Central Croydon doesn't have the best reputation as a place to ride a bike. Mostly thanks to the 1960s era urban motorways that chop the place up somewhat.

But it's actually pretty easy if you know what you're doing. This route uses the Holmesdale Road LTN (past CPFC stadium) and avoids all the main roads - note the Bridge Place underpass at the end of Gloucester Road (turn right off Gloucester before it ramps up to the bridge), or if that's too shady for your liking, there's an alleyway at the end of Bridge Place which leads to a zebra crossing opposite Lansdowne Road. Whitworth, Gloucester and Lansdowne can get a bit busy at rush hour, but I've tested this one with a 12 year old and it's quite manageable.

It's 20 minutes from Grangewood to central Croydon this way at easy pace - which is quicker than driving, by the time you've parked up and walked from the multi-storey. The return trip is uphill so add on five minutes for that.

If you're coming from Auckland Road ish instead of Grangewood, use Southern Avenue to get to Holmesdale Road.

If you're headed more towards central Croydon than south, when you get to George Street (by East Croydon station), instead of turning left, cross on to the pavement opposite the end of Dingwall Rd, you'll find an alley that leads through Croydon College and brings you out in front of Fairfield Halls on a nice shiny new cycle path.