Getting around central London just got a little easier this year, but only if you’re prepared to do a little work yourself, said a spokesman for the British Tourist Authority.

The Barclays Cycle Hire scheme, more commonly referred to as the Boris Bikes, provides Londoners and visitors with a way to get around central London by means of pedal power alone. A series of docking stations can be found around the city. Within the central congestion zone one is rarely more than five minutes walk from his nearest station. When a bike is available, one pays a £1 access charge by credit card which allows him to hire a bike from anywhere in the city for a 24-hour period. And the best part is, in most cases this is all that you’ll end up paying, provided you return the cycle on time to another station, the spokesman said.

London’s roads are very busy and cycling along some of the main streets is not for the faint-hearted.