Wimbledon-Clapham-South Bank

LCN maps 14/10 (obtainable free from bike shops, libraries, or via our webpage here)

Time: approx 1 hour

Recommended by: Harriet Bazely

My journey into London starts with the climb up into the centre of Wimbledon, negotiating the tram crossing and the one-way system down Hartfield/Beulah Roads (frequently populated by confused and/or suicidal cyclists travelling against the flow of traffic, despite the fact that the two roads run parallel to each other only about twenty yards apart!) to reach the steep corner by the "Prince of Wales" pub, up onto Wimbledon Bridge.

Traffic is almost invariably stationary here, whether or not the lights at the junction are green; the cycle lane allows you to get past on the inside, provided it is not occupied by buses, but you have to be careful of pedestrians spilling across this busy corner as soon as congestion brings the cars to a halt, since they don't expect cyclists coming up behind. The cycle lane is supposed to continue across Wimbledon Bridge, but the road is narrow and traffic tends to encroach upon it. If possible, it is a good idea to get into the advanced stop box before the main pedestrian crossing outside the railway station, and cross over to the right-hand side.

The turn right into Alexandra Road is a nasty one, since there is no right-hand turn filter phase on the lights at the junction. The only way to cross is to follow the cars out into the middle of the junction and sit there until the lights change for the opposite stream of traffic - about three vehicles at a time can make the turn, and a bicycle can usually make sure to be one of them. Alternatively, if the lights are red when you reach the pedestrian crossing before the junction (they usually are), it is often quicker (and safer) to get off and cross Wimbledon Bridge here before crossing Alexandra Road as a pedestrian when the lights change.

Either way, once remounted you now have a nice clear hilly ride along Alexandra Road parallel to the railway - up and down and then up again - before hitting the next traffic jam at the mini-roundabouts that take you round to the right and onto the Gap Road bridge. It's a matter of following the main stream of traffic, so you don't usually have to wait too long.

You usually get a good run downhill past the cemetery all the way to the junction with Haydons Road at the bottom, and can pick up a fair bit of speed here: but this section is a real killer in the reverse direction, a long slow slog past sinister dark trees, up an ever-steepening slope. For some reason it's far harder work than the sharp climbs that wait further ahead.

Haydons Road is busy and wide, but it's easy to cross when the lights change, taking care since the junction surface isn't too good (too much heavy construction traffic). The route runs straight across up Plough Lane and over the Wandle, and then it's down past the greyhound stadium with its vast billboards, and first left at another mini-roundabout into Summerstown Lane, cutting off the corner of the main road. On the left is the stadium car park, where old bangers can sometimes be glimpsed being craned onto lorries after stock-car races, or alternatively car boot sales go on; the road swings round sharply to the right as you pass the public house "The Corner Pin", and deposits you out onto Garratt Lane.

This is an A-road, but it's not actually too bad. Keeping close in to the left (where you can often catch a whiff of the shellfish stall as you go past!) you can more or less ignore the traffic until you hit the tail-back for the next traffic lights, at which point it is easy to get over into the right-hand lane and along to the front of the queue, where if you are reasonably lucky there will be an empty box.

The right turn into Burntwood Road has a dedicated filter on the lights, and you'll probably have to wait for it as a constant stream of traffic passes the other way. Once the lights change, though, it's easy. Follow the ghost of the once-mandatory cycle lane up and up the hill; there are still bypass lanes in evidence at narrow points, and if there is any degree of traffic they are worth using. Look out for cars emerging on your left just beyond the end of the sports ground, as they have a tendency not to see you. This is a constant climb all the way to the little roundabout at the top, where Wandsworth Common begins, but there is often a tail-wind pushing you up the hill at a steady ten miles per hour throughout the ascent. When the wind happens to blow the other way, you'll need to drop into bottom gear; but in this case the slope itself gives shelter.

The road narrows abruptly as it runs alongside the common, causing a severe bottleneck - a parallel cycle track through the woods here would be ideal, but as it is you'll probably be forced into the gutter by a 4x4 in the ever-present traffic jam before you can get very far. It generally takes at least two cycles of the traffic lights before you can make it through the junction ahead, and here again it often pays to bale out and walk along the pavement until you reach the feeder cycle lane at the head of the queue. Cars rarely honour the advanced stop line (a.k.a. 'cycle box') here, but if you're lucky they may have left room.

