when there isn't a hill climb? If I have a backpack on with approx 10kg weight, will this affect the e-bike range?
I'm very excited to ride the exact route I took for 5 years with my Mini ev, and this is purely a lifestyle change, I do a lot of hiking in Box Hill but my time is taken up by sitting in traffic nearly all day. Lastly, I broke my left wrist last October and it's not fully healed, I can't put too much weight on it as it does hurt a bit, is it okay to cycle like this?
I wish there was a cycling club in London that explores cycle routes around London. Going alone makes me feel a little apprehensive.
Such bumpy tarmac! They can’t seem to lay it right these days…
Can't wait until Luftar is out, TH is dreadful for cyclists
Damn! This is impressive. I wish I got to see this last month when I rode over 100km for my latest Streetfilm on London! Thanks.
I went to this area for the first time when they extended the 129 route and it is really nice over there
So much driving on the wrong side of road, I kept trying to flip the video
Dock Road is awful, nearly all the bollards (plastic wands) are down and it is covered in litter. Not sure why they didn't sort that section out to join the new parts together.
Thanks – will have to try that out 😊
hello can you please do white city to victoria
Mute the video and this is so relaxing
Cycle ridership is way up in London. Expect a lot more infrastructure in the coming years.
I've been turning off at the Leamouth roundabound and heading past East India and onto Trafalgar Way to get to Canary Wharf – it's has some quiet roads and cycle paths but there are a few annoying bits where you have to be careful -but this looks much better. Will give it a go. Many thanks!
I am a cyclist and agree cycling is a great way to make a trip. A lot of money spent though to support the non existent cyclists of this area. Id like to see if it falls into disrepair because if non use or see more cyclists on it in a few years time. I live in York a city full of failed cycling vanity projects by the local council who use the carrot and stick approach to try to force motorists on to bikes. 🤨
Definitely something Evan Edinger would never post a video about, too positive for him !
Your video got a mention with link in the Mayor of Newham's weekly update email – hope it helps getting more people confident in riding
Shame I moved away, that bit near the airport used to be a nightmare, looks much better now. Though while they were building it I did have an issue where I rocked up at the roundabout near Silvertown to find out it simply wasn't there anymore!