Walking the Regent's Canal from Little Venice to the Islington Tunnel

Yesterday the sun shone in London and we decided that it was a perfect day for a walk along the Regent's Canal. Now, at the risk of being accused of hyperbole, I have to say, with my hand on my heart, that this is possibly the most colourful stretch of canal anywhere in the country. It's an epic walk that takes you from the colourful calm of Little Venice through the regal grandeur of Regent's Park, past the animals in the zoo,  then on to the wonderful cultural mix that is Camden before entering the more industrial functional landscape around King's Cross and terminating at the Islington Tunnel, which was the great engineering achievement of the canal project. I'm not exaggerating (honestly) when I say that there's something for everyone on this route.

Views of the Regent's Canal, London

Now just a little bit about its history: the Regent's Canal Company was formed in 1812 to cut a new canal from the Grand Union Canal's Paddington arm to Limehouse, where a dock, or basin, as they liked to call them in those days, would link the new canal with the Thames. The great Regency architect, John Nash, was the director of the company, and heavily involved in planning and designing the project, applying his concept of barges moving through an urban landscape. Back in the day this was a bit like laden trucks motoring up the back lanes carrying their goods to market, although Nash's expression of the idea was altogether more picturesque and romantic.

They'd been thinking about building some such canal since about 1802. In those days canals were the big-money freight business as the railways hadn't quite chuffed their way to total world domination. However the Regent's Canal Company's timing was a bit lousy. The canal was completed in 1820, but by then they were really too close to the railway age to produce the financial success that had been hoped for. At several points over the succeeding years, as the railways increasingly became the super powers of the commercial freight world, it only narrowly escaped conversion into a railway. Happily it survived: funds never appeared when they were needed to change the waterway into a railway, and today it cuts a verdant swathe of watery green through the city. 

We started off in Little Venice at the Warwick Avenue tube station. The walk starts at marker 1 on the map below.

From Warwick Avenue tube station walk down Warwick Avenue, cross Blomfield Road and take the steps down to the canal. The large(ish) expanse of water on the right hand side of the bridge is the basin, where the Regent's Canal meets the Paddington arm of the Grand Union canal. It was (and still is) used to moor boats away from the thoroughfare so as not to block the through-flow of traffic in the canal.

Regent's Canal from the Little Venice Bridge on Blomfield Road

Down on the canal bank it's all a bit cosy and domestic with lots of wonderfully colourful boats complete with floating gardens and forests of foliage.

Regent's Canal, Little Venice, London

If you wander around the basin you'll find river buses and floating cafes. 

Emi was greatly taken with the strange-looking boat (in the photo below) that had a huge arm for scooping and cleaning the canal. It was full - and I do mean full - of the tiny weed that grows on top of the water forming a layer of floating vegetation that looks like solid green concrete. 

It's not possible to walk along the canal tow path from here, so after taking a look at the basin we have to go back up the steps to Blomfield Road again and walk along, effectively hanging a left from where we started on Warwick Avenue. 

Follow Blomfield Road along the canal bank towards the Edgware Road. You'll notice a rather fetching café with a terrace overlooking the canal. This is La Ville, a splendid little place for a coffee whilst you watch the river boats go by below. It sits over the opening to the Maida Hill tunnel, which runs for 251 metres taking the canal underneath the Edgware Road. 

Café La Ville

They had real problems building the Maida Hill Tunnel because of a spring that they hit when they were digging it way back in 1812, which sadly resulted in a few fatalities amongst the workmen engaged on the project. As a result it didn't turn out exactly as planned and a further mini-tunnel/ bridge-like structure known as Eyre's Tunnel had to be built under Lisson Grove, but we'll come to that in good time. 

Walk across the Edgware Road into Aberdeen Place. Follow straight along Aberdeen Place until it curves round to the left to become Cunningham Place. You will see a little alleyway straight ahead, which leads, via some steps, down to where the canal emerges from the Maida Hill Tunnel.

Down on the tow path again you'll see this other tunnel/ bridge structure, which is Eyre's Tunnel up ahead. 

Just before the tunnel we paused to look at a board of Before I die ... wishes ...

... which really did cover all possible bases. Some people seemed to have taken it seriously, and others less so ... .

