Love cycling
- Lee Valley
- Jun 1
- 5 min read
Updated: Jun 16
This month we’re celebrating the joy of cycling and all the different ways you can enjoy Lee Valley Regional Park by bike.
With longer, brighter and warmer days June is the perfect month to hop on a bike and explore our stunning and diverse 10,000 acres of parkland. And whether you’re looking for a scenic cycle or keen to follow in the tracks of the Olympians and put your skills to the test at Lee Valley VeloPark – we have a cycling experience for everyone.
June 9–15 is Bike Week
We’re joining the UK’s biggest celebration of cycling and bringing you a guide to cycling in the Lee Valley. Read on for helpful tips, our best cycling routes and cycling experiences for everyone – no bike or experience necessary.
Before you set off
We asked staff for their tops tips on preparing for a bike ride – here’s what they had to say:
Visually inspect your bike. Tyres should be at the recommended pressure. Look out for cracks or signs of excessive wear. Always give your breaks a squeeze, are they working smoothly? Loud squeaking could suggest a problem. Check your chain, is it working effectively? Look out for signs of dirt build up and rust
Safe to cycle. If you’re cycling in low lighting you’ll need to have a clean and functioning front and rear light, check them before you set off
Pack the essentials. If you’re heading on one of our longer rides be sure to pack a puncture repair kit and small handheld pump and make sure you know how to use them. You may also want to pack water, snacks and sunscreen
Dress for comfort. Thin layers are perfect because you’ll soon get warm. Don’t forget high visibility clothing if you’re riding at dawn or dusk
Check your route. It’s always a good to have an idea where you are heading so you can plan a manageable route, check the terrain and ensure there are no works taking place which may impact your route.
ℹ Good to know… for cycling in and around River Lee Country Park. A basic toolkit and bicycle pump is located on the site of Lee Valley White Water Centre
Need some inspiration?
We’ve pulled together a few of our favourite cycle routes across the park, including top picks from our colleagues and partners.
⭐Top staff pick – Fishers Green Foray River Lee Country Park, Fishers Green. Matt Ewings, Events Manager explains, “This route is a personal favourite, it doesn’t use any highways, the paths are predominantly tarmac and it takes in some lovely scenery through the park”. At 12 miles it’s one of the longer rides in our collection but there’s plenty of stopping points along the way and cafés to refuel
🚌 Accessible by public transport – Urban Oasis Tottenham Marshes. You’ll easily forget you’re in London as you take in the diverse wildlife and natural landscapes along this 3.5 mile route. A short hop from Northumberland Park train station and well served by bus this easy to access route will take you on a figure of eight through Tottenham Marshes via a mix of surfaced pathways, towpath, bridges, large cobbles and walk-around gates. For a shorter circuit of 1.5 miles check out Walk on the Wild Side
🚲Keeping little ones amused - The Artway Route 3 River Lee Country Park, Fishers Green. This route is a firm family favourite. At 3 miles it’s suitable for all and there’s plenty to keep younger cyclists entertained with sculptures dotted along the route which can be touched, climbed and played with. There’s toilets nearby in Fishers Green Car Park.
✨ Partner’s Pick – We asked our friends at Cycle Sisters, a Muslim womens' cycling charity for their favourite route. Deryn, a ride leader for Cycle Sisters shared details of a regular group ride through Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and Hackney Marshes, continuing on to Walthamstow Wetlands, “This is one of my favourite places to ride in London. You forget you're even in London as you ride through the wooded areas and listen to the sounds of birds singing!" You can take in these sights for yourself with our 5.5 mile Golden Circle route.
🥪Pedal and picnic – It’s National Picnic Week 14 – 21 June. Cycling is hungry work, why not combine a bike ride with a good old fashioned picnic? You can filter all our cycling routes for those that offer scenic picnic spots or picnic benches.
Take things up a gear at Lee Valley VeloPark
This iconic London 2012 legacy venue is open to everyone, seasoned cyclists to complete beginners and offers an impressive four cycling disciplines in one spot.
Where will you head?
Iconic Velodrome Track – One of the fastest tracks in the world, frequently graced by the world’s best. Enjoy the thrill of track cycling at a coached Velodrome taster experience or book on to a drop-in session. Little ones can learn to ride in the most inspirational setting with VeloBalance session in the track centre.
Epic BMX course – Show off your tricks on the remodelled Olympic BMX track. Learn the basics, hit the berms or practice your skills at one of our open sessions.
Premium road circuit – Cruse around this smooth, scenic route in the heart of east London. This one mile floodlit circuit is perfect from early morning through to evening. Pay and ride to work on your cycling skills or fitness. Beginners can check out the adult one-to-one learn to ride lessons.
Graded mountain biking trails – Tackle the terrain of our mountain bike trails, graded like ski runs into blues, reds and black. Develop your skills in a coached session or pay to ride and test your limits.
No bike, no problem!
Owning a bike shouldn’t be a barrier to enjoying the joy of cycling. There’s several options to hire bikes and helmets in the park.
The Cycling for Health programme is a series of sociable weekly led rides on traffic free routes in and around River Lee Country Park, Gunpowder Park and Chingford delivered by Epping Forest MTB and Epping Forest District Council. Bikes and helmets are available for those choosing to ride and hire (£12) or you can bring your own bike and helmet (£7). For more information please visit: Cycling for Health - Epping Forest MTB.
Lee Valley VeloPark offers bike hire with all booked sessions, including pay to ride. Bike and helmet starts at £13 for adults and £9 for under 18s
Lee Valley Canoe Cycle, Broxbourne offers bike hire for all the family and is conveniently located for exploring the stunning scenery in the north of the park
Santander Cycles has a number of docking stations spread across Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, find out more at TFL
Cycling for all
We’re committed to breaking down barriers and together with partners are delivering funded programmes that provide access to cycling for a wide variety of groups. This has included dedicated cycling sessions for deaf cyclists, programmes to make cycling more accessible for Muslim women delivered with Cycle Sisters, a confidence giving road cycling course for young people living with or in remission from cancer being supported by Teens Unite and regular track cycling sessions for people who experience mental health issues, delivered in partnership with Core Arts, a leading mental health creative education centre.
These sessions foster a love of cycling and commitment to health and wellbeing which extends beyond the programme. Many Core Arts participants now join weekly cycle rides in and around Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
You can find out more about working with use on cycling sessions here.
