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Commuting to Canary Wharf - advice sought
My work location in London moves to Canary Wharf next week. [I’ve
hitherto been commuting from Paddington to Victoria by Brompton.] This significantly lengthens my commute. Not looking forward to it one bit. I’ve been looking at options involving various combinations of bike (folder and full-size), Docklands Light Railway, Thames Clipper ferry, and possibly going from Waterloo (I live in Reading so Paddington or Waterloo are options.). Also looked at cycling the whole distance from Paddington from Canary Wharf - about 9 miles, longer on quieter roads - the distance is not a problem for me but East London doesn’t exactly look a cyclist’s paradise. [I hate the Tube so want to avoid it if poss] Appreciate any advice from folks with experience of commuting this route with bike, i.e. Paddington or Waterloo to Canary Wharf. Many thanks in advance, Reg |
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Commuting to Canary Wharf - advice sought
On Sat, 24 Jan 2009 12:48:08 -0800 (PST), "
wrote: My work location in London moves to Canary Wharf next week. [I’ve hitherto been commuting from Paddington to Victoria by Brompton.] This significantly lengthens my commute. Not looking forward to it one bit. I’ve been looking at options involving various combinations of bike (folder and full-size), Docklands Light Railway, Thames Clipper ferry, and possibly going from Waterloo (I live in Reading so Paddington or Waterloo are options.). Also looked at cycling the whole distance from Paddington from Canary Wharf - about 9 miles, longer on quieter roads - the distance is not a problem for me but East London doesn’t exactly look a cyclist’s paradise. [I hate the Tube so want to avoid it if poss] Appreciate any advice from folks with experience of commuting this route with bike, i.e. Paddington or Waterloo to Canary Wharf. Many thanks in advance, Reg Apart from a short section through Islington, the Regent's Canal towpath will take you more or less door to door on a motor traffic free route. I expect the Regent's Canal journey would take about 90 minutes. The most direct road route would probably take about half that time. Waterloo to Canary Wharf is a doddle. From Waterloo follow The Thames Path (motor traffic free) to Tower Bridge, and cross. At the main junction after the Bridge turn *sharp* right and double back on yourself past the Tower Hotel and through the service area into St Katherine Dock (motor traffic free). Foloow quiet roads to Wapping. At Wapping follow the Ornamental Canals to Shadwell Basin (motor traffic free). Follow the Thames Path North to Limehouse (motor traffic free), and take the horrible plunge under Westferry Circus and that horrendous underground gyratory will spew you out into Canary Wharf. (It may be possible to take a lift or one flight of stairs from the Thames path to the upper Westferry Circus for an infinitely more pleasant final leg of the journey). Journey time - a delightful 40 minutes followed by a nasty 5 minutes. The road route would probably take less than 30 minutes. Also note that Tower Bridge is scheduled for closure to all traffic for two weeks in March. There *may* be a free replacement ferry service for pedestrians and cyclists. |
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Commuting to Canary Wharf - advice sought
On Sat, 24 Jan 2009, Tom Crispin wrote:
On Sat, 24 Jan 2009 12:48:08 -0800 (PST), " wrote: Appreciate any advice from folks with experience of commuting this route with bike, i.e. Paddington or Waterloo to Canary Wharf. I'd focus on Paddington, because the Waterloo trains take absolutely forever. Apart from a short section through Islington, the Regent's Canal towpath will take you more or less door to door on a motor traffic free route. There's also a bit near Paddington that's closed to cycles too, or at least it was last time i tried it. According to a recent map, it's between Lisson Green and Little Venice: http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/mm?ie=...e77a59280b8a10 It's not much, but it does make the final approach to Paddington annoying. Oh, and there's a bit through Camden that's not marked as a cycle route on the TfL map, but i think it is cyclable. I expect the Regent's Canal journey would take about 90 minutes. The most direct road route would probably take about half that time. Yes. tom -- In the long run, we are all dead. -- John Maynard Keynes |
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Commuting to Canary Wharf - advice sought
On Sat, 24 Jan 2009 12:48:08 -0800 (PST), "
said in : My work location in London moves to Canary Wharf next week. [I’ve hitherto been commuting from Paddington to Victoria by Brompton.] This significantly lengthens my commute. Not looking forward to it one bit. Want a bike buddy? That's my commute. Send emu, we can meet at Reading some time :-) The ride form Paddington to CW is easy, it's not hilly, and the Brom can certainly handle it - or at least mine can. Mine's an L6 with 12% reduced gearing (I like to spin the pedals). I go through Hyde Park, down Constitution Hill and the Mall, under Admiralty Arch, turn right down to the Embankment, under Blackfriars underpass, along Thames Street, past the Tower and then you can either go on the cycle route (which I hate because it's on the pavement against traffic a lot of the way) or the Highway , whihc is fine in my experience. Cross The Highway atht eh mouth of the Limehouse tunnel, along past Dunbar Wharf and to the DLR station, turn right and up onto the Wharf. Final leg might differ depending on where in CW you are. Takes me 35 minutes on a good day, 45 minutes leisurely, 50 minutes n the tube (which is a virus incubation system and absoluetly rammed at most times). Guy -- May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting. http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk 85% of helmet statistics are made up, 69% of them at CHS, Puget Sound GPG sig #3FA3BCDE http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk/pgp-public-key.txt |
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Commuting to Canary Wharf - advice sought
On Sat, 24 Jan 2009 22:38:06 +0000, "Just zis Guy, you know?"
