How to cross the Thames by bike east of Tower Bridge
East of Tower Bridge there is no bridge you can ride for 23 kilometres. You cross on foot through the Greenwich or Woolwich tunnels, on the free Silvertown cycle shuttle or Woolwich Ferry, or with the bike carried on the cable car, a river bus or an off-peak train. Here is every option in order downstream, with its hours, cost and rules.
- 2 crossings you can ride
- 2 where you wheel the bike
- 6 that carry it for you
Every crossing from Tower Bridge to Dartford
Eleven ways across, in order downstream. One you can ride, two you walk, seven carry the bike for you, and one is closed to bikes altogether.
| Crossing | Verdict | By bike | What you ride on | Hours | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tower Bridge | Rideable | Ride across | General traffic | Always open | Free |
| Rotherhithe Tunnel | Avoid | Ride across | General traffic | Always open | Free |
| Canary Wharf to Rotherhithe ferry | Bike carried | Carried | Bike carried | Always open | Uber Boat fare |
| Greenwich Foot Tunnel | Walk it | Wheel it | Foot tunnel or footbridge | Open 24 hours | Free |
| Blackwall Tunnel | No bikes | Not allowed | Not open to bikes | Always open | Free |
| Silvertown Tunnel cycle shuttle | Bike carried | Carried | Bike carried | 6:30am to 9:30pm | Free |
| London Cable Car | Bike carried | Carried | Bike carried | Weekdays from 8am or 9am, closes 9pm to 11pm by day | £7 one way, free with a bike before 10:30am on weekdays |
| Woolwich Foot Tunnel | Walk it | Wheel it | Foot tunnel or footbridge | Open 24 hours | Free |
| Woolwich Ferry | Bike carried | Carried | Bike carried | 6am to 10pm | Free |
| DLR, Elizabeth line and Overground | Bike carried | Carried | Bike carried | Off-peak only for a non-folding bike | Standard fare |
| Dartford Crossing cycle service | Bike carried | Carried | Bike carried | 3am to 9am, 10:30am to 2pm, 3pm to 9pm, 10:30pm to 2am | Free |
The crossings, one by one
What each one is, how it works with a bike, what it costs and what has changed recently, with the operator’s own page linked under each.
Tower Bridge
RideableTower Bridge is the last bridge on the Thames and the last place you can ride across for 1.7 kilometres, on a carriageway with no cycle lane shared with buses and lorries, so it is the default crossing for east London and the one most riders use.
- No cycle lane in either direction; you ride in the traffic lane. Cycling on the walkways is not allowed.
- The bascules lift around 500 times a year, about twice a day, for ships that book 24 hours ahead; lift times are published and traffic waits.
- Over 5,000 cycle trips a day in Transport for London’s 2026 sample week, more than every other crossing east of it put together.
- When the bridge closes for overnight maintenance, Transport for London’s advice is to use London Bridge southbound and Southwark Bridge northbound.
- North bank
- Tower Hill and the Mansell Street gyratory, where Cycleway 3 passes along the Embankment.
- South bank
- Tower Bridge Road at Tooley Street, where Cycleway 4 begins.
Rotherhithe Tunnel
AvoidCycling through the Rotherhithe Tunnel is legal but a bad idea: 1.4 kilometres of narrow, fume-filled road carrying 30,000 vehicles a day, which Transport for London itself says cyclists and pedestrians regularly avoid, and which Cyclemate never routes you through.
- Open to bikes and people on foot, with no separate lane or footway worth the name; Transport for London describes it as regularly avoided by both.
- Vehicles over 2 metres high or wide and goods vehicles over 2 tonnes are banned, camera-enforced 24 hours, which keeps lorries out but not vans.
- 499 cycle trips in Transport for London’s 2026 sample week, against more than 5,000 on Tower Bridge.
- Transport for London wants a nine-month closure for a mechanical and electrical renewal; it was pushed to April 2026 at the earliest for lack of funding and has no confirmed start.
- North bank
- Branch Road in Limehouse, off The Highway.
- South bank
- Lower Road in Rotherhithe, by Canada Water.
