The Cargo Bike Fair returns to Richmond Station on Sunday 20 September, 11am to 4pm. Entry is free, but the led rides need a ticket and places are capped.

The Richmond Cargo Bike Fair comes back to the forecourt outside Richmond Station on Sunday 20 September, from 11am to 4pm. It is free to walk in, and the council says the borough is one of five flagship hubs for this year’s London Cycling Festival.

The rides are the part worth acting on now. Entry to the fair needs no ticket, but every led ride does, and places are capped.

What is on at the fair

The hub is organised by the London Cycling Campaign with the Zero Emissions Network and Richmond Cycling Campaign, and its event listing sets out what is there:

  • cargo bikes from local retailers to test ride
  • accessible cycles, children’s bikes and e-bikes to try
  • stalls, music and food

Councillor Alexander Ehmann, Deputy Leader of Richmond Council and Chair of the Transport and Air Quality Committee, said in the council’s announcement that the fair is back “for a second year following the fantastic response to our inaugural event”, and that with Car Free Day the following week “it’s a great opportunity to show how cargo bikes can help people swap short car journeys”.

One detail does not match. The council calls Richmond “one of just five flagship hubs” for the festival. The London Cycling Campaign’s own festival page refers to “the four activity hubs” and names four: Westminster, Tower Hamlets, the City of London and Richmond.

The rides, and why to book this week

Three led rides on the festival’s ticket page start or finish in the borough. All are free, and all need a ticket.

  • Richmond’s own ride is about 17 miles and takes roughly three hours. It leaves Richmond Station forecourt at 10.15am, goes through Richmond Park, along the Thames to Hampton Court and back through Bushy Park. Surfaces run from tarmac to firm gravel, there are significant hills, and it is suitable for children over eight, with younger children accompanied.
  • A gentle ride from Merton to the fair.
  • A Wandsworth ride that starts in Richmond Park and heads on to Wandsworth Park, Battersea Park and Westminster.

Capacity is the thing to watch. On the morning of 24 August the festival’s booking page showed 16 places left on the 17-mile Richmond ride, 50 on the Merton ride and 19 on the Wandsworth one. The fair itself still had 318. Those numbers move, and the London Cycling Campaign’s page says plainly: “Spaces are limited, sign up today.”

Across London the festival is running over 30 led rides in 19 boroughs on the same day.

What it means for you

  • Going to the fair only? Turn up between 11am and 4pm on Sunday 20 September at Richmond Station, The Quadrant, TW9 2NA. No ticket needed.
  • Want to ride? Book a free ticket for the specific ride, not for the fair. Tickets are per person, so book for everyone coming.
  • Getting there: the venue is the station forecourt, so trains and the District line put you at the door. Our guide to trains from Richmond to London has the times and fares, and Richmond roadworks and travel covers what is closed that weekend.
  • Cancelling: the organisers ask you to email them rather than simply not turn up, so the place can go to someone else.

Looking for more to do that weekend? See things to do in Richmond.

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