Commuting along Grand Union Canal's Paddington Branch from Alperton to Bloomsbury (and possibly further)

[megumin999]

Hi all, I'd like to start commuting along the Paddington arm into central london to avoid having to use TfL services but needed some advice regarding the logistics of it. I have a choice between buying an electric scooter (Xiaomi M365 Pro, ~£500) or an electric pedal-assist bike (Japanese make/mama-chari, ~£800-£900), which one would be more suitable? NB: I don't want a normal MTB/road bike as I'd like to ride around hilly areas/parks effortlessly and dutch/step-throughs look nicer.

My questions are:

1. How busy is the canal towpath on my route from 8-9am and 5-7pm? Is it quite congested during peak hours?
2. What would my average speed be? Both the scooter and bike would be limited to around 15mph.
3. Are there any rough patches e.g. gravel or silty paths between alperton and little venice? Depending on the severity I don't think a scooter's 8 inch wheels could handle that.
4. I have a weird fear of riding alongside the canal and falling in since the path would be on the right of the canal and therefore I would have to ride on the left of the path so next to the water. For this, I feel safer on a scooter as I can afford to ride a bit more inside due to the smaller size compared to having to stay outside and away from pedestrians on a dutch-style bike. Am I being too paranoid here?
5. How safe is the canal during those hours?
6. If I needed to commute even further such as along Regents Canal, what would that be like? Are both canal routes good for going into central london and City of london?

anything else you'd recommend?

 

[DCBassman]

to Cyclechat! Can't help specifically re route, but off the top of my head, I'd have a bike over a scooter any day, so much more versatile if you decide you want to travel more under your own (battery-asssisted) steam. My own limited experience of e-bikes is that they can be heavy when there's no power. As with all such things, electric or not, lighter = more cash. And, personally, I'd feel safer on the bike, too!

 

[megumin999]

to Cyclechat! Can't help specifically re route, but off the top of my head, I'd have a bike over a scooter any day, so much more versatile if you decide you want to travel more under your own (battery-asssisted) steam. My own limited experience of e-bikes is that they can be heavy when there's no power. As with all such things, electric or not, lighter = more cash. And, personally, I'd feel safer on the bike, too!

Thanks for your opinion! The bikes I'm looking at weigh around 27kg so I'll definitely have to make sure the battery is big enough to last at least 15 miles

 

[DCBassman]

Thanks for your opinion! The bikes I'm looking at weigh around 27kg so I'll definitely have to make sure the battery is big enough to last at least 15 miles

i don't doubt most will be OK for that sort of range. As long as you have a good battery and motor (Bosch if you can afford it), you won't have any problems on that score.

 

[Gekko21]

I walked part of the Regent's Canal from Paddington Basin to Primrose Hill when I was going to a gig after work at the Roundhouse last year. It's not something I'd do again in a hurry. However, it would probably feel different on a bike and I have a colleague who sometimes runs it in the morning.

The bit around Little Venice and Paddington is lovely, but I didn't feel that safe along the rest of it. It was between 5.30 and 6.30 in the evening when I walked it and it was pretty deserted to be honest. I found the bit around Edgware Road to be quite industrial and then when you get to the part flanked by Regent's Park, you are hemmed in by a tall spiked fence, meaning that escape routes are few and far between. That's maybe less of an issue on a bike where you are going at some speed, but walking it felt secluded and if there'd been any trouble I'd have been stuck as I barely passed anyone along that bit. Eventually, I came to a path leading to the road and took the opportunity to get off the canal path.

It was disappointing as it seemed a great way to get across town without being on roads, but the amount of privately-owned land and buildings at the side of the towpath mean it's necessarily cut off.

 

[megumin999]

I walked part of the Regent's Canal from Paddington Basin to Primrose Hill when I was going to a gig after work at the Roundhouse last year. It's not something I'd do again in a hurry. However, it would probably feel different on a bike and I have a colleague who sometimes runs it in the morning.

The bit around Little Venice and Paddington is lovely, but I didn't feel that safe along the rest of it. It was between 5.30 and 6.30 in the evening when I walked it and it was pretty deserted to be honest. I found the bit around Edgware Road to be quite industrial and then when you get to the part flanked by Regent's Park, you are hemmed in by a tall spiked fence, meaning that escape routes are few and far between. That's maybe less of an issue on a bike where you are going at some speed, but walking it felt secluded and if there'd been any trouble I'd have been stuck as I barely passed anyone along that bit. Eventually, I came to a path leading to the road and took the opportunity to get off the canal path.

It was disappointing as it seemed a great way to get across town without being on roads, but the amount of privately-owned land and buildings at the side of the towpath mean it's necessarily cut off.

