Route recommendation in the capital needed

DavidBelcher

Hello all,

Not a very frequent visitor to Commuting but thought it worth dropping by to ask if any of the London contingent can recommend a reasonably safe route (in every sense - I'm doing the return part at 10pm on Sunday night and don't fancy getting my best 'cross bike nicked!) for getting between Waterloo and Marylebone stations and vice versa by bike (other than taking it on the Circle Line between Embankment and Baker St.) - I'm due to ride a cyclo-cross race up in the Midlands this weekend, and the cheapest train journey means a cross-London transfer. Thanks in advance for advice.

David
(Very probably one of the provincial 'yokels' recently alluded to on here )

lost_in_thought

Well, google maps recommends this route

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=d&saddr ... 77248&z=14

direct, but a bit scary cycling on Park Lane if you don't quite know where you're going.

Instead of Park Lane, you can head a bit further over west to Hyde Park, the take the cycle lane that runs down the western side of it, get to Hyde Park corner, then cross the central bit with the arch, then follow this route to take in some sights at the same time....

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=d&saddr ... =UTF8&z=15

DavidBelcher

Cheers for the suggestions. I'll print off the directions, dig out my trusty A-Z and hope for the best come Saturday....

David

cjcp

lost_in_thought wrote:

Well, google maps recommends this route

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=d&saddr ... 77248&z=14

direct, but a bit scary cycling on Park Lane if you don't quite know where you're going.

Instead of Park Lane, you can head a bit further over west to Hyde Park, the take the cycle lane that runs down the western side of it, get to Hyde Park corner, then cross the central bit with the arch, then follow this route to take in some sights at the same time....

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=d&saddr ... =UTF8&z=15

LIT - Can you enter Hyde Park just before you head on to Park Lane and follow the path that runs parallel with Park Lane?

lost_in_thought

Yes, in case that was not clear from my post, that is what I'm recommending... you can enter at speaker's corner and take the path all the way down...

DavidBelcher

lost_in_thought wrote:

Yes, in case that was not clear from my post, that is what I'm recommending... you can enter at speaker's corner and take the path all the way down...

Which I think I'll no doubt be doing. Don't much fancy doing battle with the Park Lane traffic; I've only cycled a few times in central London and find it pretty scary, although my last between-railway-stations jaunt saw me get from King's Cross to Victoria via Trafalgar Square in one piece without being squished.

David

secretsam

Hmmmm...strikes me the best route would be over Waterloo bridge, then up Bow St and onto the Tottenham Court Road, then take any one of the left turns 'cos these roads are all fairly quiet, trundle across parallel with the Marylebone road and then nip up at the last minute (I hack it to and from Marylebone every day).

You could also drop over to Westminster Bridge, then up Whitehall and up to the TCR again. Well, that's the way I'd go, these are big roads but at 10pm...not too bad.

Marylebone is like a grave late at night, really quiet.

sashmo

I used to cycle from Holborn to Marylebone and (call me a wimp) tried to avoid all of the routes that Google maps is taking you on, as the traffic is faster and includes lorries and buses. My route might not be as fast, but much of it is on cycles lanes or roads that are signposted for cyclists (with the blue signs).

A possible alternative route might therefore be to cross Waterloo Bridge, then go up Kingsway and onto Southampton Row. At the first set of traffic lights in Southampton Row, turn left (Great Russell St?) and then second right onto Montague St. At the end, take the cycle path on the left past the back of the British Museum and right onto Malet St. At the end, turn left onto the cycle path in Torrington Place. Cross Gower St and continue until you reach Tottenham Court Rd. Turn right onto Tottenham court rd, then first left onto Howland St (all cycle paths) and continue onto New Cavendish Street. Continue through Portland Place and right to the end of New Cavendish St, then turn right into Marylebone High Street. Follow this uphill to the end and bear left onto Paddington Street. Cross Baker St into Crawford St and eventually turn right into Upper Montague St. At the end, take the pedestrian crossing over the Marylebone Rd and into Balcombe St. Left at the end and voila you are there!

Looks complicated when written down, but when you cycle it, it is much easier (10-15 mins depending on lights etc).

Never done the route on a Sunday night, but its mostly past offices and university so I would imagine it will be pretty safe.

Mr_Cellophane

http://www.tfl.gov.uk has a journey planner.
Go to advanced options and check the bike box and uncheck everything else.
It gives a journey time of 20 minutes. Not sure what speed they think you will go at, I would have thought about 15.

