Barclays superhighway
As part of my training I wanted to cover about 20 miles on this mornings ride. Having cycled down to Woolwich and back on Saturday I thought I might do a similar route but on the north side of the river. It just so happens that the Barclay’s superhighway runs from Tower Hill out towards Beckton. Rather than cycling the entire superhighway I decided to pick up the Greenway somewhere between East Ham and Barking. If you don’t know the Greenway its a disused railway line that runs from Hackney wick to Beckton. Its raised and there are no cars, just the odd chav and their dog. Its generally pretty quiet.Using the Greenway allowed me to get my head down all the way to Stratford. From there I then cycled via Leyton back to Walthamstow. Alternatively when at Stratford you can continue to Hackney Wick taking in views of the Olympic site.All in all it was an enjoyable cycle. I don’t have a pedometer but I reckon I covered about 25 miles in less than 2 hours (I stopped along the way to take pictures).I’d be interested to hear of any other routes that come recommended by the fine citizens of Yeah Hackney.
euan
Last saturday i cycled up to Ikea and back, along the lea valley. It’s a bit of a rubbish route to be honest. I’d recommend continuing along the Greenway to the road to nowhere where they started building the Thames Gateway Bridge…. http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?ll=51.510822,0.069657&spn=0.002517,0.004646&t=h&z=18&lci=com.panoramio.all,com.youtube.all,org.wikipedia.en
kuxi
quite like regents canal, can chew up a fair few miles without too much bother. haven’t been further than notting hill on it though. i’m guessing you could keep going pretty far west.
alexpink
A few of us have been cycling up to Watham Abbey and back of late. Its all road but its not too bad. We sling-shot it around the reservoirs.
Martin
@alexpink – the greenway’s not a disused railway line, it’s actually a big earth mound covering a very large sewer. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Outfall_Sewer(a nice tangent from QI: much of the London sewer system was built by Joseph Bazalgette, whose great grandson Peter Bazalgette used to run Endemol, producers of Big Brother. So one took the shit out of our homes, the other pumped it in…) I did try following the Greenway to its end, but got a little lost where it meets the A13 – but there found the Cycle Superhighway, and followed that back down to Canning Town, where I found a slightly unexpected ecology park near where the Lea joins the Thames. The CS is, for most of its length, quite dull. Probably alright if you’re commuting on it.I’m still quite new to the area, though – so my rides seem to usually involve zig-zagging around Victoria Park to try to find the right corner to get to the canal and down to the Counter Cafe, which is awesome but fairly well-hidden in Hackney Wick.
alexpink
@martin That makes a lot more sense, what with all the pipes and pumping stations along the way. The original Abbey Mill pumping station is a fine example of Victorian grandeur. Big brother – definitely sewage! I did that route a few weeks ago. The CS is fairly dull but it does give you the opportunity to get your head down. I really like that ecology park.
david
I used the CS3 highway previously from Beckton to Tower Hill. Like some of the posts above, the route can be a bit boring in regards with views. Only good note on this is that you can put your head down and you’ll be in Tower Hill before you know it.
saladefolle
I cycled towards Waltham Abbey probaly up to Ponders End and Enfield (can’t remember exactly, it’s a few years ago), it was both lovely and a little weird at times, sometimes the path along the Lea turns into a road and you share it with big lorries coming out of industrial estates. And there’s me, on my girly bike, amongst those big lorries… but I enjoyed the experience all the same, I do like a bit of weirdness in my life!Can anyone tell me why there are so many cyclists on Essex Road which I find dangerous when the side streets are so lovely and safe?