🚲 Cycling from Lewisham to Westminster just got so much better

You can cycle from Lewisham in south east London to Westminster in central London entirely on quiet streets and protected cycle lanes.

The route is 11.2km long (6.9 miles) and makes use of the newly Deptford Church Street cycle lanes, as well as Cycleway 4, Cycleway 18, and Cycleway 14, plus 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 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

The Southwark Cyclists instructions for the Cycleway 4 consultation are here:

C4forever

The original Lewisham to Westminster video from 2021 is here

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/2715098115?share_token=aIqbaxsAzZFepRCgI1jxU4UJnUODJpvn5sWBJsIdcQkFAVAyn7&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=51.516975804561255%2C-0.21828576419061996&z=12

Hello and welcome back to London Cycle Roots. Today I’ll be showing you how to cycle from Lewisham in Southeast London to Westminster in central London. This ride takes around 40 minutes and you can do the whole thing on quiet streets and protected cycle lanes thanks to a new cycle way that opened just this week. By public transport, this is also a 40inute commute and requires a change of line from National Rail to the Tube. So, cycling is a great way to make this trip. If you find this video useful or you just enjoy watching it, then please don’t forget to subscribe to the channel as I try to post new videos just like it every week. I’d also like to say a huge thank you to everyone who supports the channel on Patreon. if you’d like to contribute too, then you can find a link in the description below the video. All right, let’s get going. So, we’re starting on the A20 near Lewisham station and we’re going to turn around and head down Thirsten Road. Thirsten Road does have an old cycle lane of sorts on it, but it’s not very good and gives up at side roads like the ones here. We’re only on here briefly, but make sure you take it carefully and just make sure drivers don’t turn across you. You can get to the other side of the street using that parallel crossing and then head for this path that goes under the railway. This is traffic free, but be warned that it has these horrible plastic speed bumps on it. Since I last came down here in a video, the council has actually added cycleway signage onto this path next to the Armory Road car park. That means that you don’t have to actually ride through the car park itself anymore and can stick to the paths, which is definitely an improvement. Though, remember that the paths are shared with pedestrians, so you don’t want to go too fast and you should always be courteous if you come across anybody on foot. The big new piece of infrastructure in today’s video is a new protected cycle way down Church Street, which has been under construction for the last few months, and which we’ll be checking out in a bit. But first, I’m going to show you how to get there from Lewisham. The easiest traffic-free way to do it is to follow this path along the River Ravensborn past Elverson Road DLR station. The path is sometimes in a park called Brookmill Park. And here the cycle path is actually separated from the pedestrian path by a little curb line and slightly different colored tarmac. Although in my experience, it is quite common to see people walking in the cycle path, so it’s worth riding cautiously here, especially around blind corners. This park is open at night and has some street lighting, though it’s still a little dingy after dark, so it’s worth taking that into account when planning your route. The local Lewisham cyclists group wants protected cycle lanes on the road to the left of that fence parallel to the park. And I agree that would be more inclusive and also probably more direct. Annoyingly, there’s a long-standing diversion at the end of this park. When I first started the channel, you used to be able to go straight on here, but since mid2021, you’ve had to loop around like this. This is thanks to London’s private water monopoly, Temp’s Water, which dug up the path nearly 5 years ago now. Uh there’s never any work here and they only come back to update the expected completion date on the notice sign every few months. Uh they also at one point left a weird sentry drone thing here that looks like something out of a computer game. After a dramatic section of path underneath the DLR vioduct, don’t miss this left turn and then right turn to take you to the Tucan crossings over Deepford Bridge Road. This crossing makes everyone wait twice to cross a single road in the name of keeping traffic moving and so it prioritizes people driving over people walking, cycling, and accessing the nearby DLR station. It should just be a straight across crossing. It’s really not an unreasonable thing to ask for. Now, I’ve done a lot of complaining so far, but fortunately things improve dramatically from here on in. We’re just heading on to the new protected cycle lanes down at Depthford Church Street which were finished just this week and I think that they are brilliant. What’s best about them is how they connect so much existing infrastructure together. It’s