Canary Wharf to Rotherhithe ferry
Bike carriedUber Boat by Thames Clippers runs a cross-river shuttle, route RB4, between Canary Wharf and Doubletree Docklands pier in Rotherhithe, and takes bikes on board for no extra charge, first come first served.
- Up to 14 bikes per boat depending on the vessel, no reservation, no extra charge; e-bikes are allowed, e-scooters are not.
- Pay as you go with contactless or Oyster; journeys do not count towards daily caps.
- The longer RB1 river bus also takes bikes and calls at Canary Wharf, Greenwich, North Greenwich, Royal Wharf, Woolwich and Barking Riverside, so it works as a crossing further east too.
- North bank
- Canary Wharf pier.
- South bank
- Doubletree Docklands pier, Rotherhithe.
Greenwich Foot Tunnel
Walk itThe Greenwich Foot Tunnel links Island Gardens to Cutty Sark in 370 metres, open 24 hours and free, but you must dismount and walk the bike through, and the lifts are out of service often enough that you should expect the stairs.
- Royal Greenwich’s rule, without exception: you must not cycle through the Greenwich or Woolwich foot tunnels; dismount and walk. E-bikes are prohibited, so a hire e-bike ride has to end before the entrance.
- Open 24 hours, with a monthly wet clean closure from 8pm to 10pm on the first Tuesday and Wednesday of the month.
- The south lift was out of service from 28 September to 16 October 2026 for maintenance, and lift parts and the fire alarm are being replaced through December 2026; check the council’s status page before relying on a lift.
- More than 1,300 cycle trips in Transport for London’s 2026 sample week, the busiest crossing east of Tower Bridge.
- North bank
- Island Gardens on the Isle of Dogs, by the DLR station.
- South bank
- Cutty Sark Gardens, Greenwich.
Blackwall Tunnel
No bikesBikes are banned from the Blackwall Tunnel, as they are from the Silvertown Tunnel next to it; the cycle shuttle bus through Silvertown is the crossing here.
- Cycling and walking are not permitted in either the Blackwall or Silvertown tunnels, for safety reasons.
- Both tunnels have carried a user charge for vehicles since 7 April 2025.
Silvertown Tunnel cycle shuttle
Bike carriedSince 7 April 2025 a free bus has carried bikes through the Silvertown Tunnel every 12 minutes between the Greenwich Peninsula and the Royal Docks, and it is the only Transport for London service that takes a non-folding e-bike or a cargo bike.
- Runs 6:30am to 9:30pm every day except Christmas Day, about every 12 minutes, taking 10 to 12 minutes; free until further notice and committed until at least 2028.
- Carries pedal bikes, e-bikes, cargo bikes, hire bikes and adaptive cycles: four standard bikes a trip plus one non-standard cycle up to 2.14 metres long and 300 kilograms, and up to seven folders.
- You dismount and board through the middle doors; the driver straps every bike in before leaving. Pedestrians without a bike cannot use it.
- Around 100 to 130 riders a weekday in its first year.
Since April 2025 this replaces the long detour to the Greenwich Foot Tunnel for anyone crossing between North Greenwich and the Royal Docks.
- North bank
- Seagull Lane in the Royal Docks, near Royal Victoria DLR.
- South bank
- Millennium Way on the Greenwich Peninsula, near North Greenwich.
London Cable Car
Bike carriedThe London Cable Car, the IFS Cloud Cable Car until March 2026, takes bikes in its cabins all day between the Greenwich Peninsula and the Royal Docks, free before 10:30am on weekdays and £7 one way after, but not e-bikes.
- Bicycles are permitted throughout the day and travel free before 10:30am on weekdays, excluding bank holidays; e-bikes, e-scooters and e-unicycles are prohibited.
- Adult pay as you go £7 one way or £13.50 return from March 2026; a £20 ten-journey ticket from the ticket offices.
- Monday to Thursday 8am to 9pm, Friday 9am to 10pm, Saturday 9am to 11pm, Sunday 9am to 9pm; closes in lightning or strong wind.
- North bank
- Royal Docks terminal, by Royal Victoria DLR.
- South bank
- Greenwich Peninsula terminal, by North Greenwich.
