🚲 The best low-traffic way to cycle from Woolwich to Eltham

You can cycle from Woolwich in south east London to Eltham London, more or less entirely on quiet streets and protected cycle lanes.
The route is 6km long (3.7 miles) and makes use of Cycleway 33 as well as other historic quiet streets south of Woolwich.
If you find this video useful or you just enjoy watching it please remember to subscribe to the channel and hit the bell icon so you're alerted to new videos, as I try to post new ones like it every week.
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You can see a digital map of the route and download a GPS/GPX file to use on whatever device or app you want here:
www.komoot.com...
And you can find a viewer-created and maintained map of all the London Cycle Routes videos here:
www.google.com...
I also highly recommend the Safe Cycle London map for route planning, which is compiled by @SafeCycleLDN on twitter:
www.google.com...

[@a1white]

Thanks for doing this area! This is my locale. Back when the section of the Thames path west of the Woolwich ferry was closed (for years!) I figured out the C33 route to get back home towards Charlton and it’s not bad. I agree about the parked cars. Be cautious on the first section of Brookhill road (with through traffic) I’ve had cars driving at me, when they are passing parked cars, seemingly not understanding that I have priority. Shooters Hill used to have wands on the cycle lane also, until the council removed them. They did it during resurfacing a couple of years ago claiming they would be put back, but they never were.

[@Londoncycleroutes]

that's interesting about the wands on Shooter's Hill - I might have to fire off an FOI to see what's going on with that

[@a1white]

@@Londoncycleroutes Thanks. It would be interesting to know. Greenwich Council cycling infrastucture is patchy at best. I went to one of their forums a few years back where they explained lots of their ambitious plans for things that were definitely going to happen and asked for feedback (including an extension for what was then Quietway 1 towards Blackheath, which never happened- probably after they scrapped the LTN's west of the park). The Cycleway along shooters hill road was central to their plans at the time. The C33 route is symbolic of their thinking really. A bit half finished and not wanting to upset car users.

[@Londoncycleroutes]

hopefully they come back with west and east greenwich LTNs currently out for consultation - that would be major improvement to the area. I wonder if they are waiting for that before proceeding with Shooters Hill as it was meant to go onto a filtered St John's St which would be part of the eastern greenwich ltn @@a1white

[@JacobChute-hn3je]

Just did my first cycle in London yesterday I love your videos keep up the good work

[@Londoncycleroutes]

Amazing, I hope it went well and is the first of many!

[@martinmckee418]

Edith Nesbit Walk is named after the writer E. Nesbit who wrote The Railway Children, 5 Childen And It, The Wouldbegoods and lots of others. She used to live in the Well Hall (now demolished) adjacent to the walk.

[@Londoncycleroutes]

Great fact!

[@Rob197md]

The triple gates were installed to prevent motorcycle’s and mopeds using it as a cut thru into the estates. Edith Nesbit walk is what I use to get to Dartford. It is lit up at night. If you go right behind the bus depot you can get straight into a fairly car free route into Dartford and run parallel with the A2 via Danson and Crayford

[@Londoncycleroutes]

I’m not sure the gates even do block mopeds tbh! You always see people wheeling past ones like that and then revving when they get back on. Just a silly thing councils do

[@monkeyboyshires]

Used cycleway 33 for the first time today to get from the ferry up to Woolwich common, usually use the south circular as not too bothered by traffic, makes a less stressful ride although the surface through the estate could do with a good clean and resurfacing. Need a better crossing from the arsenal to the market side of the A206 but a good option thanks

[@Londoncycleroutes]

Nice one, yeah they really need to sort the surface it would make a huge difference

[@infocuslearning]

Edith Nesbitt Walk is fine at night. As you suspected, you get light from the A2 adjacent. Similarly Woolwich Common. It's not lit but the combination of high ambient lighting from surrounding streets and the fact that it has clear sight lines all the way across makes it not too bad. You have the Olympics to thank for that path across it (sort of). It used to be just a dirt track. For the Olympics, they put in a path identical to what there is now. Because the LOG were obliged to re-instate everything on the Common to how it was, they took it out again and it reverted to a dirt track. I think people realised that actually the smooth path was a good walking/cycling route to the Hospital so it was put back again. Fun fact: you occasionally used to see elephants tethered up near that path when a circus was in town! Final point: You can easily extend the route into Eltham High Street by wheeling your bike up to the controlled crossing at Eltham Station (or by taking a somewhat dangerous right turn out of Edith Nesbit Walk - safer coming in the other direction tho'). After crossing Well Hall Rd, cycle into Station Approach and there is a shared path into Archery Road, which gives a pretty quiet route up to Eltham High Street.