Yet again there is a busy main road to cross, as the trees of Wandsworth Common on the left give way to open space full of picnickers, joggers and kite-flyers. But it's a simple matter of waiting for the lights before a fast ride downhill... and then, nine times out of ten, braking for a particularly frustrating-placed set of lights immediately before the start of the rise to the railway bridge! Once over the hump, it's downhill again to turn left at the next junction into Bolingbroke Grove. There is a useful cycle box here (provided the entrance into it isn't blocked by fat cars) and a dedicated left-turn filter that means you will usually be the first vehicle away into the empty road.

A gentle climb now, parallel to the railway line, keeping an eye out for the right turn into Thurleigh Road; the cycle route is unsigned and easy to miss. A simple blue fingerpost here here would make a lot of difference - in the meantime, watch for oncoming traffic (you will often have to stand in the middle of the road for a moment or two until the opposite lane in clear) and turn down the slope, taking care over the road humps. I suspect that a stream once ran at the bottom of this steep valley; at any rate, it's steep down and then steep up again, with humps impeding your ability to gain speed for the oncoming ascent. With its tower silhouetted against the hillcrest, a church beckons you on... but alas! the top of the gradient is actually a fair bit further on. Meanwhile, whoever named "Hillier Road" on the left clearly had a nasty sense of humour....

Coasting down off the top of the hill you come to a dogleg to the left, and then a junction with Clapham Common Westside up ahead. A barrier closes off the road on your left to cars, but there is a marked cycle gate through the middle which can be negotiated with care (look out for oncoming pedestrians, who prefer this gap to the pavement). Tricycles, tandems and trailers have no way to squeeze through. However, it is possible to bypass this barrier by turning left at the dogleg into Roseneath Road and then right into Walsingham Place - also a no through route for cars, but easier to negotiate.

Shortly after the junction with Walsingham Place, the cycle route turns sharp right down a shared pedestrian route across the common - beware of small children on bikes and tricycles, and of roaming dogs. At the end of the path it is possible in theory to cross directly over into Windmill Road opposite, but in practice the traffic along the intervening main road will almost never permit it: it is well worth cycling along the slight detour to the Puffin crossing and then back again onto Windmill Road.

To the left there is a semi-permanent burger van parked alongside the pond, with its island, birds and regular complement of fishermen: this road appears to serve as car parking for the entire surrounding area and can get very congested, but nothing - except bicycles! - travels fast along here. Keep an eye out for the signposted turning off to the left, where a dedicated cycle path runs across Clapham Common past the bandstand. In the summer, it is not uncommon to discover that some idiot has parked across the dropped kerb, effectively blocking the entrance....

The cycle path is tree-lined (which does something, but not enough, to cut down the strong crosswind here), heavily used, and - after dark - unlit. This is the one point on the route where a decent front lamp casting a strong beam is all but essential; little flashing LEDs won't light your way under the trees. In sunshine, on the other hand, you need to watch out for toddlers, dogs, and clumps of walkers with their backs to you - there is a parallel pedestrian path, but the crowds tend to spill over.

At the far end of the path is a dedicated set of cycle lights, and a roaring main road. Check your watch here (the lights are bound to be red); congratulations, this is the halfway mark! If you still have half an hour in hand, you're doing fine... less than that, and you need to get a move on. If you are using the LCC map, this is also the moment to switch from Guide 14 (Mitcham/Morden/Wimbledon) to Guide 10 (central London), as you're about to go off the edge of the sheet.

The lights of this junction are a frequent cause of frustration, since there seems to be no obvious way to obtain a green light for cyclists; sometimes it triggers immediately, sometimes I've waited patiently through two whole phases of the traffic lights without any sign of a green in my direction, before giving up, getting off, and walking down to the pedestrian crossing at the junction, which always works. A cyclist-operated push-button on the post here would at least provide some reassurance that a cycle phase would eventually turn up....

Whether turning right on the cycle phase or crossing at the pedestrian lights, the result will be an empty road ahead of you, and a cycle lane veering off to the left to take you onto Clapham Common North Side and past the hospice. Watch out for pedestrians crossing this lane, as they tend to be concentrating on the cars in the road and don't notice you coming.

This section of road is one way, and forms the only break in the route in the opposite direction, since for some reason no link from LCC Route 3 onto Clapham Common has been provided; it is necessary to get off and walk along the pavement for this stretch past the hospice. Fortunately, after the sustained hill-climb that precedes it, the change is quite welcome!