Woolwich Foot Tunnel
Walk itThe Woolwich Foot Tunnel is 504 metres walked with the bike, open 24 hours and free, with the north lift out of service since August 2022 and repairs on both lifts running through autumn 2026, so plan on the stairs or take the ferry next door.
- Cyclists must dismount, without exception; about 15 minutes to walk through.
- The north lift has been out of service since 21 August 2022; a £217,000 programme from June 2026 repairs it through autumn 2026, then the south lift, with occasional closures.
- Monthly wet clean closure 8pm to 10pm on the second Tuesday and Wednesday of the month.
- North bank
- Pier Road, North Woolwich, by King George V DLR.
- South bank
- Woolwich, beside the ferry terminal.
Woolwich Ferry
Bike carriedThe Woolwich Ferry is free, carries bikes including non-folding e-bikes, and sails every 15 minutes from 6am to 10pm seven days a week, which makes it the easiest crossing east of the Greenwich Peninsula.
- Free for everyone; the boats carry pedestrians, cyclists, cars, vans and lorries.
- Every 15 minutes, first sailing 6am and last 10pm, the same timetable every day of the week.
- Non-folding e-bikes are allowed here, unlike on the Tube, Overground, Elizabeth line and DLR.
- Can stop in dense fog or an extremely high tide, and ran a one-boat service in March 2026 while engines were replaced.
- North bank
- Pier Road, North Woolwich.
- South bank
- John Wilson Street, Woolwich.
DLR, Elizabeth line and Overground
Bike carriedA non-folding bike can cross under the river on the DLR, the Elizabeth line and the Windrush line of the Overground outside weekday peaks, which Transport for London defines as before 7:30am, 9:30am to 4pm and after 7pm plus all weekend, but never on the Jubilee line between Canada Water and North Greenwich.
- DLR: Island Gardens to Cutty Sark, and King George V to Woolwich Arsenal, off-peak; folded bikes only to and from Bank.
- Elizabeth line: Custom House to Woolwich off-peak, with no train changes allowed with a bike at Stratford, Liverpool Street, Tottenham Court Road, Bond Street or Paddington.
- Overground Windrush line: Wapping to Rotherhithe and Canada Water off-peak.
- Jubilee line: non-folding bikes are allowed only between Stratford and Canning Town and between Finchley Road and Stanmore, so not across the river.
- Since 31 March 2025 non-folding e-bikes, including conversions, are banned from the Tube, Overground, Elizabeth line and DLR, with fines of up to £1,000; folded e-bikes are fine.
- The free cross-river DLR hops introduced with the Silvertown Tunnel ended on 26 May 2026.
Dartford Crossing cycle service
Bike carriedYou cannot cycle the Dartford Crossing, but a free vehicle will carry you and your bike over the bridge or through the tunnel: pick up the yellow phone at Kent Point or Essex Point and a lift arrives in about 15 minutes.
- Free, every day of the year, in four windows: 3am to 9am, 10:30am to 2pm, 3pm to 9pm and 10:30pm to 2am.
- No booking if the bike fits a car rack; tandems, trailers and groups of more than three must contact the operator first. No animals or e-scooters.
- The service is a legal duty under the Dartford-Thurrock Crossing Act 1988.
- Essex
- Essex Point, 859 London Road, Grays.
- Kent
- Kent Point, Crossing Offices Roundabout, South Orbital Road, Dartford.
How Cyclemate routes it
Why our directions never send you into the Rotherhithe Tunnel
Neither the Rotherhithe Tunnel nor the foot tunnels are ridable ways on our London cycling map, so no Cyclemate route goes through them, whatever the shortest path says. A route east of Tower Bridge crosses at Tower Bridge; for a tunnel, the shuttle, the ferry, the cable car or a train, plan to the crossing, use this page for the rules in between, and plan on from the other bank.
In a sample week counted by Transport for London in 2026, more than 5,000 cycle trips crossed Tower Bridge and 1,300 used the Greenwich Foot Tunnel, against 499 through the Rotherhithe Tunnel. Plan a route and the SuperSafe™ option shows you the crossing it picked and why.
