Cycle Islington at 50: free exhibition until mid-autumn

Fifty years of local campaigning by a volunteer group is now a free exhibition at Islington Museum, running from now until mid-autumn. The museum says it is telling the story of Cycle Islington, whose work it credits with “fixes for unsafe road conditions, new and improved infrastructure and better accessibility for cyclists of all abilities”. (Islington Council, exhibitions at Islington Museum)

The group dates itself precisely. It was founded on 30 June 1976 as the Islington Cyclists Action Group, or ICAG, and became part of the London Cycling Campaign in 1978, two years after the LCC itself was set up. It took the name Cycle Islington about a decade ago. It still meets on the second Wednesday of the month at the Town Hall, from 6.30pm to 8pm, and says people who walk, cycle, scoot, take the bus and drive are all welcome. (Cycle Islington)

That founding date matters for reading the exhibition. A group set up in 1976 was campaigning at a point when cycling in London was falling, not rising, and its own archive reflects that: typewritten newsletters, pamphlets posted out as inserts in a magazine, and campaigns that took years rather than months to land. (Cycle Islington, Pearls from our past)

Where the borough’s cycling actually stands now

The anniversary lands in a year when Islington scored well on the measure the campaign sector uses. The Healthy Streets Scorecard, run by a coalition of London walking and cycling groups, put the borough second overall in London in 2026 with a score of 7.61 out of 10, up from 7.54 the year before. The coalition presented Islington with its Best Inner London Borough certificate, collected by Cllr Rowena Champion, the council’s executive member for climate, environment and transport. (Healthy Streets Scorecard 2026 results)

The detail behind the score is where the last five decades show up:

The rises came from named schemes rather than a general trend. The scorecard credits the Mildmay Liveable Neighbourhood for the increase in low traffic neighbourhood coverage, and new protected cycle tracks on Boleyn Road and at Newington Green for the improvement in the cycle track score. The weakest number on the list is the same one that has been weakest for years: protected cycle track still covers 5.7% of the relevant network, which is why a borough that scores near the top of London still has long stretches where riders share space with traffic.

What it means for you

The exhibition is at Islington Museum, 245 St John Street, EC1V 4NB, beneath Finsbury Library near the junction with Skinner Street. Admission is free and there is no need to book. (Visiting Islington Museum)

Opening times are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 10am to 5pm. The museum is closed all day Wednesday, and closed on Sundays and bank holidays. It also closes daily between 1pm and 2pm for lunch, which is the detail that catches people out on a lunch-hour visit. The building is fully wheelchair accessible with an accessible toilet.

Getting there: the 153 bus stops nearby, the nearest tube stations are Angel on the Northern line and Farringdon on the Metropolitan, Circle, Hammersmith and City and Elizabeth lines, and Farringdon also has Thameslink services. Our tube and train times page has the wider picture on services across the borough.

One caveat worth planning around: the council gives the closing date only as “mid-autumn 2026”, with no fixed final day published, so if you are leaving it until October, call the museum on 020 7527 2837 or email islington.museum@islington.gov.uk first. Related activities and events are listed on the museum’s Eventbrite page.

Looking for somewhere else to go while you are in the area? Our guide to things to do in Islington covers the rest of the borough.