London’s forthcoming cycle superhighways are clearly inspired, at least in part, by Copenhagen’s splendid cycle lanes. They will incorporate many of their features. On the right is a short section of blue lane in the Danish capital, just in front of the main square. They use these blue strips to mark out cycling territory at…
Author: Rob Ainsley
Copenhagen v London 1: Broadly speaking
Copenhagen is a model cycling capital, as readers of the excellent Copenhagenize blog will be aware. I was there last month, and this week I’ll be making a few comparisons between there and London. The first thing that strikes you as you stroll out from Copenhagen railway station into the city centre is the sheer…
Abergwesyn Pass: Wales song
The Abergwesyn Pass (all pics), which bucks and rolls twenty miles between Abergwesyn and Tregaron across a remote part of mid-Wales, is one of the most scenic and spectacular roads in England and Wales. The single-track tarmac filament surfs the massive mountain breakers of Elenydd, a virtually uninhabited upland expanse slashed by lush quiet valleys….
Monopoly 28: Mayfair
The dreaded dark-blue widowmaker, and the final square on our Monopoly bike tour, is not a single street, but an area – the square mile or so of ultra-high-rent residential, official and commercial properties between Hyde Park to the west, Oxford St to the north, Regent St to the east, and Piccadilly to the south….
Monopoly 27: Park Lane
Once a pleasant lane and exclusive residential address marking the east side of Hyde Park, Park Lane was turned into a three-lane torrent of fast traffic, and rather less enticing residential address, in the 1960s. It’s a very unpleasant cycle down its two-thirds of a mile today, assailing you with buses, coaches and fast cars….
Monopoly 26: Liverpool St Station
Straddling the border between the City and the East End, Liverpool Street Shopping Centre – sorry, Station – is London’s third busiest (Waterloo and Victoria being the top two). If you’re off with your bike to catch a ferry at Harwich, or fly from Stansted, you’ll be coming here. And if airline baggage handling is…
Monopoly 25: Bond St
London’s swankiest shopping street – and some may feel there’s one S too many in that description – is not actually called Bond St. It in fact consists of Old Bond St and New Bond St, running on from each other: half a mile of posh boutiques heading south (it’s one-way all the way) from…
Monopoly 24: Oxford St
Oxford St – an aching east-west mile-and-a-bit of footslogging from Marble Arch to Tottenham Court Road past bully-brand chains and character-free shops – is said to be Europe’s busiest shopping street. It’s an old Roman Road, which explains its straightness – and atmosphere of battle. We don’t like cycling along Oxford St at all. Though…
Monopoly 23: Regent St
Every single building in Regent St‘s mightily grand three-quarters of a mile is at least Grade II listed. They’re clearly keen to not to spoil the magnificent early-19th century streetscape by putting in, say, cycle parking. The street runs north (one-way to begin with) from Carlton House (down near St James’s Park) up past Piccadilly…
Monopoly 22: Piccadilly
Stretching the best part of a mile from Piccadilly Circus to the edge of Hyde Park, Piccadilly is an imposing procession of upmarket stores, hotels and organisations. But if you’re heading for Fortnum & Mason’s, the Royal Academy or the Ritz by bike, beware the one-way system that means you can only go eastwards on…