exactly what Lewisham Council should have been prioritizing. We already saw how they seamlessly connected to those existing cycle lanes on Depford Bridge, but look left here and you’ll see a really smart link towards New Cross via Geffin Street. There was also that great bypass with no waiting for people not heading that way, which we made use of. And further up at the next junction here, there are left and right turns for changing to cycle way 10, the artist formerly known as Quiet Way 1. And this makes journeys towards Greenwich on the right and Waterlue on the left really easy. The best missing link that this scheme serves though is right at the northern end of the street. It connects beautifully to the brilliant cycleway 4 which we’ve now seamlessly joined with no problem. Cycleway 4 today is going to take us towards London Bridge and connect onwards towards Westminster. But we could have easily turned the other way and gone towards Greenwich, Charlton and Wulitch all on really high quality protected infrastructure like this. That is I think what is best about the new Depthford Church Street lanes that they build on the existing network and add more destinations to it instead of just creating an island of protection in the middle of nowhere. I wish that more borrowers would plan their networks in that way a little bit more. And Lewis has to get credit for that. If you lay it out logically, it just makes sense. Having good infrastructure between point A and point B in the middle of nowhere makes journeys between those two points A and B possible for people of all abilities. But if that new infrastructure is linked to an existing network, then people at point C, D, E, F, etc. can all suddenly get to point A and B as well. So the benefit of that new infrastructure is much wider if you build it as an extension to the existing network rather than an isolated island of good infrastructure and that is called a network effect. So Lewisham has not always been the best burrow when it comes to cycling and they’re still not the best burough but I hope that this scheme gives them the confidence to do more. They’ve done a few other decent things recently like a modal filter on Cold Blow Lane which has created a new low traffic route that I’m going to be doing a new video of soon. Do hit subscribe on the channel if you’re interested in seeing that. But I’d really like to know what’s next for Lewisham. One final point about Depford Church Street is that the scheme like a lot of similar projects isn’t just a cycling scheme. It adds pedestrian crossings, which is good, but it also just makes the street a lot nicer. It adds a lot of planting and turned what was previously basically just a highway into somewhere a little greener and nicer to spend time as well as building in things like flood resilience. Talking of flood resilience, there is a link as Church Street was basically dug up for years because it was a building site for the Temp’s Tideway tunnel which you might know as the Super Sewer that’s just completed construction and the lanes are I believe part of the tidying up process of that project which is obviously worthwhile in itself but it’s even better that they were able to leave the street looking nicer than they found it. Tideway is also going to be leaving some cool new public space next to the embankment in Westminster, and we’ll be cycling past that a lot when it’s fully open in future videos. So, do stay tuned for those. Cycleway 4, which we’re now on, is mostly very good. This section past Surrey Keys, is probably the weakest because of some of the compromises that have been made when it comes to signal timings. I still think it’s impressive that TfL and Southern Council have managed to get this through here though. But there are sometimes quite long waits at the traffic lights and I did find myself slightly dreading passing through this bit. Though I was actually pretty lucky in this video and really didn’t find myself waiting very long in the end, though I actually passed through here a few times on the same day while filming various bits and some weights were definitely longer than others. The important thing though is that these lanes have clearly induced absolutely loads of cycling down here that just wasn’t here before. This was filmed on a very chilly Saturday morning in mid December. And if you’ve been watching closely the people that we’ve been sharing the lane with, you’ve probably seen plenty of people who are clearly on their way to town to do things. parents carrying kids on their way to activities and even a few kids independently traveling to things. The idea that people would have been making those kind of trips by bike on lower road before this infrastructure was built is pretty laughable. There has clearly been a huge change. Now, Southern Council are actually consulting on some proposed changes to parts of cycle wave 4, which we’re on now. They are proposing some improvements to junctions mostly to make the route safer. And they’ve also included a question about whether the scheme should be made permanent. And while I actually personally think the chance of it being removed