18km Extravagant Genius
John Nash's Cumberland Terrace, Regent’s Park
A homage to John Nash, London’s city planner
The ride is the most magnificent and stately in London, as well as one of the most divisive. The architect John Nash, who’d been commissioned by the Prince Regent (later George IV) to model London on the great cities of Europe said of his proposal that, ‘the whole communication from Charing-Cross to Oxford-Street will be a boundary and complete separation between the Streets and Squares occupied by the Nobility and Gentry, and the narrower Streets and meaner houses occupied by mechanics and the trading part of the community’. The short but stately route rides past sumptuous terraces of fine houses, along the most glamorous and exclusive street in the city, and ends in a landscaped parkland of villas, trees and lakes.
The ride is short and works well as a gentle early-ish Sunday morning pedal perhaps with a friend or loved one who is not an habitual rider on London’s roads, or as an early deviation on your standard commute. For a Londoner, re-connecting with parts of the city one normally takes for granted, is a most rewarding thing to do. A word of caution; The cycle lane up Regent’s street is not fully protected and during peak business hours the street is busy. Better to ride early in the morning before, when you’ll have the time to admire the street’s extravagance and grace, as well as the many fine window displays.
Ride practicalities
START/FINISH: Trafalgar Square (Nearest mainline station; Charing Cross) DISTANCE: 18km. TOTAL ASCENT: 115m TERRAIN AND SURFACES: Roads and asphalted cycleways throughout. FOOD: Any number of places to stop. Historic pubs include The Champion just off Upper Regent’s Street, or for a breakfast try, The Riding House Cafe in Great Titchfield street. All the Royal Parks have reasonable cafes : MAINLINE TRAIN SERVICES:Charing Cross. The route passes close to Marylebone station too.
There is a cycleway on the busy Regent’s street although it does not have full protection. The roads are quiet around Regent’s Park and through to Marble Arch. Thereafter it is protected bike lanes all the way back to Trafalgar Square.
Ride Notes
The route begins in Trafalgar Square. Surrounded by busy traffic, it is hard to believe that it was designed in the 19th century as a means to ease traffic congestion and impose order upon the mayhem of London. In the north-east corner of the square, there is a statue of George Augustus Frederick Hanover, who ruled for nine years as Prince Regent, before acceding to the throne for ten years as King George IV. As a king, he was widely regarded as a failure, since he preferred an extravagant and dissolute lifestyle to governing. However, much of the ceremonial pomp of the Royal Family was created during his reign as were many of the city’s great architectural set pieces; Regent’s Street, Piccadilly Circus, Regent’s Park, and Buckingham Palace are all products of his reign.
George IV, Trafalgar Square
Leaving Trafalgar Square via Waterloo Place, you arrive at Carlton House Terrace, a Nash creation. Looking northwards, you see the start of the ‘Via Triumphalis’, which linked the home of the Prince Regent to Marylebone Fields - now known as Regents Park. Nash planned to line the road with sumptuous terraces of fine houses, ending in a landscaped parkland of villas, trees and lakes. You are surrounded by the creamiest and grandest of London’s buildings, many of which are now private clubs, Institutes or Embassies. Whilst he was Regent, this is where George lived, which is why he wanted a grand European styled road leading out from his own palace. You may wish to park your bike and walk down York Steps to the Mall. Buckingham Palace was another of John Nash’s creations as was St. James’ Park.
Using the bike lane, head up the Via Triumphalis, known in the 19th century as New Street, (and today as Lower Regent’s Street) to John Nash’s Quadrant (Piccadilly Circus) and over into Regent Street.
Nash’s Quadrant, known today as Piccardilly Circus
The original idea was for one straight road from Carlton House to the Park, similar to the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, but the Crown did not own all the land along the proposed route, so had to circumvent existing developments. This is fortuitous in that with the curve, Regent’s street is more gracious and magnificent than it would have been as one straight processional route.
Riding up this glamorous street on a quiet early morning, is a wonderful experience; London is relatively quiet - as if it were taking a deep breath in before facing the day, and the buildings on either side of the road are impressive and the shop window displays eye-catching. It is everything that a prosperous part of a modern world-city needs to be - glamorous, exclusive and indulgent. Nash originally placed an arcade on either side of the street so that shoppers were protected from the elements, but it was unpopular because it restricted the light in the shops and it was soon removed.
Regent’s street is London’s great divide. It was purposely built so - the rich to the west, the poorer classes to the east. And broadly speaking, little has changed. As you ride, look down the streets to the left and right - to the East (left), the streets are narrow and crowded, to the right, wide and often tree-lined.
