The North

Continuing the journey into London through my eyes! We’ll be travelling to the North and then to the West.

Camden Lock to Little Venice

This is a walk I’ve wanted to do for a while, but it’s hard to get my dear hubby interested in anything that doesn’t involve shops, even though he is a big walker and I’m not! We decided to give Camden Market a miss as it has become far too touristy. We took the tube and the bus to get to Camden Station, and then walked towards the start of the Regent’s Canal.

Shop fronts and art along the way

Then it was onto the canal to begin our walk. The map said it would take approximately 40 minutes but part of the footpath was closed so after a long detour, it was close to an hour before we finally finished.

I could have taken so many more photos as the colours were amazing. What I really would have liked would be to look around one! Most we saw were all really well kept and a few had small gardens at the front. I imagine it would be quite damp in the English Autumn and Winter on board.

It was such an interesting walk and we walked under many bridges along the way and saw some unusual sights as well.

Under the Bridges

There is a short story about Macclesfield Bridge. In October 1874 a barge containing coffee and nuts exploded under this bridge. The bridge was destroyed and three men were killed, but the iron columns were left intact. The explosion could be heard from a mile away and caused uproar among the animals at the nearby London Zoo.

Strange and funny sights

Towards Little Venice you start seeing the most spectacular houses rather than the apartments near Camden. I definitely would have liked a tour around one of these houses.

Fabulous Houses

Just near the end of the Regent’s Canal we came across the famous Feng Shang Princess Floating Restaurant. A wonderful handcrafted red pagoda sits right on the canal bank.

And so ends our walk to Little Venice, which is in the West. The canal now becomes the Grand Union Canal and hopefully if I can persuade Anthony we can do this next time we visit London.

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Coal Drops Yard, King’s Cross

Another day, another visit to London. This time it was Anthony’s choice. The reason he chose this place was, lo and behold, a designer shop he had found online and he had seen a waistcoat he fancied. At first I wasn’t very impressed about going all the way to King’s Cross, but was in for a nice surprise when we arrived.

Coal Drops Yard dates back to the 1850’s when London was powered by coal. The unusual buildings were designed to handle 8 million tonnes of coal which were delivered to the capital every year.

Now it is home to many designer boutiques, restaurants and apartment buildings. It is located alongside the Regent’s Canal.

I really enjoyed our day here and it’s well worth a visit if you are ever in this area. It seems that more of London is being resurrected every year with great new projects that incorporate old derelict buildings.

That’s all from the North!

I’ll finish with a quote from a very famous designer