When and where does the London toy run start?

Friday 11 December 2026. Assemble from 1pm at Dumplings' Legend, 15-16 Gerrard Street, W1D 6JE. Away at 1.30pm, handover at 2pm.

How many riders can join the London leg?

12 ride on the day, and we pick them. It is a short run through central London to a children's hospital, so the group is deliberately small and has to have enough carrying space and a few riders happy to go inside at the handover. Anyone can put their name down, there is no cut-off, and we come back to you either way.

What can I bring to Great Ormond Street?

A new, unwrapped toy. No button batteries, no magnets, nothing homemade and nothing second-hand. The hospital sets those rules and there is no discretion on them.

How long is the ride?

1.75km, 15 to 20 minutes for a group. It is a short run through the West End and Bloomsbury, in normal traffic, with no road closures.

Chinatown to Great Ormond Street

Name: Solo Bay Christmas Toy Run 2026: London Chinatown
Start: 2026-12-11T13:00:00+00:00
Location: Dumplings' Legend

Friday 11 December 2026. Twelve riders, a short run across the West End, and a load of new toys handed to Great Ormond Street Hospital, as recipients of the gifts. Be in Chinatown from 1pm.

Gifts go to

Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity. Registered charity no. 1160024

Named as recipients of the gifts. Solo Bay does not collect or hold donations, and neither charity endorses SoloBay.

Give, whether or not you ride

Straight to the charity through its own JustGiving page. Nothing goes through Solo Bay, and you do not need to come on the ride to chip in.

Donate

The details

Detail
Date	Friday 11 December 2026
Start	Dumplings' Legend 15-16 Gerrard Street, W1D 6JE Open in maps
Muster point	Confirming with the council, riders will be told the exact spot before the day Come to Dumplings' Legend and you will be pointed at it.
Finish	Great Ormond Street Hospital 40 Bernard Street, WC1N 1LE Open in maps
Distance	1.75km, 15 to 20 minutes for a group
Rider places	12, and we pick the riders
Gifts needed by	Thursday 10 December 2026
Cost to join	Nothing

Timings

These are the three that matter, and the group will not wait past them. Turning up at 1.35pm means riding over on your own.

Time	What happens
From 1pm	Assemble in Chinatown, bikes parked up, toys out.
About 1.15pm	Group photo.
1.30pm	Away, riding as normal traffic.
2pm	Handover at Bernard Street.

The route

Shaftesbury Avenue, Cambridge Circus, New Oxford Street, Bloomsbury Street, Great Russell Street, Montague Street, Russell Square, Bernard Street. That is 1.75km and 15 to 20 minutes for a group, through traffic, so expect to be split up by lights at least once. We regroup at Bernard Street rather than holding junctions to stay together.

At the photo spot, engines off and bikes pushed in and out. Engines off, and bikes pushed in and out of the photo spot, as the council require. It is a children's hospital, so there is no revving, at any point, for any reason. Three or four riders go inside for the handover, and the form asks whether you are happy to be one of them.

What to bring

New and unwrapped only, and this leg is capped at 50 gifts.

New and unused.
Unwrapped, so it can be checked.

Not accepted, at all

The charity sets these rules, not us, and there is no discretion on any of them. Anything on this list has to go back in the top box.

Button batteries, or anything containing one.
Magnets.
Homemade items.
Second-hand items.
Anything gift wrapped.

This leg is capped at 50 gifts, so once we are at the cap we will say so here and anything extra goes to the other leg.

Other ways to help

Drop a toy off. Bring it to the start on the day.
Hand a gift card to the venue staff at Dumplings' Legend, and it goes in with the toys.
Give money through the charity's own JustGiving page, with the Donate button above, or at justgiving.com/page/solobay-toy-run

Solo Bay does not handle any money. There are no collection tins and nothing goes through us. Donations go straight to the charity through its own JustGiving page, and the toys go straight to the people handing them out.

Ride with us

There are 12 places on this leg and we pick the riders, so putting your name down is an application rather than a place. We will come back to you either way. It takes about two minutes and you do not need an account.

Why we pick rather than take the first 12: it is a short run through central London to a children's hospital, and the group has to be the right size and the right mix, with enough carrying space between us and a few people happy to go inside at the handover.

Sign up whenever you like, including on the day. Gifts, though, need to be with us by Thursday 10 December 2026, so there is time to count them, check them against the rules and sort them.

Anything that changes at short notice, weather, ice, or a muster point the council moves, goes out by email to everyone signed up and on Instagram and TikTok. Worth a follow before the day if you are coming.

Riding both? Fill the form in twice, once for each leg. By signing up you agree to the terms of attendance.

Where to put the bike

Chinatown is Westminster, which means £1 for the day and that single payment covers every Westminster bay, so it is one of the cheaper places in London to leave a bike for an afternoon. There is more on Westminster motorcycle parking, and SoloBay will show you the nearest bay to Gerrard Street with the location number ready to pay.

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Other leg: Oxfordshire and the Cotswolds. Both legs on the toy run hub.

Organised and sponsored by Solo Bay Ltd. Gifts go to Great Ormond Street Hospital, as recipients of the gifts. Solo Bay does not collect or hold donations. The muster point is still being confirmed with the council and everyone signed up will be told the exact spot before the day. Questions to hello@solobay.co.uk.