Calling Londoners of Mefi - Is this a reasonable commute?
June 10, 2016 1:24 PM   Subscribe

Is it feasible to commute from Bethnal Green to Peckham Road, Camberwell?

I've been offered a postgrad place at Camberwell College of Art. I've also been invited to join a flatshare with a dear friend and her friends. The house will be in Bethnal Green. Is this a doable commute? Cycle-able? According to TFL it's about 40 minutes by bus/tube... But I haven't lived in London since I was a kid so I'm not sure about commuting at all and don't know if that is deathly or just not great or actually ok. I'd be travelling in to school a few days a week but probably not every day.

I'd really like to get to live with someone I know and love, so I need to know if it's actually a workable option!
posted by mymbleth to Travel & Transportation around London, England (6 answers total)
 
Best answer: It's fine. Completely workable – and two really nice areas. Finding somewhere good to live is absolutely impossible and eye-wateringly expensive in this city. Grab this opportunity with both hands!
posted by Ted Maul at 1:40 PM on June 10, 2016


Best answer: I can't speak for cycling, but by overground no problem. Camberwell College is close to Peckham Rye station, which is a straight trip on the train from Shoreditch. Wherever you are in Bethnal Green it's pretty easy to get to Shoreditch by walking or bus. Call it 40-50 minutes the whole trip.
posted by SometimeNextMonth at 1:45 PM on June 10, 2016


Best answer: Should be a pretty reasonable cycle, just bang down the A10, across London Bridge, down Walworth Road. The only bit that might be tricky is going through the Elephant and Castle roundabout, which I think is mostly a matter of getting used to it. If you're ok with cycling on main roads with bus lanes then you should be fine.
posted by doop at 2:11 PM on June 10, 2016


Best answer: I can't speak for cycling in London specifically, but in general 5 miles (according to Google Maps) is a fantastic distance for a bike commute. Long enough to enjoy it, short enough that it's feasible to do in street clothes and you won't be a total mess when you're done.
posted by Special Agent Dale Cooper at 2:28 PM on June 10, 2016


Best answer: I live in Bethnal Green and have gone from here to CCA for meetings a couple of times and can confirm that it's a perfectly nice journey by public transport!

Depending on where you are in Bethnal Green the quickest way might be via Whitechapel station, which is kinda the worst at the moment (due to Crossrail rebuilding stuff) - getting to the overground platform involves walking along a nightmarish warren of passages and narrow platforms. But realistically it's only two minutes of the worst, and depending on where you'd be living it might not be the best station for you anyway.
posted by severalbees at 3:08 PM on June 10, 2016


Best answer: I do almost the reverse commute, and yep it's about 30-40mins cycle down quiet roads (Cable Street segregated cycle path, Tower Bridge which is admittedly a pain but the traffic moves very very slowly, then back roads of Bermondsey to either the Surrey Canal Path (from Old Kent Road to Peckham), or you can go through Burgess Park. There are loads and loads of other cyclists who do that route, it's pleasant and safe.

If you don't fancy cycling, the District line to Whitechapel then Overground to Peckham Rye is fairly painless.
posted by tinkletown at 5:27 PM on June 10, 2016


« Older I've been terminated. So has my insurance.   |   Down in a Hole Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.