wrote: On Sat, 24 Jan 2009 12:48:08 -0800 (PST), " said in : My work location in London moves to Canary Wharf next week. [I’ve hitherto been commuting from Paddington to Victoria by Brompton.] This significantly lengthens my commute. Not looking forward to it one bit. Want a bike buddy? I trust that you will ride with due regard for other road users. What is a "bike buddy"? Someone who will ride the same route and who will ride one behind the other in order to not hold up other road users? Sounds a good idea to me. judith -- I encourage my children to wear helmets. (Guy Chapman) I have never said that I encourage my children to wear helmets. (Guy Chapman) I would challenge judith to find the place where I said I encourage my children to wear helmets. (Guy Chapman) I pointed out the web page He then quickly changed the web page - but "forgot" to change the date of last amendment so it looked like the change had been there for years. |
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Commuting to Canary Wharf - advice sought
On 25 Jan, 00:29, wrote:
What is a "bike buddy"? Someone who will ride the same route and who will ride one behind the other in order to not hold up other road *users? Will any other road users be held up if you are going from Paddington to CW in 35 mins ? |
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Commuting to Canary Wharf - advice sought
Just zis Guy, you know? wrote:
If you want to see some *real* traffic holdups, try the bus jams on Oxford Street. I've seen them, and marvelled at the sheer stupidity of it. The Lib Dems have a good idea here http://glalibdems.org.uk/news/000298...trianised.html Which in a nutshell is to close the street to all traffic and run trams down it. -- Phil Cook looking north over the park to the "Westminster Gasworks" |
#9
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Commuting to Canary Wharf - advice sought
On 25 Jan, 11:58, "Just zis Guy, you know?"
wrote: If you want to see some *real* traffic holdups, try the bus jams on Oxford Street. Or as BoJo says " Oxford Street is still bisected by a panting wall of red metal. Can we really leave it as it is? " http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor/publi.../way-to-go.rtf |
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Commuting to Canary Wharf - advice sought
Many thanks for all the useful advice.
I did some exploring round CW yesterday. I've got to say, the part from Blackfriars eastwards thru the underpass, and along Thames St didn't look a particularly pleasant prospect for a cyclist, though there are various ways of avoiding this by a more northerly route I guess (Between Padd and Blackfriars I've not problem with as I used to take the same route as Guy described for years when I worked in Finsbury Sq). Overall though Padd to CW does look do-able by bike the whole way, and would certainly keep me fit. I also looked at cycling to Bank and taking the DLR from there - only 11 mins. The major problem with this though is lugging my Brompton around Bank station down escalators and along corridors to the DLR platform. It would clearly be a right fag, and I suspect the DLR gets pretty crowded at rush hour. The main discovery I made was the ferry service - Thames Clippers - which provide a surpisingly frequent and reasonably fast service between Embankment and Canary Wharf (every 20 mins, with 30 mins journey time, or 20 mins from Blackfriars). I'm probably going to try the whole commute by bike, and, if this proves too far, cycle as far as Embankment or Blackfriars and take the ferry from there. Could be a nice compromise. I can't understand why there's not a lot more river transport in London. Seems the perfect way of getting around. Cheers, Reg |
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