Eyre's tunnel, first opened in 1816, is only 48 metres long, and it's possible to walk through it. 

Eyre's Tunnel, Regent's Canal, London

You step out of the tunnel into Lisson Grove Moorings, which is, for my money, just about the most perfect little corner of London that you could moor your houseboat in. 

Lisson Grove Moorings, Regent's Canal, London

The bank of the canal has been transformed into a series of inter-connecting front gardens by the boating folk. When everyone's at home and they come out to play it must be a really fun, vibrant little community. Let's just say that I detected a very happy vibe along this stretch of the waterway.

Lisson Grove Moorings, Regent's Canal, London

Keep on going and you'll come to another bridge, which carries Park Road, or the A41 over the canal, and you'll have reached marker 2 on the first map, which crosses onto the second map shown below.

Follow the tow path under the roadway ... 

Regent's Canal, London

… and you'll emerge into a different landscape. 

The canal now passes through Regent's Park and everything feels altogether more rural and bucolic. Lots of stately weeping willow trees reach down and dip their branches in the water as the odd water bus chugs along sending its slipstream slapping gently against the banks. 

Watch out for some prime real estate on the opposite bank, and for the minaret of the Regent's Park Islamic Centre in the distance.

Keep on going, and before long you'll come to the Macclesfield Bridge which carries Avenue Road over the canal. Macclesfield Bridge is more colourfully known as Blow Up Bridge. 

Macclesfield or Blow Up Bridge, Regent's Canal, London

At 3:00 a.m. on 2nd October, 1874 a barge called the Tilbury was passing under Macclesfield Bridge with a cargo of dynamite bound for a quarry in the Midlands. As luck would have it a spark ignited the dynamite at that precise moment blowing the bridge apart. Terrified locals leapt from their beds believing that London had fallen victim to an earthquake.

Macclesfield or Blow Up Bridge, Regent's Canal, London

The bridge was duly rebuilt, but they turned the salvaged pillars around in the reconstruction and they now have grooves on both sides, from where the ropes hauling the barges have cut in as they've been hauled past. It is a very splendid structure, rendered all the more interesting by its history. 

Macclesfield or Blow Up Bridge, Regent's Canal, London

Keep on going and you'll arrive at London Zoo. The canal bisects the zoo so you'll have animal enclosures on both sides.

Keep on going and the canal will make a pronounced bend to the left.

Just after the bend there's another bridge that takes the canal under Prince Albert Road, which skirts Regent's Park.

There's a lot of graffiti on the bridge, but once you emerge on the other side it's all very pretty and quite residential again.

Now we've reached marker 3 on the edge of map 2, and it's time to cross onto map 3 below. 

And there are still some amazing floating gardens to check out. I was amazed by the ingenuity of the barge owners when it came to their plants. Many were valiantly growing their own food. There were lots of cherry tomatoes and salad leaves, courgettes and rhubarb and whole rafts of aromatic herbs basking in the sunshine. 

As we approached Camden there were more and more people enjoying the water. Emi was especially keen to come back another day and try his hand at some kayaking at Pirate Castle. I, on the other hand, was impressed to see a punt in London. This little party (photo below) drifted past trailing riffs of acoustic guitar as the chap at the front strummed and his friend at the back punted. It all looked very civilised. I hope they had a really good picnic packed away with a chilled bottle or two of bubbly to wash it down. 

We kept on going and before we knew it we had arrived at Camden Lock, our lunch stop.

Being out and about with a dog in London does tend to limit your pit-stop options. Not everywhere is canine friendly <boo! hiss!> but there's always the wonderful street food option, and there are few places with a wider, better offering of street food than Camden Lock. 

So we stocked up with some drinks and a few plates of wonderful tucker, and sat on the bank beside the canal lock to have an impromptu picnic with a spot of people watching thrown in for good measure. The little food market just before the lock is open for business throughout the week. 

Camden Lock,Regent's Canal, London

For anyone looking for something quirky and different Camden's definitely a good place to come shopping.

 The market's totally brilliant, but I'd advise you to leave your dog at home as he's going to be in serious danger of getting trampled with the crush of people. Emi's not the world's most enthusiastic shopper either, so we decided to leave the retail therapy for another day and carried on, crossing over Camden Street.

