London by Bike – Quick Guide

Posted June 26, 2019

Lauren – Astor Museum

If you are coming to London and you don’t want to walk through the city, the easiest, cheapest and economical options for public transport is renting a bike.

Santander is the original, official London bicycle hire, operated by TFL. They have over 11,000 bikes are available to pick up from 750 docking stations across central London, and the cycle hire stations start all the way from Chalk Farm in the North, Olympic Park in the East, Hammersmith in the West, and Brixton, Southern part of the Thames.  Believe it or not, you can hire a bike from as little as £2 – Yes, £2, in London! –  You just need to find any docking station – which is super easy because they are everywhere – or you can also download their app which tells you the location of all the docking stations, how many bikes are available there/empty spaces!

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How to hire: Simply touch the screen at the docking station, choose hire a cycle, have your bank card ready and follow the instructions! Please note that Santander bikes are designed for short trips, so once you have paid your £2 you have access to them for the next 24 hours! You can make as many journeys as you like, the only rule you need to follow is to put is back in a docking station every 30 minutes;  Any longer and you will be charged an extra £2 for each extra 30 minutes or less. 

To get you started cycling around our lovely city, we have come up with a quick guide to see amazing London by bike for only 2 quid. You can also go for free by downloading the app, start anywhere in London and cycle short trips and experience one of the amazing sights and then just jump back on another one to cycle to the next one!

Starting by Tower bridge, you will get to admire the most iconic bridge and one of the most famous landmarks of London, as well a Tower of London which is right next to it. From here and after taking enough photos to fill your Instagram stories, you are going to cycle west along the river until you get to London Bridge, which you are going to cycle over and be able to look across and see the Tower Bridge again from a different point!

Now that you are on the south of the Thames, you are going to continue cycling west down, past Shakespeare’s Globe until you get to the Tate Modern Museum which is where you will dock our bikes into the one of 6 nearby as you have been cycling now for approximately 20 minutes. While you take a breath, head up to the 10th floor of the Tate Modern Museum – don’t worry, there is an elevator – to see a FREE 360 view of the city! Take a coffee from the café while your up there to refuel and take in the superb view. 

When you’re done looking at the beautiful city of London from above, you can head back down and walk across the Millenium Bridge to go back on the North side of Thames, after you cross you will be facing the magnificent St. Pauls Cathedral and before you know it you will find yourself right next to a Santander Bike docking station. Time to cycle West along the river and make your way to the infamous Trafalgar Square. This will take just under 30 minutes but find your docking station and then go and sit by the fountains to soak up the atmosphere that it provides and see how marvelous this iconic square is – you can also pay a visit to the National Gallery while you are there. 

Once you’re well rested, jump on your next bike, and start cycling down The Mall which is the red road that leads straight to Buckingham Palace. You can either cycle around, cycle by it or continue on, but it is less than 10 minutes from Trafalgar Square so you can easily go back to Westminster Area if you prefer to check out the Big Ben,  Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey and more.

Dock your bike, walk around and embrace the beauty and history of it all! Once you have checked out all of the buildings and taken a photo with a red phone booth, find another docking station and head up to Hyde Park. Heading north cycle to Hyde Park corner and dock your bike again so you have enough time to cycle through the park on your next bike without paying any extra cash. 

Take in Hyde Park Corner and start cycling into the park until you arrive at the Princess Diana Memorial by the Serpentine. Afterward, cycle south until you get to Kensington Road and find a station near the corner to dock your bike. Walk back into the park so you can go and check out Kensington Palace and have a walk around the pond.  Once youre done hanging out with the ducks and swans, head up to the northwest corner of Hyde Park and grab another bike! Now you can cycle through the neighborhood of Notting Hill and check out all the beautiful and colorful houses. When you get to the north side of the Notting Hill, swing by and grab a bite from Portobello Market before checking out all their vintage stores. 

And that’s a wrap, a  detailed and quick cycling tour through London. Whether it is your first time in the city or you have visited us countless times, this itinerary covers most of the more important touristic attractions and sights. We bet this cycling experience will be a real adventure but don’t forget to pay attention to the road and especially to cars and buses! 

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