When turning left down "The Chase", you will notice a big "3" painted on the road: this indicates that you have just passed the start of the official London Cycle Network Route 3. From now on, these signs will appear at regular intervals, marking every turn on the route; in stark contrast to the first half of the trip, it is possible to navigate this section as a complete stranger to the route for miles and miles without getting lost, and in fact on my first journey I did just that, mislaying my way at only one point (since changed). This is a shining, and alas all too rare, example of proper route signage - enjoy.

It's just as well, since from here on you will travel by a complicated series of back streets running roughly parallel to the river (and the Northern Line of the Tube). The journey is mainly downhill (hence the steady climb on the way back) with a steep rise up the end of Turret Grove, and a climb to crest the bridge over the railway cutting in Larkhall Rise, with its cycle lanes marked off with heavy wooden sleepers. Then it's a fast run on smooth roads (with the occasional traffic light) back down towards the Thames, with cycle lanes, bypasses down one-way streets, and a little detour around the fenced grass circle (NO DOGS) in the middle of Lansdowne Gardens. Crossing the Lambeth Road at the lights by the sign of the Canton Arms, you bear left through posh squares and then council houses towards the hallowed turf of the Oval. Just past the convent of the Poor Clares, you follow the signs into a brief shared route through a busy estate with no pavement (watch out for elderly ladies, and remember to give way to all pedestrians), and are abruptly decanted via a left turn onto a bus lane around the Oval itself.

There is always heavy traffic here, but the bus lane is mandatory and empty. You will need to pull out and turn right to continue around the Oval when the main stream of traffic turns left, but oddly enough this is usually not too hard. If you simply can't make the turn, it's worth going on to the crossing twenty yards or so further on and then riding back.

Halfway round the Oval, another contraflow cycle lane takes you over the junction with busy Kennington Lane and into the congestion charging area; not, of course, an issue to trouble cyclists! A turn left down Black Prince Road and right down Newport Street takes you alongside a viaduct and through an industrial area: somewhere close by is a deliciously-scented bakery. A narrow gateway in the wall at the end will take you through a short-cut via the car park of a street of ugly modern houses - beware of cyclists coming the other way! The official route traverses three sides of the block to rejoin you down Sail Street beyond, to a cycle lane and crossing over Lambeth Road. This is another crossing that doesn't always incorporate a cycle phase; it does have a push-button, and you absolutely must push it. Unless you do so (or a pedestrian, crossing in the other direction, does so for you), you will suffer the exasperating experience of watching the lights changing gaily for the cars in three different directions without ever letting you through at all!

Back alongside the viaduct again for a short distance, and then (as you approach the tiled face of Lambeth North Tube station opposite) a complicated turn, via two sets of red lights that never, ever give you a through run, into Baylis Road and the bus lane. The great mass of Waterloo Station can be seen rising on the left, and at the junction with Waterloo Road comes the first serious piece of misdesign on this route. There is an unoccupied cycle lane on the left that will apparently take you to the head of the queue, but you should definitely avoid taking it. If you follow the inviting route, you will find yourself pulling away from the lights with a constant stream of taxis turning hard left across your handlebars as they head up for the station, and potentially in a very nasty position. Instead you must pull over into the queue on the right-hand side so that you can travel straight ahead in safety; if ever I saw an argument for an advanced stop line, then this junction would be it, but without the buffer zone of a cycle box ahead to aim for, the cycle lane simply channels people into danger.

After crossing the junction you need to pull over to the left again and make a sharp turn almost immediately down Cornwall Street. This is a no through route for vehicles, and you will probably have to ring your bell to warn crossing pedestrians who don't expect anything to turn across their path. Beware of bendy buses entering and leaving the depot beyond; I once saw one get hopelessly wedged while trying to cut the corner too fine!

This is the pedestrian route from Waterloo terminus to Waterloo East, so expect large numbers of people to be crossing beyond the bridge - especially given the added draw of the "White Hart" on the corner! Beyond is a steep climb up from the old river level onto the modern embankment, where Stamford Street crosses ahead. This is a nasty junction and traffic lights have been installed; however, months and months later, they are still not operational, so you will have to make the best of it. If traffic is too awful, give up and walk across under the Belisha beacons to your right.

This final section of Cornwall Street has car parking to your right and to your left, so beware of manoeuvring vehicles at this point. Ahead of you is the river and the street known as Upper Ground, which forms a part of LCN Route 4; but this is the end of your journey. One hour out from Wimbledon (give or take five minutes' parking allowance), this is the South Bank in all its smeared concrete monstrosity. If you want to park your bike, there are stands beneath the bridge to your left....