Christmas Lights Ride report (by Steve)

On the evening of Monday 7th December, Newham Cyclists toured the extravagant lighting displays of London’s West End. We met by the steps at St Pauls Cathedral before following a route that took in all the major shopping streets and some iconic London venues such as Trafalgar Square and Somerset House.

Nigel & Lisa coffee7Christmas lights route

Bill joined us on Bond Street outside Burberry’s, had he been Christmas shopping? It was not clear, as he wasn’t saying. The route deviated from the plan and we took Regent Street instead of Piccadilly down to Piccadilly Circus. A minor route planning mistake by the ride leader caused a little confusion, but once regrouped we headed for the bright lights of Leicester Square and Trafalgar Square

St Pauls groupTrafalgar

The famous Norwegian Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square looked as if it had been exposed to strong winds as it seemed to have a natural tilt, and the horse skeleton with the stock market data stream on the fourth plinth required some interpretation. Carnaby Street lights were impressively gaudy and Covent Garden had an excellent tree, as did Somerset House.

CarnabyC Garden group

There were some challenges as the roads were busy and there were lots of pedestrians, however the evening temperature was mild and and dry and there was no wind. We returned via Winterville in Victoria Park, but the bike parking was woefully inadequate so we did not go in and diverted to the People’s Pub on Victoria Park Road for deserved and festive refreshment.

More pictures, courtesy of Robin here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/rsstephenson/albums/72157662020002231