As my way to celebrate the Rugby world Cup happening in Twickenham this month, I got together with a friend and rode from the Twickenham Rugby Stadium to Richmond via some of London´s best landscapes.

For those that never been to London before, this side of London is not usually part of a 1 or 2 days visit, as most tourists will prefer to stay within Zones 1 and 2 where the most recognizable landmarks are (you know… Tower Bridge, Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, Piccadilly, Trafalgar, etc, etc). Yet if you want to know how London works and the natural beauty the city has to offer these places are are a good option.

London is, I think, Western Europe´s biggest city. With a population of almost 7 million inhabitants (which for Europe is quite unusual when compared to Paris with just 2 million and Berlin with 3.5 million), London has managed to maintain an excellent balance between the grey of concrete and the green of nature. There are many parks and green areas in London and on this ride we cycled through 2 of them: Bushy Park and Richmond Park. We also cycled through the Crane park which is a small park part alongside the river Crane that got it´s name due to the bird and if you are patient you can still find several Crane nests alongside the river.

I think it´s fair to say that Bushy Park is not very well known to outsiders, yet it´s beauty is fantastic. There are water ways, fountains, tress, lots of green and plenty of deer roaming around.

Richmond park on the other hand is internationally known and is one of London´s biggest (perhaps the biggest) city inner park. A huge green area in the middle of the city much loved and used by its inhabitants, especially cyclists that come from all parts of the city and even outside London, like me, to appreciate the wonders that a bike ride provides. The only problem with Richmond park are the weekend drivers (sometimes a single person) that come to appreciate nature sitting inside their air-conditioned, fossil fuel powered mechanical monsters… no wonder Aliens might think of us as a highly inconsistent species 🙂

As we arrived in Richmond town centre we gave ourselves a treat of sorts in the form of a huge cappuccino and some tasty cakes (mine was a Black Forest), so this ride is divided in 2 sections:

Part 1 is from Twickenham Stadium to Richmond.

Part 2 is after we finished with our delicious cake eating activities and continued on to the Teddington Lock alongside the river Thames.

I hope you enjoy the videos and let me know if you have any questions by sending me a message through the contact form.

Thanks for visiting.