is very very low, this has freaked out local group cyclists. So please do respond to the consultation to let the council know that the cycle lanes need to stay. The twist is that the deadline for that consultation is actually the day this video goes out, Sunday the 14th of December. I’ll include a link in the description below the video so you can check that out when you are done watching. While you’re down there in the description, don’t forget to check out the map of all the different London cycle routes videos. A viewer called Isaac looked after that. Thanks, Isaac. and it is a great way of browsing the different routes on this channel in a legible way. You can also download just a normal one-off map of this route which I linked to down there. I’m still hosting the maps on Kimoot as it seems to be working just about okay for now. You can download the maps in GPX format and use them on different apps and devices. While you are looking at the maps of all the different routes, you might spot that there’s already a video of Lewisham to Westminster on there from way back in 2021. It was one of the first videos that I did on this channel. If you remember that without being reminded, then I’m very impressed and thank you for sticking with the channel for so many years. Needless to say, four plus years later, this video takes a different route on new infrastructure, most of which didn’t exist when that video was shot. But if you’re interested to check out the original video, I will link to it in the description below, because they are an interesting comparison to see how your options have evolved in this city, even in the few years that I’ve been doing this channel. It’s also good at illustrating a few other things like me getting much better at speaking to camera, planning a route, and editing a video. The production values are not quite as good as today. Funnily enough, this is only the second time that I’ve ever repeated a route on this channel in all the years I’ve been doing it. The first time was Camden to Westminster, the very first video I did, which I repeated as an anniversary. This time, Lewisham to Westminster is being redone simply because the infrastructure has just got that much better. Now, you’ve probably noticed that we’ve left the protected cycle lanes of cycleway 4 at Tanner Street and are now on an on carriageway cycle route down relatively quiet back streets. This is cycleway 14 and it’s mostly a pretty good back street route. For viewers that aren’t familiar with this kind of route, you just follow the signs. So, it says C14 on the ground at various points with a cycle symbol and you just follow it. There are also these green and blue signs on lamp posts pointing you in the right direction and the wayinding is mostly pretty decent and it’s hard to get lost. Some of these back street on carriageway routes are better than others, but I think C14 is probably one of the better ones, and I’ve always been very happy to some people down here. While it’s mostly already pretty quiet, Southern Council has actually published some plans for this area around London Bridge Station that would reduce traffic even further, including actually removing all through traffic on this little stretch of road here. Probably my favorite bit of the route is on Newman Street. Just coming up here outside the King’s Arms Pub, which is on the left, just after this little bit of estate. While it’s a bit early when we went past today, this pub here makes great use of the outdoors and has a lot of tables and chairs out there when it’s open. And um that’s all possible because of this bolard at the end of the street here, which prevents traffic from using it and just makes the street a really nice environment. That’s great for us riding a bike, but it’s also great for other users of the street who maybe just want to sit out and have a pint or uh watch the bikes go past, which I’ve often done myself. Note that there are some sections of cycleway 14, like this one here, where you do get a protected cycle lane, but it’s usually only in one direction. but in the opposite direction. You’re in the carriageway, but the traffic levels are low enough that it doesn’t really matter. When the cycle lane runs out here, we cut our way through the pedestrian plaza, wait for the traffic light, and that lets us head across the street into Union Street. Do pay attention to the giveway lines at that junction and all the others as that was a pretty near miss that we just spotted ahead of us. Union Street is another street that will likely be quietened down even further by Suffach Council’s plans for more filters around London Bridge. I would say go and respond to the consultation, but you can’t now as it’s finished. Uh but you can see what their initial proposals are on the sub Council website. One smart change they’re proposing is actually to remove the traffic lights at this junction. Thanks to earlier interventions that they made in this area and the others that they have planned, those traffic lights aren’t really needed anymore as traffic levels are so low. It used to be a case that this street was a bit of a rat run and you know