Our five favourite hidden London lanes

Grab your wheels and hit these spectacular and quiet roads around London's home counties

London's most scenic lanes

Take your New Year goals on and stay motivated in the cold of winter with our favourite stretches of road — picked for beauty and sheer pedal-to-metal potential. Ready, set...

Knatts Valley Road, Kent

Located twenty miles south-east of central London, Knatts Valley Road is a three-and-a-half mile stretch that starts enclosed before opening out to reveal a stunning strip of Tarmac, hugged on each side by sloping green fields of Kent.

The best way to ride this road is from south to north. Approach from the village of Clarks Bottom.

Fingrith Hall Lane, Essex

Fingrith Hall Lane during the Tour of Britain

This is a quintessential Essex lane: flat, narrow, and lined with freshly harvested farmers' fields. You'll pass through white, clapboard homes and thatch-roofed houses that will set off perfectly on an autumn day. Stop at Megarry's Antiques and Tea Shop, an eclectic cake shop in Blackmore village located at the end of the Fingrith Lane.

Woldingham School Road, Surrey

Woldingham School Lane, Surrey

Closed to traffic, this road leads to Woldingham School and a dead end, unless you are on two wheels. Part of the National Cycle Highway, the road offers smooth Tarmac and almost traffic-free cycling. You'll meander beneath a ridge of the North Downs before passing the school buildings and continuing on through open farmers fields. At the end of the two-and-a-half mile stretch, you can choose to follow the road left and continue south, or turn right onto a gravel track suitable for cyclo-cross, road bikes with wide tyres and adventure bikes.

Headley Lane, Surrey

Surrey Hills

Box Hill's legendary ascent with curving switchbacks has almost become a motorway in recent years thanks, in part, to its use in the 2012 Olympic road race. In comparison, Longbottom Road leading to Headley Lane has gone almost unnoticed by cyclists and other road users, despite running parallel to Surrey's great beauty spot.

We highly recommend riding this alternative road, preferably in the direction towards Mickleham or Westhumble. Its fast, fun, and seemingly never-ending descent requires you to pedal to maintain speed without feeling like you're putting in too much effort along the two mile stretch. At the bottom, you can turn left and ascend Box Hill.

Berkhampsted Lane, Hertford

A touch north of London's roaring orbital motorway, the M25, is the quiet and secluded Berkhamsted Lane. The stretch initially descends, allowing you to pick up plenty of speed to ascend over the rise towards Little Berkhamsted village. Headrows line the road all the way along, keeping crosswinds to a minimum and your ride all the more speedy.

Culham Lane, Berkshire

Culham Lane's low, perfectly kept hedges give you a fantastic view across Berkshire and Oxfordshire farmland. It is pleasant and peaceful out here because the lane is a rather indirect way to reach Henley-upon-Thames, in all its wisteria-clad 18th-century glory. Flat as a pancake with almost perfect Tarmac, you can lay down some serious watts for just over two miles.