Cyclists.com

Kensington – London

11 km road cycling loop20 m climbingUnder an hourGPX

Kensington, England, United Kingdom · Road

A flat 11 km road cycling loop from Notting Hill, England through Paddington, Mayfair and London, with 20 m of climbing.

Route contributed by Richard Chapman · Created from a ride on Sunday 5th July 2026

Download GPXMap

At a glance

Best for
Easy, flat rides
Distance
10.5 km
Loop
Elevation gain
20 m
2 m per km
Riding time
Under an hour
moving time, estimated
Difficulty
Easy
Bike
Road bike with sturdy tyres, or gravel bike
from the mapped surface
Surface
Mostly paved
87% paved · 8% unpaved · 6% no data
Traffic
Mostly minor roads
2.5 km on cycle paths or lanes
Food & water
Regular
555 cafés and restaurants · 56 shops · 10 water points · 2 petrol stations · 15 public toilets · 92 bike shops
Navigation
GPX download
free, no sign-in
Start and finish
Notting Hill

Map and elevation profile

Elevation profile

Total ascent
20 m
Distance
11 km
02040m0 km2.557.511 km34 m · highest, at 0.0 kmStartFinish · back at the start

Route description

  1. Notting Hill
  2. Paddingtonkm 2
  3. Mayfairkm 4
  4. Belgraviakm 4
  5. Chinatownkm 6
  6. Londonkm 6
  7. Westminsterkm 7
  8. Victoriakm 7
  9. Knightsbridgekm 9
  10. Notting Hillkm 11

Starting in Kensington, the route heads through Notting Hill at 0.5 km and Bayswater at 1 km, continuing on to Paddington at 2 km. The surface is predominantly paved (87%) with some gravel or unpaved sections (8%) and small unmapped parts (6%). The route includes 5.9 km of path, 2.4 km of cycle path, and 1.4 km of pedestrian areas. The ride passes through several London districts including Mayfair (3.5 km), Belgravia (4.2 km), Chinatown and London (5.7-5.8 km), then Westminster and Victoria (6.6 km). Elevation varies between 33 m at the start and 5 m at around 5.6 km, with a gentle profile featuring 20 m of climb and descent overall. The steepest 500 m section has a 2% gradient at 6.7 km. Facilities are frequent, with cafés such as Mawi Cafe at 0.5 km, St. James’s Café at 5.7 km, and Palace Gate Kiosk at 10.1 km. Shops include supermarkets near 1.1 km and at the finish. Toilets and drinking water are accessible along the route. Bailout points with stations exist at 1.9 km (Lancaster Gate) and 8 km (Hyde Park Corner).

Why ride this route?

  • The shortest of the 4 rides from Kensington.

Highlights

  • Passes through Notting Hill and Paddington
  • Crosses Westminster and Victoria districts
  • Steepest section at 6.7 km with 2% gradient
  • Cycle path constitutes 23% of the route

Along the route

Measured from the route line, the Copernicus elevation model and OpenStreetMap.

Places passed

  1. Mayfair 3.5 km
  2. Belgravia 4.2 km
  3. Chinatown 5.7 km
  4. London 5.8 km
  5. Westminster 6.6 km
  6. Victoria 6.6 km

Traffic, surface and gradient

Measured from OpenStreetMap along the track and the elevation profile.

Mostly minor roads and streets on the map.

Roads
56% path · 23% cycle path · 13% pedestrian · 8% other roads and tracks
Cycle paths
2.5 km on cycle paths or roads with a cycle lane
Surface
Predominantly paved: 87% is mapped as paved, 8% as unpaved or gravel and 6% has no surface data.
Gradient
6% climbing · 10% descending · 85% flat

Food, water and services

Within a few hundred metres of the track, from OpenStreetMap. Opening hours change — treat this as where to look, not a promise.

No stretch is longer than 15 km without a café, shop or water. Along the route: 555 cafés and restaurants, 56 shops, 10 water points, 2 petrol stations, 15 public toilets and 92 bike shops.

Food, water and shops in ride order

  1. 0.4 kmPalace Garden Terrace · bike rental · on the route
  2. 0.5 kmMawi Cafe · café · on the route
  3. 0.5 kmNotting Hill Pharmacy · pharmacy · 210 m off route
  4. 1.1 kmSimply Food & Wine · supermarket · 80 m off route
  5. 1.3 kmShell · petrol station · 60 m off route
  6. 1.8 kmToilets · on the route
  7. 2.8 kmFreeman Family Drinking Fountain · drinking water · on the route
  8. 5.7 kmSt. James’s Café · café · on the route
  9. 9 kmHyde Park 6 · drinking water · 80 m off route
  10. 9.4 kmMount Gate Toilets · toilets · on the route
  11. 10.1 kmPalace Gate Kiosk · café · on the route
  12. 10.1 kmPalace Gate · bike rental · on the route
  13. 10.3 kmPrince Pharmacy · pharmacy · on the route
  14. 10.5 kmWhole Foods Market · supermarket · 40 m off route

Need to bail out?

  • 1.9 km — Lancaster Gate (station), 60 m off route
  • 8 km — Hyde Park Corner (station), 90 m off route

Whether bikes are carried depends on the service — check before relying on it.

Worth a stop

  • 4.2 km — Wellington Arch (monument)
  • 7.7 km — Wellington Monument (monument)

Start and access

Starts and finishes at Notting Hill. Mapped within a short walk of the start, from OpenStreetMap.

At the start and finish

Food and coffee
Blend Juice & Coffee Bar (90 m), LIFT COFFEE Notting Hill (220 m), The Churchill Arms (150 m)
Shops
K S R Foods (150 m)

Know before you go

  • Longest stretch without café, shop or water: 0.8 km from 6.8 to 7.6 km
  • 0.1 km with gradient over 10% at 6.7 km

Routes are for inspiration. Roads, surfaces and conditions change — check locally and ride within your limits.

3 photographs from the road

Photo: Ricardalovesmonuments · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · Photo: Oast House Archive · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · Photo: Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net). · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

About this route

Ridden by
Richard Chapman
Date ridden
Route line
Built from a GPS recording of the ride.
Elevation
Recalculated from the Copernicus GLO-90 terrain model every 50 m, not the device’s barometer.
Roads, surface, services
Measured along the line from OpenStreetMap extracts.
GPX
Generated from the route line: track points only, no timestamps or personal data.
Page added
Page last updated

See something wrong with this ride?

More climbing

More rides from Kensington