And going down to the canal again on the other side. Once you're through all the throngs of cool people who come to hang out in Camden things start to quieten down. 

Emi was very keen on this funky building, which he thought looked like cabins on an ocean going super-liner. It's actually a terrace of houses that were commissioned by Sainsbury's to the design of Sir Nicholas Grimshaw and have since won a number of architectural awards. 

Keep on going and things start to become a little more industrial and a lot less residential. The canal also starts to sport a lot more of that green-concrete-look-a-like pond weed that grows on top of the water.

Once you cross under the Camley Street bridge you've arrived at marker 4 and are moving from map 3 to map 4.

On the other side of the railway lines you come to the St. Pancras Basin, which was originally a coal wharf, and still feels very utilitarian and industrial. 

St. Pancras Basin,Regent's Canal, London

The square red brick building is the old pumping house. 

St. Pancras Basin,Regent's Canal, London

If you carry on a bit further you will come to St. Pancras Lock.

St. Pancras Lock, Regent's Canal, London

Pass the lock and you come to a further bridge, which leads on to Rotunda, a wonderful restaurant in the fabulous Kings Place complex (on the opposite bank). 

Kings Place is a brilliant centre for the performing arts. And after concerts and viewings I have spent many happy hours on the terrace outside of the Rotunda putting the world to rights with my chums. It's a great place to meet friends for lunch and long catch-up chats. The food is fabulous. They've got their own farm up in Northumberland and everything's organic. But the best bit is that quiet terrace, which makes the hurly burly of Kings Cross down the road seem as though it's on another planet. It really is a top place for a spot of lunch and a good conversation as you watch the ducks and the boats drift past.  

Keep on going, but be sure to look back and admire the complex.

 We're on the final furlong now, because up ahead is the Islington Tunnel through which we cannot pass. It is the longest tunnel on the canal measuring 875 metres, but they were strapped for cash when they were building it and couldn't run to a tow path. This meant that when it was finished back in 1820 the boatmen had to walk their barges through, which basically involved the men lying down and pushing with their legs against the walls and roof of the tunnel to push it forwards. Needless to say this wasn't very efficient, and caused great traffic-jams with barges backing up all down the canal. So by 1826 they'd introduced a steam chain to pull the barges through mechanically. 

The photo below is of the western entrance to the Islington Tunnel, which was designed by John Nash.

Entrance to the Islington Tunnel, Regent's Canal, London

By this stage my two little companions were wilting a bit, and, rather than spoil what had been a lovely walk by pressing them to go on any further, I decided to end our adventure here and catch the tube home. But they've agreed to come along another day to pick up the trail on the other side of the tunnel and follow the canal all the way to the Limehouse Basin, where it joins the Thames. Watch this space for more details!

All the best for now,

Bonny x

As shared on Friday Finds

And if you're interested in canals:

Why not check out my walk along the Grand Union Canal, following in the footsteps of the great Brunel? See his Wharncliffe Viaduct and Three Bridges, where he took a canal across a railway and put a road on top for good measure. Check it out here: Walking in the footsteps of Brunel

Or the very lovely Exeter to Topsham canal, one of the first to be built in the UK, with one of the very nicest waterside pubs in the country. Check it out here: The Exeter to Topsham Canal

Frozen yoghurt, blueberry and Cassis ice lollies ... a little bit naughty, but very nice

We had a slightly perverse reaction to Big Bad Bertha, the summer storm that passed this way yesterday. We battened down the hatches, put on some summer music ... and made ice lollies.  It may have looked like autumn outside, but inside we were holding on tight to those precious summer vibes.

Maybe it's just me; maybe I'm in denial. But the truth is that I'd like the world to stop so that summer can go on forever. These wonderful carefree days of sunshine (when Bertha's not around), no school deadlines and all the time in the world to do whatever we feel like suits me just fine. Another game of swing-ball anyone?

Anyway, back to the serious business of ice lollies: here's one of our lemonade lollies, proudly displayed by Emi, my sous chief.

We made up the recipe for lemonade, which I posted here: homemade lemonade recipe and poured some of it into our lolly moulds and bingo we had the very best lemonade lollies in town.