- 5,000+
- cycle trips a week over Tower Bridge
- 1,300+
- a week through the Greenwich Foot Tunnel
- 0
- Cyclemate routes through the Rotherhithe Tunnel
Notes and sources
Hours, fares and rules are from the operators’ own pages: Transport for London for the cycle shuttle, the Woolwich Ferry, the cable car and cycles on public transport; the Royal Borough of Greenwich for the foot tunnels; the City Bridge Foundation for Tower Bridge; Uber Boat by Thames Clippers for the river bus; and GOV.UK for the Dartford Crossing. The weekly cycle counts per crossing are Transport for London’s 2026 Silvertown monitoring sample week as reported by Greenwich Wire.
Distances between crossings are straight-line, mid-river. The rating in the table is what SuperSafe™ gives the crossing’s ridable way on our London map, built from OpenStreetMap; a crossing you walk or ride inside a vehicle has no rating. For the bridges upstream see every Thames bridge ranked for cycling.
Last checked on 6 October 2026. Spotted a change? Tell us and we will update the page.
Crossing the Thames in east London: your questions
How do I cross the Thames by bike east of Tower Bridge?
Ride over Tower Bridge, walk the bike through the Greenwich or Woolwich foot tunnels, take the free Silvertown Tunnel cycle shuttle or the free Woolwich Ferry, or carry the bike on the London Cable Car, an Uber Boat, or an off-peak DLR, Elizabeth line or Overground train. There is no bridge you can ride east of Tower Bridge, and the Blackwall and Silvertown tunnels are closed to bikes.
Can you cycle through the Rotherhithe Tunnel?
It is legal, but Transport for London says cyclists and pedestrians regularly avoid it, and so does Cyclemate: the tunnel is not on our London cycling map, so no route we give you goes through it. It carries around 30,000 vehicles a day through 1.4 kilometres of narrow, poorly ventilated road. The Canary Wharf to Rotherhithe Uber Boat shuttle crosses the same stretch of river with your bike on board.
Can you cycle through the Greenwich Foot Tunnel?
No. Royal Greenwich’s rule is that you must dismount and walk your bike through both the Greenwich and Woolwich foot tunnels, and e-bikes are prohibited, so a hire e-bike ride has to end before the entrance. The Greenwich tunnel is 370 metres long and open 24 hours, with lifts that are often out of service for maintenance.
How does the Silvertown Tunnel cycle shuttle work?
A free bus carries you and your bike through the Silvertown Tunnel between Millennium Way on the Greenwich Peninsula and Seagull Lane in the Royal Docks, every 12 minutes or so from 6:30am to 9:30pm every day except Christmas Day. You dismount, board through the middle doors and the driver straps the bike in. It takes pedal bikes, e-bikes, cargo bikes and hire bikes, and it is free until further notice and committed to run until at least 2028.
Can I take my bike on the Woolwich Ferry?
Yes, and it is free. The Woolwich Ferry carries pedestrians, cyclists, cars, vans and lorries every 15 minutes from 6am to 10pm, seven days a week. Non-folding e-bikes are allowed, unlike on Transport for London’s trains.
Can I take my bike on the cable car?
Yes. Bicycles are permitted on the London Cable Car throughout the day between the Greenwich Peninsula and the Royal Docks, and a rider with a bike travels free before 10:30am on weekdays. E-bikes, e-scooters and e-unicycles are not allowed. An adult pay as you go fare is £7 one way or £13.50 return.
Can I take a bike on the DLR or the Elizabeth line across the river?
A non-folding bike can cross on the DLR, the Elizabeth line and the Overground outside weekday peaks: before 7:30am, between 9:30am and 4pm, after 7pm, and all day at weekends and on bank holidays. The Jubilee line does not take non-folding bikes between Canada Water and North Greenwich at any time. Since March 2025 non-folding e-bikes are banned from all of them; folded bikes of any kind go anywhere, any time.
How do I cycle across the Dartford Crossing?
You cannot ride the bridge or the tunnel, but a free vehicle carries you and your bike across. Go to Kent Point or Essex Point, follow the signs to a yellow telephone, request a pick-up and wait in the marked area; it usually arrives within 15 minutes. The service runs every day in four windows: 3am to 9am, 10:30am to 2pm, 3pm to 9pm and 10:30pm to 2am.
