Find safe and convenient cycling routes for your journey.
Over 100 Hackney streets are filtered, lowering motor traffic volume and speed and making the streets safe for cycling. A number of main road cycle tracks have been added over recent years. Neighbouring boroughs have also improved their cycling infrastructure.
Many people are not aware that there are safe and quiet routes available for their journey.
Find some inspiration below for journeys within Hackney and beyond. All routes are mainly on quiet routes with no through motor traffic, or on separated cycle tracks – but of course judge the conditions for yourself. If you have a particular destination in mind, get in touch and we’ll try to find the best route! Or, share your favourite route with us and we’ll add it.
Routes from and through Hackney
Safe and quiet routes for commuter-type journeys.
1) Hackney to Archway
You can cycle from Hackney to Archway in about 30 minutes, making more or less the whole journey on quiet streets and protected cycleways. With thanks to @joncstone.
2) Shoreditch to Brixton
You can cycle from Shoreditch in the east end to Brixton in south London in about 40 minutes – all on protected cycles lanes and quiet streets. With thanks to @joncstone.
3) Walthamstow to Kings Cross
You can cycle from King’s Cross in central London to Walthamstow (which is almost in Essex) all on quiet streets and bike lanes – it takes about 50 minutes to an hour. With thanks to @joncstone.
4) Walthamstow to the City
You can cycle from Walthamstow to St Paul’s Cathedral in the City of London in about 45 minutes. It’s a nice ride and the journey can be done on all quiet streets and protected cycle lanes.
5) Hackney to Bank
You can cycle from Hackney central to Bank in 15-20 minutes, which is about half the time it takes on public transport. The journey is all on reasonably quiet streets and protected cycle lanes. With thanks to @joncstone.
6) Camden to Hackney Central
This takes about 30 minutes, it’s all backstreets and protected cycle lanes and you shouldn’t have to deal with any heavy traffic. It takes about the same amount of time as getting the Overground. With thanks to @joncstone.
7) Walthamstow Central to Bank
Walthamstow to Bank, or check out this twitter thread with turn by turn details to Old Street (slightly different route to the map).
This route starts on the Quietway 2 from Walthamstow, then deviates by going through the Marshes rather than using the canal. You rejoin Q2 at St John’s courtyard, before leaving it again to head south on the old Q13. At Arnold Circus this routes takes an alternative way to Bank which is on quiet routes – you could also make your way to CS1 and follow it south from Old Street/Great Eastern Street junction.
With thanks to Waltham Forest Cycling Campaign.
8) Gyspy Stone to Hackney Downs LTN
9) Quietway 2 – Russell Square to Tottenham Court Road
This route largely follows Quietway 2. Q2 is now an excellent route, thanks to the new filters on Elsdale Street, the London Fields LTN in Hackney, and St Peter’s LTN and Canonbury Street LTN.
We’ve suggested 2 changes 1) to avoid Powerscroft Road, as it is still an uphill section and a bus route and so taking an alternative filtered route can be easier with children while only adding a few meters. At the end of the route, taking the Tavistock Road route is a segregated / filtered route to to Tottenham Court Road.
10) CS1 – Moorgate to Tottenham
Cycle Superhighway 1 was created as the main N-S cycle route in Hackney. The route follows smaller streets, rather than other ‘Cycle Superhighways’ which use segregated cycle lanes on main roads. Until recently, CS1 has been compromised as the route has had too many cars. Since 2020, more filters have been installed, making much of CS1 much more suitable as a major cycling route. There are still areas that require more work, which remain a priority in our campaigning.
11) Dalston to Mile End Park / Canary Wharf (alternative to canal)
This route uses the London Fields LTN, Queensbridge Road cycle lane, and some quite routes in Tower Hamlets. The route finishes in Canary Wharf, by the Musuem of London Docklands (Canary Wharf is famously hostile to cycle lanes, and so you may need to lock up and walk the rest of the way. Alternatively, using Westferrry Road is possible but is an incline on a busy road, so only suitable for more confident cyclists).
12) London Fields LTN to Olympic Park / Westfield Stratford
This route starts in the new London Fields LTN, takes a quiet filtered route to Victoria Park, and over a pedestrian/cycle bridge over the A12 to Hackney Wick. This route uses a lift to go towards the Copper Box, which may not be accessible to very long bikes like tandems. An alternative is to use White Post Lane (which is busier) and use the (poor, but segregated) cycle lanes to Westfield).
13) Finsbury Park to Homerton Hospital
A completely quiet route east-west. The first part is through the long-standing Brownswood LTN, uses the Green Lanes cycle lane (or go through Clissold Park), makes use of the Stokey filters, the Hackney Downs LTN, and touches the Q2 and Homerton filters.
This route shows the importance of LTNs creating new routes, and that joining the LTNs together, with segregated cycle lanes, is necessary to create useful routes that will enable people to choose active transport options.
Step 2: Loops and day trips
1) Shoreditch Park – Greenwich – Wapping – Olympic Park – London Fields
Coming soon.
2) Hackney Marshes – British Museum
Coming soon.
3) St John’s Hackney – Imperial War Museum
Coming soon.
4) Hackney Downs LTN – Parliament / Buckingham Palace / Hyde Park / Science Museum
Fancy a day out with the kids? If you haven’t cycled in London in a while, you may not believe that it is possible to cycle to Kensington safely with children. This route starts in the Hackney Downs LTN, goes onto CS1 followed by the filters introduced in City of London, the excellent Embankment cycle lane, then the motor traffic-free route to Hyde Park. Finally, a some back routes (it does require a 20m section where you should dismount – but is possible for mobility aids) to the V&A museum.
Missing links and major blockages
The routes outlined above show that Hackney’s cycling infrastructure enables numerous safe and quiet routes. However, finding routes should be intuitive – all streets should be either free of through motor traffic, or have protected cycle tracks.
Currently, main roads and junctions present major blocks to routes. If your desired route is blocked, here are some suggestions for avoiding them, alongside our suggestion for how to make these blocks into useful connector points.
Coming soon.
1) The A10
2) Pembury Circus
3) Mare Street – Amhurst Road – Narroway junction
4) Graham Road – Dalston Lane – Queensbridge Road junction
Coming soon