[@Londoncycleroutes]

very interesting history thank you! and I'll give that extension to Eltham High St a go, sounds decent.

[@infocuslearning]

@@LondoncycleroutesI just remembered that there is a tunnel between Dunvegan and Glenlea Roads. You can make an easy left turn out of Edith Nesbit then right into Dunvegan. The tunnel takes you up to the corner of Archery Rd and hence Eltham High Street, so it's a good alternative route. I just cycled it today to check and there are no signs saying "No Cycling" at either tunnel entrance, so it's fine to use. There are the usual staggered "anti-motorbike" barriers, but you can cycle through OK.

[@Londoncycleroutes]

interesting, I didn't know about this - will have to check it out, thanks for the useful info!@@infocuslearning

[@Londoncycleroutes]

just looking at it on street view it looks like a useful way to get into the town centre thank you!@@infocuslearning

[@1Fmarcel]

Those 3 chikanes on the path at the end of the cul de sac, is very similar to some we have in my neighboorhood and which could save me about 1km, but in reality makes me take another route to avoid them.

[@Londoncycleroutes]

They’re so pointless! Bad for everyone involved

[@yi-wenwang5647]

Thanks for sharing the route with us. Very helpful. Could you maybe do the one from Greenwich to Bow area through foot tunnel? Just always confused about the route in Canary Wharf....Thanks a lot!☺

[@Londoncycleroutes]

I’ll see what I can do - the route south through the Isle of Dogs from Canary Wharf is a bit dodgy at the moment due to road closures/development closing paths but I think there might be a quieter way through the streets down the middle. It’s a real shame the Thames path isn’t continuous

[@patrick6234]

I used to cycle along Edith Nesbit walk to college and as far as I can remember it does have street lighting

[@Londoncycleroutes]

good to know! thanks

[@TheHoveHeretic]

Back before the new A2 between Falconwood and Blackwall Tunnel Approach, I used to cycle from my old school's playing fields off Southend Crescent, Eltham back to my home on the Welling side of Shooter's Hill. The junction of the A2 (Rochester Way) and Westmount Road was horrible. 5mins green light for the A2, 15sec for Westmount Road, pedestrians played frogger. The alternative was Well Hall Roundabout ..... 'nuff said!!

[@Londoncycleroutes]

wouldn't fancy that roundabout myself!@@TheHoveHeretic

[@dorsettyke]

Great route considering what you're working with! 😬👍

[@Londoncycleroutes]

Haha thanks, that’s a good way to look at it!

[@paulpenfold2352]

At 7:46 are some butchered (pollarded) tree of heaven trees. Such a shame.

[@Londoncycleroutes]

good spot!

[@TheHoveHeretic]

Much has changed in 40 years ..... and much hasn't! Is there perhaps scope for a spot of cross-pollination with a London Urbanist or two? What I've learned about a scientific approach to road design over the past few years has been (a) a real eye-opener and (b) mostly from The Netherlands .... and boy, could London do with some joined up thinking.

[@Londoncycleroutes]

I'm always interested in what people have to say about cycling in London!

[@nickmarmalade]

Thanks for all your work on this channel . I wonder if you might have a look at a way of an east-west &rtn commute route from Holloway to around the bbc tv centre in Wood Lane? It’s proving tricky to find a good way and checked your videos and haven’t found a a match. Great work, thanks, Nick

[@Londoncycleroutes]

Have messaged, hope the route is useful!

[@lucafilippi9007]

I'm sure you're asked this a lot, but what setup are you using for filming your cycles? - i.e., camera, mount, etc.? Cheers!

[@Londoncycleroutes]

GoPro Hero 11 black! I mount it to the handlebars with a fairly generic mount I got online, I’ve used a few over the years as they tend to break- what works will depend on exactly how your handlebars are I think. In earlier videos I used a Hero 8 (I upgraded so I could shoot in 4K while keeping 60fps) and the very earliest few I had a generic £20 camera from the internet with no image stabilisation