Crossing over Oxford Circus - where the buildings are much later than those built by Nash, you ride into Upper Regent Street, which curves round in a splendid arc, mimicking the great amphitheatres of Roman times. As the street begins its curve, All Souls Church, another Nash building, stands like a giant exclamation mark. At its opening, a reviewer remarked, ‘To our eye, the church itself, apart from the tower, (for such it almost is) is perhaps, one of the most miserable structures in the metropolis…..’
Outside the church is a bust of John Nash, who was said to be, ‘very clever, odd, amusing man with a face like a monkey’s. He was very small, talkative and totally uninhibited even in the grandest company.’
Riding northwards, there are many dazzling buildings on either side of the road. Nash designed this section for sumptuous residential housing but today most of the buildings are HQs and embassies, including the BBC, the Royal Institute of British Architects and the Chinese Embassy. The riding is glorious, the traffic quieter, the bike lane wider. The street is most untypical of London - more European boulevard with a tree-lined centre.
At Park Crescent, the route continues northward into Regent’s Park. Before 1811, this was farmland. Nash had proposed 56 private villas, each set in an idyllic and classical country landscape. Only eight of these country houses were built, including Winfield House, which is now the residence of the Ambassador to the United States.
Riding in the Park’s Outer Circle, you cannot but be awed by the huge and unbelievably expensive houses. A villa in the park sells for upwards of £50 million and in the terraces bordering the park, such as Cumberland Terrace, where a buyer can expect to pay in the region of £21m for a house. The names of the terraces, gates and streets around the park are named after either various titles held by the Prince Regent, or his relatives. The Dukes of York and Cumberland were his brothers, and the Regent held the title Earl of Chester. Every facade is covered in stucco - it’s like riding around a giant wedding cake.
Queen Mary’s Rose Garden, Regent’s Park
The Outer Ring is a favourite training ground for many London cyclists and the soundscape will be the purring of super expensive carbon bikes. It’s a glorious ride, the grandest of grand houses, including the American Ambassador’s official home. As you ride past London’s zoo, there are giraffes in the enclosure nearest the road, and you may hear the roar of lions. Further round, is the Regent’s Park London Mosque. Within the Inner Circle, there are more splendid villas and one of London’s greatest public gardens, The Queen Mary Rose Garden, which whilst not of a Nash design, is very beautiful in summer. Near the lake is a good cafe for your morning coffee.
From the Park, there is quiet riding through the prosperous parts of Marylebone to Marble Arch. John Nash based this on the Roman Emperor Constantine’s triumphal arch in Rome. It was designed as the state entrance into the central courtyard of Buckingham Palace, to celebrate Britain’s victory over Napoleon - England’s very own Arc de Triomphe. The statue of George IV, which was seen at the start of the ride in Trafalgar Square, was intended to grace the top of the arch, but it never did. Later, the architect Decimus Burton (a pupil of Nash), whilst remodelling the Palace, moved the arch to its current position.
St. George, dressed as a Roman cavalryman, lancing the dragon. Detail on Marble Arch
Using the various pedestrian/cycle crossings, take the totally traffic-free path through Hyde Park, riding through grand avenues of London plane trees and limes, past an array of public statues, including the exuberant ‘The Joy of Life’. At Hyde Park Corner, you use the shared pedestrian/cycle lights and ride through Decimus Burton’s Wellington Arch and continue down Constitution Hill towards Buckingham Palace.
Enormously fat, and deeply unpopular, George was 58 when he became King. He’d accumulated huge debts, which Parliament regularly had to pay off. He’d chosen Buckingham House (as it was then known) to be his pied-à-terre, and John Nash was engaged to enlarge and beautify it. Inside, marble was imported from Italy, along with new commissions for furniture and art. Enormous sums were spent, but before the work was completed, the king died. His successor, William IV, sacked Nash, blaming him for the unjustifiable extravagance and denied him a knighthood. Nash, died in 1835 an embittered man, leaving debts of over £15,000.
Buckingham Palace
From the Palace, you ride up the Mall passing another of London’s beautiful parks, St. James’s, another Nash creation. Ride through your third triumphal arch (Admiralty Arch) and back into Trafalgar Square.
Every route on this website has been carefully researched as well as ridden. However situations on the ground can change quickly. If you know of changes to this route, or cafes, pubs and the like which you think other cyclists need to know about, feel free to share your thoughts below.
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