A bicycle ride in Lee Valley Park

I'd heard a while ago that there was a good off-road cycle route along the Lee Valley but when I tried to get on to it a few years ago on an icy January day the access we planned to use was locked (I think due to work being undertaken in preparation for the Olympics) and being cold and hungry we gave up and found a cafe instead.

Last Friday on a much warmer day, my friend and I had a more successful trip along the route and I would thoroughly recommend it for a great place to get the experience of cycling in the country without leaving the city. The Lee Valley Regional Park is a long stretch of green space running north from the Thames all the way out to Ware in Hertfordshire along the banks of the River Lee. The cycle route follows the 26 miles of its length and is part of Route 1 of the Sustrans National Cycle Network which apparently runs all the way from Dover to the Shetlands. I'm not sure I'll ever cycle all of that but it was certainly useful to be able to follow the signs for it through Docklands and on to Victoria Park to reach the Lee Valley. 

 From South London, we took our bicycles through the Greenwich Foot Tunnel to reach the Isle of Dogs and pick up the signs for route 1. Unfortunately the lifts are currently being refurbished so we had to carry our bikes up and down the stairs but that shouldn't be necessary from June when the lifts are due to re-open. The sign-posted route takes you on quiet roads and traffic-free routes through Tower Hamlets. There is the occasional stretch on busier roads and one short section around Canary Wharf where the signs disappeared briefly but we found them again. The route passes very close to the Olympic Park and there are great views of the stadium. There is also on-going construction activity around this area but nothing that blocked our way this time.

Once you are away from the building work and into the Lee Valley it really feels like entering another world - you are surrounded by fields and marshland with only distant views of buildings. After cycling for a few miles we stopped for lunch near Springfield Park and I was amazed to see from a sign that we were still in Hackney. There are barges moored on the river here and it all looks very rural for somewhere that is officially part of Inner London.

We had to turn round at that point as my friend needed to get back but I want to go back sometime to explore the rest of the route. It's possible to catch a train back to Liverpool Street from several stations on or near the route so you don't have to do the full distance there and back. You can download a leaflet and map of the Lee Valley cycle route here.