London Rides - The 3 Parks

I lived in London for three and a half years and first got into the wonders of pedal power by cycling to work – Tooting > Battersea/Victoria. Not the most picturesque route but getting on the bike every day was preferable to squeezing into the last few inches of available space in rush hour Tube compartments. I soon began exploring London cycling hot spots on weekends with my boyfriend and other friends of mine who are keen on cycling. 

Photo by Roman Fox on Unsplash

There’s obviously a glut of parks in London but these are my three favourite to head to on a bike.

Richmond Park

This was our closest park, only 15 minutes from our flat, so definitely the park I frequented the most. To and from the park with a lap thrown in would be more or less bang on an hour – perfect for a pre-work ride or a quick lunch-time spin. The road loop around Richmond Park is just over 11km and you can attack it either way. 

Pros

A picturesque inner-city wilderness. Even if you’ve never been to Richmond Park, you’d probably recognise its deer, woods and grassland. But you are reminded of your proximity to the centre of the nation’s capital at one point in particular, when you come over the brow of the Sawyers Hill (going clockwise) to an incredible view of the London Skyline.

Offroading options. The Tamsin Trail offers an 11.8 km off-road MTB route for those of you who prefer a knobblier tyre. 

Deer. And plenty of them – around 630 to be precise. And they’re all very cute. And pretty tame. But watch out because they often like to cross the road in packs, at speed, taking no mind of who is coming down the road. And why should they? It’s their park after all, they’ve been there since 1637.

Climbs! A rare thing in London, and Richmond Park has three of them – Dark Hill (Distance 0.5km; Avg Grade 6.4%; Elev Difference 30m) Broomfield Hill (Distance 1.1km; Avg Grade 3.7%; Elev Difference 39m) and Sawyers Hill (Distance 1.49km; Avg Grade 2.5%; Elev Difference 37m). Granted, they’re not ball-busting climbs but they’ll get your HR up and it’s as good as you’ll get within the M25. 

Coffee stops aplenty.

A cycling hot-spot, where you will see people of all ages and abilities roaming around on two wheels. This is one of the things that ignited my love for cycling, being around so many people enjoying the sport. 

Uninterrupted loop… if you ignore the five mini-roundabouts (going around anti-clockwise limits any stoppages they create). There are also other routes, cutting through the middle so you can mix it up a little.

Cons

Cars. Timing the ride wrong and hitting the park in rush hour could leave you feeling like you’re on any main road in London. Drivers also must abide by the 20-mph speed limit, meaning whenever you want to bomb it down the speedy downhill sections you often annoyingly get stuck behind them. The amount of cars in Richmond Park has actually become a bit of a contentious point: check out these videos by Francis Cade to see what I’m talking about!

Tarmac-hoggin’ pedestrians. Yes, despite there being miles of pedestrian dedicated tracks, there are always people walking either along the road or darting across it, dragging their toddlers, dropping scarves and generally making a dangerous nuisance out of themselves. But I guess this is an issue you get anywhere in London!

Regents Park (outer circle)

This is a bit more of a serious spin out (in my opinion).

Pros

Largely car-less, meaning you can get up some good speed around the loop. There are a few traffic lights and one point at which you need to give way to oncoming traffic, but you can breeze around relatively uninterrupted. 

Flat, again meaning that you can set a good pace and breeze along in formation having a nice chat with your cycling buddies. 

Nestled in the heart of London, and only 1.5km from Oxford Street, it’s hugely convenient for anyone North of the river and is a magnet for everyone in Lycra in the surrounding area. Its location also means that you can include it on a bigger ride to tick off the London sights.

Another cycling hot-spot, meaning that you are surrounded by fellow cyclists. 

And giraffes. That’s right, if you’re lucky you can actually spot the towering forms of Regents Park Zoo’s tallest inhabitants. 

A glut of good coffee shops. Its location means that you are spoilt for choice.

Cons

A relatively short loop at 4.45km, but I know of many people who have tackled pretty long rides using the loop alone. It’s easy riding and you can put away a fair number of laps in a relatively short space of time.

A bit less picturesque and green than Richmond Park, but the surrounding architecture almost makes up for it. 

Battersea Park

This is much more of a relaxed spin and isn’t a destination for serious cyclists. Some lunchtimes, when I didn’t want to go as far as Regents Park and didn’t have the energy for a trip to Richmond Park, I’d head to Battersea for a chilled spin. 

Pros

Mostly car-less, apart from cars pulling into the car parks located near the gates, or maintenance vehicles, so you can relax a little more in the knowledge that cars won’t creep up on you at any minute. 

Location. It’s right on the south bank of the Thames, giving lovely views over the Albert and Chelsea Bridges. This waterside location means it’s a perfect place for pals to meet whether you're North or South of the Thames. 

Lovely surrounds. This is one of my favourite parks full stop, with rose gardens, water gardens and fountains, plenty of sports facilities, lovely coffee shops, three hectares of nature reserves (much less cycling-related this one, but great vibes).

Cons

A pretty short loop at 5k, but you wouldn’t really come here with a serious ride in mind.

Pram-dodging. I wouldn’t even attempt coming for a ride here on weekends, as every family wielding a pram in the west of London heads to the park at the first sniff of a bit of leisure time, seemingly taking shifts to ensure that the park is at full pram capacity from Saturday morning to Sunday evening. 

So, there you have it, my three favourite inner-city outings. Forget London buses, as we cyclists know that this is the real meaning of Park and Ride. 

Hoping to venture outside the M25? Here are my favourite weekend rides out of London...