Take a leaf out of London's calm green spaces

Starting in the crescents of Ladbroke Grove, awaken your inner romantic as you hop on to your Santander Cycle and peer into Rosmead Gardens, where Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts took a stroll during the 1999 box-office hit Notting Hill.

Dock your bike on the outskirts of Holland Park and wander through the Kyoto Japanese Garden, created for the London Festival of Japan in 1991.

A short ride through Kensington and you arrive at Hyde Park, home to a plethora of historical sights. Be sure to stick to the designated cycle paths or dock at any station to take in Kensington Palace (originally built in 1605), the Albert Memorial (1872), the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain (2004), Serpentine Gallery (a tea pavilion until 1970) and Speakers’ Corner – used by protesters since 1872. Seek out the Hyde Park Pet Cemetery near Lancaster Gate, where pint-sized Victorian tombstones carry moving messages dedicated to lost loved companions.

Winding through Belgravia, dock your bike near the Saatchi Gallery and amble to Chelsea Physic Garden, which celebrates the beauty and importance of plants. Founded in 1673 by the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries to study the medicinal qualities of plants, it is the second-oldest botanical gardens in the UK, behind the University of Oxford’s Botanical Gardens.

For more information on this ride, plus turn-by-turn directions, visit tfl.gov.uk/leisureroutes

Did you know?

The new official Santander Cycles app from Transport from London is the only app to send bike release codes straight to your phone so you can skip past the docking station teminal. Download for free at the app store or Google Play

Santander Cycles is easy