We've tried different types of smoothies as fillers for our lollies, but one of my favourites is this frozen yoghurt and blueberry ice lolly with a naughty little splash of Cassis to jolly things along.

Ingredients (for 5 to 6 lollies)

150 g blueberries
40 g Xylitol or sugar
250 g Greek yoghurt
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
30 ml Cassis  (if you prefer not to use Cassis substitute another 30 ml of water instead)
20 ml water

Method

Wash your blueberries and tip them into a saucepan with 30 ml of Cassis and 30 ml of water. Add the Xylitol and heat over a gentle heat for several minutes until the blueberries start to pop. You could use sugar instead of Xylitol, but I've been telling everyone who'll listen to me recently about this great sugar substitute that doesn't rot your teeth ... check out my lemonade post for more details.

Remove from the heat and add the Greek yoghurt and lemon juice. Stir to an even consistency and fill your lolly moulds.  Place in the freezer for several hours or ideally overnight.

Enjoy with sunshine, summer music and your nearest and dearest,

Bonny x

As shared on A pinch of joy, Creative Mondays and  the Alphabet Project

A walk around the Tower of London

On Monday, the one hundredth anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War, Emi, Maxi and I decided to go to the Tower of London to see the Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red art installation that has been commissioned to mark the centenary. It seemed like a simple, fitting thing to do so that Emi (age 8) might have some better understanding of what a momentous occasion it was. We've talked about the war a lot over the past few weeks, but I wanted him to do something that actually marked the day out as a reference point that he can look back to in the future: a sort of what-I-was-doing-when kind of thing.

Blood swept lands and seas of red art installation, Tower of London

We like going for walks around London, so I fixed upon a route that would include the Tower and some of the amazing history that lies around about. My route makes for an easy little walk of just under a couple of miles; it starts off at the Monument, carries on around the moat of the Tower, goes over Tower Bridge before passing by HMS Belfast, the Shard, Southwark Cathedral, the Golden Hinde II, Winchester Palace and ending at the Clink Museum. It's a perfect lazy morning stroll to work up an appetite before stopping off for lunch in Borough Market, one of my favourite spots in London, and somewhere where a lot of my walks tend to finish (ahem!).

We started at Monument Tube Station, and then swung past the Monument itself.

Designed by Sir Christopher Wren to commemorate the Great Fire of London in 1666, the monument sits just a hop, a skip, and a jump away from Pudding Lane where the fire started. It was all the fault of a baker who'd left his oven unattended - well, the baker and the very deficient way in which ye olde London Town had been built with wooden structures and very narrow streets that afforded no firebreaks whatsoever.

The Monument, London

The fire started on Sunday 2nd September 1666 and was finally extinguished the following Wednesday, 5th September 1666. During the course of those three days it consumed pretty much all of London. Most of the buildings back then were timber constructions that were easily reduced to ashes. 

 The traditionally held view is that there were only 6 verified fatalities of the fire, which seems miraculously low given the geographical scale of the disaster. This thinking has recently been challenged, however, in that the deaths of the middling-classes and the urban poor were not recorded with any accuracy at the time. Moreover the heat of the fire would easily have cremated human remains, leaving no trace of the victim. So perhaps it would be more accurate to say that we just don't know how many people really perished.

Anyway, when they finally got the fire extinguished and set about the colossal task of rebuilding the city it was decided that a monument ought to be constructed in memory of the event and to celebrate the rebirth of the city. Sir Christopher Wren was given the job of designing it, and the Monument was constructed in 1671 to 1672. Back then it really stood out. 

Today, however, it gets rather lost amongst all the office buildings and skyscrapers that are rising thick and fast in this part of town. It's still fun to climb to the top and admire the view. If you're Emi's age (8) they'll even give you a certificate that proclaims your achievement in climbing all of the 311 steps that take you to the top.

The Monument, London

There's a public viewing platform up there surmounted by a drum and copper urn, which was intended to symbolise the fire. Wren's original intention had been to use the structure for scientific experiments. However vibrations caused by the heavy traffic passing by soon made this impossible. 

The Monument, London

Having gone past the Monument turn left into Pudding Lane, where the errant baker started the Great Fire.

