Step away from the tourist hotspots, hire a Santander Cycles and discover another side of the city – from ancient burial grounds to creepy museums, creative coffee shops and colourful squares. 🤩
📌 Stop 1: Cross Bones Graveyard
🚲 Hire a Santander Cycles from the docking station at London Bridge and set off on your adventure. Follow Southwark Street and take the first left at Redcross Way.
Your first stop is at Cross Bones Graveyard. Tucked away in the back streets of South London, Cross Bones graveyard contains the bodies of over 15,000 prostitutes and paupers who were refused burial in church grounds.
📌 Stop 2: Visit the church St Bartholomew-the-Great
🚲 Hop back on your bike and follow the directions to your next stop, London’s oldest church, St Bartholomew-the-Great.
Founded in 1123 and at the heart of the Smithfield area, with its Hospital, pubs, restaurants, and market, is a church built when Henry I, son of William the Conqueror, was King of England. It survived the Great Fire of 1666 and the bombs dropped in Zeppelin raids in World War I and during the Blitz in World War II.
Today the Church has a reputation not only for wonderful Romanesque architecture, but also for traditional formal worship, marvellous music and intelligent preaching. It has also appeared in a series of award-winning films including Four Weddings and a Funeral, Shakespeare in Love, The End of the Affair, Amazing Grace, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, and The Other Boleyn Girl. It has also appeared in a number of television programmes including Madame Bovary, The Real Sherlock Holmes, Spooks, and The League of Gentlemen Christmas Special.
📌 Stop 3: See the Golden Boy of Pye Corner
🚲 From the church, follow the directions to make a stop at the Golden Boy of Pye Corner.
Although most people are aware that Pudding Lane was the starting point for the Great Fire of London, few know where it finally stopped. The answer? A rather seedy corner of medieval London, at the corner of Cock Lane and Giltspur Street. This statue marks where the Great Fire of London ended in 1666. It reminds Londoner’s not to be gluttonous which was thought to be the cause of the fire by God.
📌 Stop 4: Hunterian Museum
🚲 From the Golden Boy, cycle onto the Hunterian Museum.
Inside the Royal College of Surgeons is the Hunterian Museum. It’s home to curious collections of human and non-human anatomical and pathological specimens. It includes the display of over 2,000 anatomical preparations from Hunter’s original collection, and England’s largest public display of human anatomy.
📌 Stop 5: Neal’s Yard
🚲 Your final stop for some well-deserved rest is Neal’s Yard.
Tucked away in a corner of Covent Garden, close to the Seven Dials District is the colourful little streets of Neal’s Yard. Home to quirky shops and cafes, there’s lots to explore.
Discover more cycle routes
We’ve got loads of cycle routes for you to save for your next adventure. Why not explore the quieter side of London, or discover some of the top filming locations by bike.
Search our blog or visit our website for more inspiration.
Tell us in the comments where your favourite place in London to cycle is! 👇