you needed the traffic lights to manage traffic at the junction, but since most of the through traffic has already been removed and the rest of it should be following, it’s not required anymore. And that will speed journeys up as you do often find yourself waiting that empty traffic light there. I’m a huge fan of what Lambeath Council has done to the cut here. It’s so much greener with so much more space for people to sit out and socialize and a lot less traffic than there previously was and certainly a lot more bites. Now, we actually want to bear right onto another street just around the corner that’s a lot like that. It’s called Lower Marsh and it’s a lovely place to come for a drink or a bite to eat. Um, the way that we’re going to get there is a little bit counterintuitive though, so watch closely. After this big junction, you want to bear left into this protected lane and then up onto the dropped curb. And then you can use the parallel crossing to get over the road with priority, making sure that the traffic has stopped for you. Now, doing it that way is a lot safer and more comfortable than just swinging out right in front of the traffic at that busy junction. Once you’re on Lower Marsh, a lovely underrated street in my view, cycling is easy. Sometimes it can be a bit busy with pedestrians, so do just be courteous and careful, but generally it’s a dream. At the end of this street, we’re going to go straight on through these bolards, which prevent other traffic from going straight on, but we can do it on a bike. And we’ll proceed under the railway onto Upper Marsh. Now, together, Lower Marsh and Upper Marsh used to be the main thoroughare of the Lambbeath Marsh settlement. Uh that was actually just a raised trackway running through actual marshland until the 19th century and they actually went up to Lambeath Palace which is a little bit further up the road. They don’t go there anymore because this area was pretty dramatically reshaped by the coming of the railways and particularly Waterloo station. After using the Tukan crossing to get over the road here we join these protected cycle lanes and head towards Westminster Bridge. If you’re doing this route in the opposite direction, then you obviously don’t have to use the crossing as you’ll be on the other side of the road. Though, you do have to wait for a separate green light for bikes turning right. Just a reminder as you pass the bus stops here outside St. Thomas’s Hospital that you should always wait at the zebra crossings for people getting on and off the bus. Remember that you’re outside a hospital, so plenty of people here will have difficulty walking, more so than at other bus stops. This ice cream van here is actually a first for me. I’d never seen one on this side of the road before, but I guess it was inevitable given nothing was happening to the ones breaking the law on the other side of the road. Just remember to take these lanes over Westminster Bridge extremely carefully and slowly. And just remember that there will be tourists diving in front of you without looking, either to buy an unlicensed ice cream or to get a better photo of the massive clock. This whole bridge is really a complete mess and should either be totally pedestrianized with just a bike lane down the middle or maybe access for buses only maintained. Either way, the current layout just isn’t working and needs revising. It’s a shame to end on a downer there because frankly the route we just did is overall fantastic. We’ve made it all the way from Lewisham to Parliament Square in Westminster in pretty much the same time it takes to get the train and tube here. It felt totally safe and comfortable the whole way except possibly briefly when you’re in danger of being kamicazi by a tourist buying an ice cream on Westminster Bridge. That’s not something you could have said a decade ago, though, by any means. Things have definitely improved a lot. Now, thanks for sticking with the video to the end. Make sure you leave a like on YouTube if you enjoyed it. It really does help other people find the video. And do hit subscribe on the channel if you liked it as I post new videos every week. Talking of videos coming up, a few people have been asking me if I’m doing an endofear roundup video this year looking at new infrastructure and looking forward to next year. And the answer is yes, I’m working on it. If all goes to plan, it will go out on Boxing Day again, just like last year, as an extra episode. And hopefully we should have a normal root episode, too. Thanks again to everyone who supports the channel on Patreon and who makes it possible for me to push the boat out like that and dedicate so much time to the channel. You are brilliant and this couldn’t happen without you. For anyone else thinking of supporting the channel, I’ll post a link in the description below the video for you too where you can throw money at me and sign up to the Patreon. Please do let me know what you think of this video in the comments. How does it compare to the one from 2021 in your eyes? I’d love to hear from you. I’ll see some of you below the line and the rest of you I’ll see next week. Goodbye.