Walk up Pudding Lane, and turn right into Eastcheap. Walk along until you reach St. Mary-at-Hill, and turn right into the little side street of that name.

As you walk down this little street you'll see the church after which it takes its name on the right.

St. Mary-At-Hill, London

Now this old church may not look especially impressive from the outside, but they reckon that there's been a church here, dedicated to St. Mary the Virgin, for the better part of a millennium. An already ancient church, is referred to on this site in a legal document dated 1177. Nearby Billingsgate was an important harbour back in the 10th and 11th centuries, and the route north into the old city would have led past the church, making it a significant stop-off point. This street is quite steeply sloped as the land rises from the river, hence the church took its name as St Mary's at the top of the hill. It's humbling to think what this place has lived through; can you imagine the bells here ringing out for the coronation of Henry VIII way back in 1509 or tolling solemnly as the people round about succumbed to the Black Death?

St. Mary-At-Hill, London - from Lovat Lane

The front of the church faces onto Lovat Lane (which you walk past to get to St. Mary-At-Hill). The church of St. Mary-At-Hill was largely destroyed in the Great Fire, but was later rebuilt to the design of Sir Christopher Wren and his assistant, Robert Hooke. It emerged from the Blitz in WWII largely unscathed.

Carry on down St. Mary-At-Hill, go past the church, and turn left into St. Dunstan's Lane, at the end of which you will see the church of St. Dunstan in the East, which didn't fare so well in the Blitz.

Originally there had been a Saxon Church on this site, which was rebuilt by St Dunstan in 950 AD. This church was largely destroyed in the Great Fire of London, but it was rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren in 1697. Sadly in 1941 it took a direct hit in the Blitz, which destroyed the greater part of the building. Only the rather fine tower, designed by Wren, survived. They decided not to rebuild the damaged body of the church, but to leave it as a reminder of what had been lost to the bombs. Today it forms a tranquil, charming garden, where office workers come to have a sandwich at lunch time and enjoy a short interlude of peace from the hurly burly of the office.

St. Dunstan in the East

Now carry on past St. Dunstan in the East, down the hill towards the river. You need to cross Lower Thames Street and follow the signs for the Tower of London. This is the map showing the second leg of the walk:

When we did this walk on Monday they were busy installing the ceramic poppies at the Tower for the Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red  art installation. The plan is to continue planting poppies in the moat until Armistice Day, by which time they will have one poppy for each British and Colonial life lost in the conflict (that will be a colossal 888,246 red poppies).

The Tower of London

It was both moving and spectacular. The moat was filling up with a great red wave of about 120,000 poppies. It looked as though the Tower was haemorrhaging blood into the moat.

The Tower of London

The Tower is one of our most amazing buildings. There's over a millennium of history just sitting there waiting to be discovered. Speaking for myself I prefer to go there on a wet morning in winter when there aren't quite so many other people around. At this time of the year there's a real risk that you'll get trampled in the stampede, and now that they've done this poppy thing I daresay it's scarily full to overflowing with tourists in there.

Blood swept lands and seas of red art installation, The Tower of London

The poppies are made by hand, and each one is subtly different from the others.

The Tower of London

We stared at them trying to make sense of the numbers involved, and this was with only a fraction of the poppies installed.

The Tower of London

But the scale of the sacrifice that was made is hard to get your head around ... .

The Tower of London

We carried on walking around the pathway that follows the upper bank of the old (now dry) moat.

The Tower of London

And marvelled at the artist's vision. Brian Cummins has come up with a great display that's just going to keep getting better and ever more impressive between now and Armistice Day.

Anyway, here's another map for the next leg of the walk, which takes us across the river.

Go up the stairs at the far end of the moat, onto the Tower Bridge Approach. As you can see the poppies were creeping slowly round the Tower.

The Tower of London and Tower Bridge

Tower Bridge, built over the period of eight years from 1886 to 1894, is my favourite bridge over the Thames. Two massive piers were sunk into the river bed, around which a skeleton of steel was built, which was then clad in Portland Stone and Cornish granite to protect the metal from the elements. But be sure and continue to admire the views of the Tower as you pass by ...

The Tower of London

... and the views of City Hall and the Shard on the South Bank.