Interesting, so it seems the part up to Little Venice is okay and if I wanted to go further then it would be better to do it on a bike. Glad you got through the canal safely despite it being deserted. I went along a small part of it in Park Royal last autumn in the evening and there were no lights at all and big holes in the path where bricks were missing. It felt a bit eerie with only passing 4 people, but the highlight was a bunch of rats managing to keep pace with my scooter

 

[vickster]

Aren’t electric scooters still illegal on roads, paths and pavements?

 

[megumin999]

Aren’t electric scooters still illegal on roads, paths and pavements?

yep, the only place to legally ride it is in the air or in a garden , but I think enforcement is based on not being an idiot when riding it i.e. not using it on crowded pavements or squares in central london. after speaking to more people and the views on here I've decided to get an ebike instead though due to improved safety and legality plus convenience All that's left is to determine the safety of the canal route

 

[Gekko21]

A quick look at Cycle Streets suggests that the best route to Bloomsbury comes off the canal at Paddington Basin and then cuts through quietway streets. That's using what they call the 'balanced' route and their suggested 'quietest' route is nearly the same.

 

[Pale Rider]

Aren’t electric scooters still illegal on roads, paths and pavements?

I would say so.

A legal ebike is an EPAC - electrically assisted pedal cycle - and can be used anywhere a bicycle can.

A scooter, irrespective of its motive power, is just that, a scooter, and cannot be used on cycle paths.

An exception would be what is commonly called a disabled scooter but in reality is a powered wheelchair and is speed limited to 8mph.

 

[mjr]

A quick look at Cycle Streets suggests that the best route to Bloomsbury comes off the canal at Paddington Basin and then cuts through quietway streets. That's using what they call the 'balanced' route and their suggested 'quietest' route is nearly the same.

This. Mostly it's the old "Seven Stations Link" aka London cycle network route 0, which was being rebranded as Quietway 2 until Kahn and Norman decided to merge the Quiet way and Superhighway systems. I don't know what its new system number will be.

I used to use quieter streets at the Paddington end, shown on https://cycle.travel/map/journey/20785 - I've not done it for a year, though, much less gone exploring and checking alternatives. I wouldn't try Regents Canal again unless I had lots of time, plus I'd not use a scooter before they get legalised. I suspect just using one on the crowded bit of tow path around Camden would be considered sufficiently annoying to get a ticket if the police do another crackdown.

 

[megumin999]

A quick look at Cycle Streets suggests that the best route to Bloomsbury comes off the canal at Paddington Basin and then cuts through quietway streets. That's using what they call the 'balanced' route and their suggested 'quietest' route is nearly the same.

This. Mostly it's the old "Seven Stations Link" aka London cycle network route 0, which was being rebranded as Quietway 2 until Kahn and Norman decided to merge the Quiet way and Superhighway systems. I don't know what its new system number will be.

I used to use quieter streets at the Paddington end, shown on https://cycle.travel/map/journey/20785 - I've not done it for a year, though, much less gone exploring and checking alternatives. I wouldn't try Regents Canal again unless I had lots of time, plus I'd not use a scooter before they get legalised. I suspect just using one on the crowded bit of tow path around Camden would be considered sufficiently annoying to get a ticket if the police do another crackdown.

yeah the route is generally okay until I exit the canal where it gets quite busy. definitely don't want to use the scooter now on it as it's just increasing the chance of me being fined or getting into an accident

 

[Etern4l]

Apologies for necroing this. I was recently randomly attacked in the early evening around Harlesden (a serious crime hot-spot, as it turns out) by 3-4 thugs and ended up in the canal. Last year the same section was cordoned off by the police which looked like a murder investigation. A dodgy and dangerous route in the sense that that there is no CCTV, police presence (of course), or even lighting. This being a towpath there are limited escape options. Cycle traffic can be very sparse in the evening. Hope this helps someone avoid falling into the hands of criminals operating in that area.

 

[Blue Hills]

Apologies for necroing this. I was recently randomly attacked in the early evening around Harlesden (a serious crime hot-spot, as it turns out) by 3-4 thugs and ended up in the canal. Last year the same section was cordoned off by the police which looked like a murder investigation. A dodgy and dangerous route in the sense that that there is no CCTV, police presence (of course), or even lighting. This being a towpath there are limited escape options. Cycle traffic can be very sparse in the evening. Hope this helps someone avoid falling into the hands of criminals operating in that area.

Sorry to hear this.
Can I ask what time it was?
Light?

 

[Etern4l]

Thanks, it was just 7:30 p.m. , well after sunset though. The darkness was likely a factor, but googling reveals that similar towpath attacks have happened in broad daylight. Just a minute is needed really. They were waiting in a remote spot near a footbridge providing an escape route into Harlesden.

An absolute no-go zone until its secured by lighting, CCTV, and the area policed robustly. Will probably need to wait for the first actual Robocop models though, necessarily waterproof just in case!