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Secret London Bike Tour

Available in English

Activity Schedule

  • When does it run?

    05 Mar 15 - 24 Oct 15: Daily

  • Duration

    3.5 hours (including a break)

  • Start time

    3:00pm

  • Meeting Point
    The guide will meet outside the entrance to platforms 1 & 2 at Waterloo train station.
    Waterloo train station is located above the underground station, so if you arrive by underground, then go up the escalators into the main train station after you have gone through the ticket barriers, and then follow the clearly marked train platform numbers along until you reach numbers 1 & 2, where you will meet your tour guide.
    Please report at the meeting point 15 minutes before the start time. This is mandatory to allow time for pre-departure briefing.
  • Ending Point

    The tour ends at the starting point

Key Highlights

  • Recommended by users of Trip Advisor – One of the top-rated things to do in London
  • Go off the beaten track to explore places that tour buses don′t reach
  • Discover all that is unique, strange and amusing about the East End of London
  • A tour full of fun and surprises
  • Enjoy exercise while you explore hidden corners of London
  • Small group tour with no more than 12 people

Overview

Combining history, culture, legend, scandal, murder and mystery, the Secret London Bike Tour is a thrilling experience from beginning to end.

The route takes you through London’s East End, once the haunt of felons and lowlife and a fearsome place where even police were afraid to go.

Discover the people and historic events that make this now such a fascinating locality. Cycle along the river taking in the Tate Modern art gallery and Shakespeare’s Globe theatre. Visit Borough Market and glorious Southwark Cathedral. After safely navigating Tower Bridge, view the Tower itself and the sinister ‘Dead Man’s Hole’.

Explore the old East End docks and sniff the spicy aromas of Brick Lane before moving on to the splendors of the City of London, including The Bank of England and the Royal Exchange. See the point from which the Romans measured all distances in ‘Britannia’, the flame-topped monument to the Great Fire of London and the historic ‘Bow Bells’.

Listen to a rich fund of stories from your knowledgeable guide featuring the ‘Leap of Faith’ by a London Bus over Tower Bridge; the pub with a legendary tunnel to the Tower of London; and the mysterious ‘Angel of the Thames’ who watches over the residents of London, and much more.

Itinerary

This fascinating cycle tour takes you through the East End of London, a part of town with myriad stories to tell. Along the way, your expert guide will peel away the layers of history to reveal the rich diversity of this captivating area.

Cycling casually along the river, ensuring your complete safety at all times, the tour takes you past highlights such as:

Tate Modern: Britain's national museum of international modern art housed in the former Bankside Power Station.

Shakespeare’s Globe: A modern reconstruction of the original Globe Theater, built in 1599 by William Shakespeare's playing company.

City Hall: This unusual bulbous building has attracted some unflattering comparisons (an onion and a woodlouse among other things) but is designed for energy efficiency. It is the headquarters of the Greater London Authority (GLA).

Southwark Cathedral and Borough Market: The lovely Gothic Cathedral of Southwark overlooks Borough Market, London’s oldest food market.

The Tower of London: This forbidding fortress has a grim and bloody history and has served variously as royal residence, a prison, armory, treasury, menagerie, and Royal Mint.

Dead Man’s Hole: An opening under Tower Bridge, formerly used to retrieve the corpses thrown into the Thames.

Tower Bridge: Opened in 1894, the Victorian Gothic Tower Bridge has become an iconic symbol of London in the same way as the Eiffel Tower evokes Paris and the Statue of Liberty, New York.

Angel of the Thames: Keep an eye out for the ‘Angel of the Thames’. Since the 17th century there have been reports of sightings of an ‘angel’ hovering over the Thames.

London Docks: One of several sets of docks in the historic Port of London. They were constructed in Wapping between 1799 and 1815, at a cost exceeding £5½ million.

Battle of Cable Street Mural: This powerful mural commemorates the day in 1936 when the people of the East End prevented Sir Oswald Mosley’s Fascists from marching through Cable Street in Stepney, then mainly a Jewish area.

Mystery of Jack the Ripper: Hear chilling tales of ‘Jack the Ripper’, the unidentified serial killer who operated around Whitechapel in 1888, murdering and mutilating at least five prostitutes.

Artillery and Brick Lanes: See historic Artillery Lane, and the famous Brick Lane. The latter is the heart of the city's Bangladeshi-Sylheti community and renowned for its curry houses as well as for its graffiti.

City of London: The historic core of London and the financial capital of the UK.

Bank of England: The headquarters of the Bank of England has been located in Threadneedle Street, the City of London, since 1734.

Royal Exchange: Founded in 1565 by Sir Thomas Gresham as a centre of commerce for the City. The building you see today is the third on this site and is now an upscale shopping center.

The London Stone, Cannon Street: This modest stone marked the point from which the Romans measured all distances in Britannia.

The Gherkin: The popular nickname for the office block opened in 2004 at No.30 St Mary Axe.

Monument to the Great Fire of London: This 202 ft (61.57 meter) tall stone column stands close to the place where the Great Fire of London started in 1666.

The ‘Bow Bells’: St Mary-le-Bow is an historic church in the City of London. According to tradition, a true Cockney must be born within earshot of the sound of the church bells.

The tour takes 3.5 hours, ends back at the starting point.

Inclusions

  • Bike and helmet rental
  • Bi-lingual guide (English and Spanish)
  • Ponchos are provided in case of rain

Exclusions

  • Food and drinks

Additional info

The confirmation voucher includes the local activity operator’s contact details and local telephone numbers at the destination. They will happily answer any logistical questions you may have

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