City Hall and the Shard

The very best views of Tower Bridge itself, however, are to be enjoyed once you reach the South Bank. Turn right when you get to the other side, and follow the tow path along the bank of the river.

Tower Bridge

It just keeps looking better and better as you walk away from it.

And, looking across the river, you get some pretty fabulous views of the White Tower, the oldest part of the Tower, which was originally built in stone after the Norman fashion to instil fear and awe in the unruly Londoners who were slow to bow the knee to their new French overlords after the Conquest. At that stage the locals only had wooden buildings.

Carry on along the path, looking back to see how the changing perspective gives you different views of Tower Bridge. At this angle I can see the Docklands and Canary Wharf through the span of the bridge. OK, I will stop now with all these photos of the bridge. It's going to be difficult, but I don't want to stray across the line and become a bridge-bore.

 Keep on going until you see HMS Belfast. Here she is ... with another sneaky shot of that bridge:

Now, being a girl from Ulster, I always feel a flush of pride when I walk past HMS Belfast. She was built by Harland & Wolff, in Belfast, in 1936 and, after being fitted out and doing her sea trials, she was commissioned by the Royal Navy in 1939 just in time for the commencement of hostilities in WWII. In her day she was the largest battle cruiser in the fleet. They put her into operation as part of the naval blockade of Germany, but she was seriously damaged after only a couple of months of active service when she hit a magnetic mine. It took three years to get her patched up again before she was able to rejoin the war in 1942 and take part in the Arctic convoys that kept the supply lines open to Russia. She participated in the D-Day landings, firing one of the first shots on D-Day itself. So you see she's a huge chunk of history sitting quietly in the shadow of Tower Bridge. If you'd like to visit her you can, and I'd certainly recommend her as a great afternoon-out for 8 year-old boys.

Anyway, I think we've now made it onto my fourth and final map.

Carry on to London Bridge, and climb the steps up to street level, and turn left. Walk along to the traffic lights and cross the main road at the Barrowboy and Banker pub. Once you get across the road, turn left towards the railway bridge and you will see Southwark Cathedral on your right ...

... and a very humorously decorated telephone exchange box on your left. It points towards the cathedral as though to suggest that its facade is an illusion being projected by the graffiti camera.

Go down the steps on your right that take you down to the level of the Cathedral. You are now in the wonderfully named Green Dragon Court. You have the cathedral on your right and just along on your left you have the happy delights of Borough Market. The main market doesn't open for business on Monday and Tuesday, but there are still plenty of lunch stalls that will sell you some very decent tucker.

At this point, with child and dog in tow, I dived into the market for some take-away food and drinks, which we then enjoyed as a picnic in the Cathedral yard with the wonderful gargoyles (and an army of office workers) for company.

Southwark Cathedral somehow feels rather cosy for a cathedral. And, as with most of the churches in this neck of the woods, it's got a millennium of history to boast about.

Carry on round the corner to St. Mary Overie dock and you'll find a replica of Francis Drake's Golden Hinde. I've written about the Golden Hinde II, as she's known here: Golden Hinde II.

Carry on around the dock and you'll find Clink Street leading off to your left, and just at the start of Clink Street you'll find the very impressive ruins of the palace of the Bishops of Winchester.

This was once an amazing complex used by the Bishops when they came to London. It was founded by Henry de Blois, the younger brother of King Stephen,  back in the twelfth century. The great hall with its beautiful rose window was a spot where Kings were once regally entertained. Back in 1424, for example, it was the very splendid venue for the sumptuous marriage feast of King James I of Scotland and his bride, Joan Beaufort.

And if you carry on down Clink Street you'll come to the site of the Clink Prison, which is on your left. You really can't miss it as they've got a dead man hanging in a gibbet outside (eeek!). It's a museum now, which seeks to recreate the authentic Clink experience, boasting that this was the prison from which all others took their name.

I've never been brave enough to go down those steps and see what all the fuss is about ... .

If you carry on down Clink Street you'll come to Vinopolis, a museum which is all about wine and has some rather impressive graffiti outside.

And that's it; that's our walk. You can retrace your steps to the market, from where you can walk through to Borough High Street and then take the tube home from London Bridge Station.

Enjoy!

Bonny x

As shared on the Alphabet Project