Click on view and then you can drag the map about to see the whole route.

Big Red S

I'd go straight over Waterloo bridge, straight on (over the pavement on the cyclepath) and up through Covent Garden to come out along Drury Lane, straight over High Holborn down Museum Street then probably go with Sashmo's suggestion the rest of the way, since I don't think I've ever got my head round which roads you can and can't go down in which directions around TCR/Gower St...

secretsam

Sashmo's nailed it, sounds like his route to/from Marylebone was near identical to mine!!!!

laughingboy

This was once my commute. The good news is that we have a near consensus on the Waterloo to Marylebone route. Listen to what the Big Red S (the Muppet above), Secret Sam and sashmo say.

The bad news is that the safest routes are all one-way, so your route is going to be different in each direction.

As the Muppet says, the safest way to get onto Waterloo Bridge from the North is to get to Endell Street, then Bow Street, and use the cycle path to get across the junction where The Strand, Lancaster Place and Aldwych meet. There is a gap in the dual carriageway barriers in the middle of the road to let you avoid going one-way round Aldwych on a bike (not nice).

So, my route back to Marylebone was almost exactly the same as sashmo's : use the cycle path onto the pavement after Waterloo Bridge, then Wellington St, along Tavistock St, Drury Lane, High Holborn, Charing Cross Rd, Tottenham Ct Rd, Howland St, New Cavendish St, Marylebone High St, Paddington St, Crawford St, right at Gloucester Place, crossing Marylebone Rd, turning left at Dorset Square to Marylebone station.

Marylebone to Waterloo is another matter. I'll post a suggestion later.

laughingboy

I'm struggling to remember where the cycle lane into the one-way systems south of the Marylebone Rd is, but there is one - is it really Enford St, against the one-way system? - that takes you into Bryanstone Sq?

Anyway, since I can't remember what I used to do when (was I mentally deranged?) I didn't just bomb down Marylebone Rd, Portland Place, Regent St, Haymarket, Strand, I'll say that the nasty bit is getting across Marylebone Rd, and I'll suggest another route.

So, try Lisson Grove, Seymour Place, turning left onto George St. At the end of George St, turn right onto Thayer St, then at the end, turn left onto Wigmore St. (follow this as it become Cavendish Square, Cavendish Place, Mortimer St, and Goodge St) a quick left right to get across Tottenham Ct Rd onto Chenies St, then right onto Gower St, and Endel St, Bow St, and Waterloo.

_Brun_

Check google map's new 'walking' directions. They show the most direct route rather than the quickest, which is often more suitable for cycling. Be aware however that it will send you down one way streets in the wrong direction, and also through parks where it may not be permitted to cycle. It's easy enough however to modify the suggested route to avoid these, just drag and drop the blue line.

sashmo

Laughingboy is absolutely correct; the route back is different.

I used to go down Balcombe st, across the Marylebone road and into Upper Montague st. Third left onto Crawford st, over Baker st, into Paddington St. A tricky right hand into Ashland place (just after the park/churchyard). Left at the end of this narrow street and out onto Marylebone high st. A left and right into Weymouth st, which you stay on until the end (if you see the Villandry restaurant, you are in the right place). Right into Gt Portland St, then first left into Clipstone St. At the end of that, just by the PO tower, a left and right into the cycle lane at Maple St. Follow that over Tottenham Court Rd, then take a right into Huntley St. At the end of that, you join the cycle lane in Torrington place and can take the reverse of the route to Marylebone.

My route took me to Holborn, so I think others - Big Red S particularly - have a better route from the British Museum to Waterloo.

el_presidente

You're all mad

a) the cycle lanes round the back of the British Museum are a bad joke, dead ends, worng side of the road, stop and start at random

b) the maze of streets round Fitzrovia is useless as there are one-ways, pedestrian squares, and too many junctions and traffic lights to mention.

Stick to the main roads, ride assertively (i.e. MTFU), you'll be twice as quick

secretsam

laughingboy wrote:

I'll say that the nasty bit is getting across Marylebone Rd, and I'll suggest another route.

I usually skirt round Regent's Park on the Outer Circle, then drop down and go across the Marylebone road at Park Crescent on to Portland Place. There's lights so it's easy.

DavidBelcher

Thanks to all for suggestions, think I'll go for the back streets option as I'm not in any rush. Don't fancy having to mix it with the main traffic flows, even if it is quicker, especially the day before a race - I'm fairly sore already having had an 'off' on the bridleway over Compton Down on my day off work yesterday

David