Holborn - UEL Docklands Campus

Paps

Hi Guys,

I've kinda figured a route to get there but need some advice as to the heaviness of traffic.

From Holborn - A13 Commercial Road and past Limehouse station.
Then onto W.India Dock Road and Aspen Way (A1261)
Pass the Excel Centre and onto Albert Way (A1020) finally reaching the campus on Cyprus St.

My question is , how busy are these A roads? Is it 'safe'?

Any advice on the above or indeed any of a easier route would be greatly appreciated. I'm going there for my cousins artshow.

Thanks

Take a painkiller, cycle on your bicycle and leave all this misery behind
Be kind to your knees, you'll miss them when they're gone.

benjus

I cycled from Canary Wharf to Primrose Hill last night via the A13. It's quite busy but it didn't feel too unsafe. There are bus lanes for quite a lot of it. It certainly wasn't as bad as the London ring road (Euston Road etc) which I went onto later. Not my idea of a cycle-friendly road. I don't know about the other A roads.

Have you tried the cycle route planner at http://www.tfl.gov.uk ? It comes up with some good routes avoiding busy roads, but the downside is that the routes are quite complicated and hard to follow.

Paps

Ok thanks benjus, i guess I'll bite the bullet and see what happens.

You're right on that tfl site though - hardly direct!

Cheers

Take a painkiller, cycle on your bicycle and leave all this misery behind
Be kind to your knees, you'll miss them when they're gone.

akcp

You won't be able to do aspen way onto the Excel Center - its very fast traffic there and you will have to go over a flyover where there is a fast slip road on the left (and you have to be in the middle to go over the flyover - check it out on google maps with the satellite view). Your best bet is to keep going down the A13 and before Aspen Way proper theres a cycle route through Poplar High Street. Go down there and beware of some of the dodgy traffic and keep heading down Poplar Way, theres a cycle route to get to the other side of the flyover I mentioned and head towards Excel Center. Other option is at around limehouse theres a route onto Narrow Street. Head down there towards Canary Wharf and head through there. Out the other side of Canary Wharf and down Trafalgar Way - where theres a Mac D's drive through (just pass Billingsgate Market) theres a small shared cycle path toward the roundabout. Go down there and across the ped crossing and out the other side - theres a route I think beyond to take you to Excel - this second route is sort of parallel to the route I mentioned first but is just further South. Personally I will take the second route.

ScumOfTheRoad

If the UEL leave the dockside gate open you can cycle all the way along the Royal Docks past the rowing centre and Excel, right along to you get to the sailing centre at the other end. There you will find Riverfront Studios. There is an underpass under the flyover there, take a right on that road. You will then get to the Lower Lea Crossing, where there is a segregated cycle lane on the south side.

This is the route AK is talking about I think. From there you would follow AKs route - ie through Limehouse and Narrow Street, then onto Cable Street and through the City.

Why not get one of the free cycling maps and plot your own route?

http://www.lcc.org.uk/index.asp?PageID=37

ScumOfTheRoad

Looking at the No 11 cycle map, quite a pleasant route looks like:

Cable Street, across the little park and bridge at the Rotherhithe Tunnel entrance.
Narrow Street. Cross Westferry Road then use the cycle crossing to get onto Poplar High Street. (You cross under the DLR lines through a railway arch and cross the West India Dock Road)
On Poplar High Street keep going as far as you can, crossing over the mouth of the Blackwall Tunnel as you enter Naval Row.
At the end of Naval Row turn left through a gap in the old West India dock walls, where you will emerge into an office block type area.
Continue along Saffron Avenue where you will see a security gate and a barrier over the road. Pass the barrier -- the guards may even lift it for you.
Turn right at the roundabout, using the pedestrian/cycle lights to cross Aspen Way.
You then join the cycle path over the Lower Lea Crossing by going a little way down Orchard Place.
Once over the Lower Lea Crossing, you have a choice. Either use the roundabout and take the exit on the left into the docks area (Vicrotia Dock Road) or follow a more pleasant route.
Turn immediate right onto Dock Road, which looks like a dead end into an industrial estate, but it is not. Keep on going till Riverside Studios on the left, cross through under the road to emerge beside the Royal Victoria Dock.
Turn left and simply cycle along the dockside, past Excel and the Sunborn Yacht Hotel.
You can cycle all the way along past the rowing centre right to the UEL campus.
If the ruddy gate is locked at the end, retrace to the rowing club and take the marked cycle route, or go on the other side of the big empty office block and go under the DLR tracks. You are looking for Strait Road, which leads you direct to Cyprus DLR station. Follow under the DLR there and you are at the DLR campus.

Did I mention the gate? You might ask them why it is locked sometimes, as this is a great route for cyclists.

Paps

Thanks for all route info guys, I'll use it next time I go again to UEL later this month.

But yesterday after work, Aspen Way I did venture on. I think I was lucky as although the traffic was indeed fast, it wasn't as heavy as it could've been. I didn't go over the flyover but went via the sliproad and found Strait Road towards DLR Cyprus. Not something I want to experience again though.

The way home? I jumped on the DLR! Took the front wheel off the bike and went to Stratford. I did see the yacht club etc from the train adn did wonder if there was a way through there to gt to UEL. Now I know.

But hey, I now have a new route to add to my collection and a new learning experience to boot!

Again, cheers for all the info.

Take a painkiller, cycle on your bicycle and leave all this misery behind
Be kind to your knees, you'll miss them when they're gone.

akcp

For your reference the cable street cycle lanes are mostly blocked by road works - so when heading eastwards I would stay on the A13 and then join Narrow street. Westwards is better as you can just use the normal road and join the cagers (this works cause its a one way for cagers westbound).

mashtonian

BTW, the DLR route isn't one you can depend on. They allow no bikes (except maybe folders) on the DLR.

I wrote to TFL and asked why and got an anodyne response re: safety. Seeing that I can take a full size road bike on a lot of the Tube system, I have no idea why I can't on the DLR.

Anyone fancy a campaign?