Regent’s Canal Walk: King’s Cross to Paddington

On By Little Miss TravellerIn London, United Kingdom

This 5 mile walk along the Regent’s Canal passes through some of London’s best kept secrets including Regent’s Park and Little Venice whilst avoiding the congestion and crowds of life in the capital.

Granary Square, King's Cross, London
Granary Square, King’s Cross

Our walk started outside King’s Cross station from where we wandered around the corner to Granary Square and the vibrant Coal Drops Yard with its mix of shops and street food.  This recently restored area makes a great place to enjoy a bite to eat before striding out along the towpath.  These converted Victorian brick viaduct arches were once the freight rail yards of the industrial revolution.  From here, the canal linked King’s Cross to industrial cities in the north of England carrying coal and other goods to the capital.

Granary Square, London
Central Saint Martins, Granary Square

Taking pride of place in Granary Square is a restored granary building that once stored wheat for London’s bakers and is now home to Central Saint Martins, part of the University of the Arts London.  The building was designed by Lewis Cubitt the architect who also designed King’s Cross Station.  There are plenty of places to sit around the square with its fountain centrepiece which transforms at dusk when it is illuminated with multi coloured lights.

Coal Drops Yard, King's Cross London
Coal Drop’s Yard

On the far side of Granary Square at West Handyside Canopy, a covered market takes place at weekends.  With stalls filled with craft beers, cheese and gifts it’s a great opportunity to buy from local producers.  It was very tempting for us to do so, but on this occasion we resisted the temptation as we didn’t want to carry bags around all day.

Coal Drops Yard Market, London
Stalls at Coal Drops Yard Market

Coal Drops Yard is located just behind Granary Square and here we found a Japanese market taking place.  The market took inspiration from Japanese local markets with its 20 stalls displaying gifts, ceramics and kitchen equipment along with food stalls offering a taste of Japanese cuisine.  This was especially welcome for me as I was due to visit Japan last year but I’m hopeful of being able to travel there in the next year or two.

Coal Drops Yard by the canal at Kings Cross
Coal Drops Yard overlooking the canal

After finally managing to drag ourselves away we headed down to the canal at St. Pancras lock and set off walking in a westerly direction.  Along this section of the canal is a mix of old and new architecture with a traditional lock keepers cottage sitting on a small island surrounded by the sleek new developments of King’s Cross.

Lock-keepers cottage, St. Pancras Lock, London
The lock-keepers cottage at St. Pancras Lock

Soon we had reached Gasholder Park where the frame from a former cast iron gas holder has been used to create a sculptured canopy and lawned area.  Not only that but 145 canal side industrial chic apartments have been built within a further three refurbished gas holders and I couldn’t believe how stylish they looked.

Gas Holder Park Apartments, London
Gas Holder Apartments

Our walk wound its way along the canal to Camden Lock, the only twin lock in London.  It’s also the home to the popular Camden Market which is open each day from 10.00 a.m.  A small market started here with just 16 stalls in 1974 and it has now grown to become the largest in London.  We called in The Ice Wharf for a drink, the pub being named after the adjacent ice wharf built in 1837 for ice imported from Norway.

Camden Lock, London
Camden Lock

Feeling refreshed, we were soon on our way again picking up the path from the towpath on the other bank after spending a short time browsing the street food stalls and inhaling the heady spicy aromas.  The next part of our walk took us alongside Regent’s Park and its zoo, where we could see the nets covering the aviary and the landing stage for those arriving by boat to the zoo.

Algae on the Regent's Canal, London
Thick algae covering the canal

In this section algae covered the water, becoming denser the further we walked along the canal, so thick in places that it could have been mistaken for grass.  The summer heatwave had left the canal resembling a swamp and even though leisure boats frequently passed by dispersing the murky algae it connected back together seconds later.

Grand houses along the Regent's Canal in London
Grand houses line the canal

Just past the zoo are a collection of grand villas with large gardens leading down to the canal.  One of them is Winfield House, the official residence of the U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom.

Little Venice, London
Little Venice

Continuing along the canal we soon reached Maida Hill Tunnel, a 249m long underground stretch without a tow path, so we had to leave the canal and follow at street level.  After the brief detour we soon reached the leafy enclave of Little Venice, and in my opinion, one of the prettiest parts of London.  Unlike its Italian namesake there are no gondolas here but instead some of the most beautiful houseboats you could wish to see.  Due to these private moorings, the towpath is closed to the public along Blomfield Road but peering through the railings as we walked along the pavement we had good views of the houseboats.  The owners take great pride in their floating homes which always look freshly painted and adorned with tubs of geraniums on their roofs.  On their private towpath boat owners have created idyllic little cottage style gardens and seating areas beside their boats with flowering clematises clinging to walls and trellises.

Browning's Pool, Little Venice
Browning’s Pool, Little Venice

Despite having to leave the towpath along this stretch, there’s much to see as elegant Georgian villas with white stucco facades line both Blomfield Road and Maida Avenue.  Re-joining the towpath, the canal widens where the Regent’s Canal meets with the Grand Union, this section being known as Browning’s Pool.  It’s a vibrant area overlooking tiny Browning Island and is where 45 minute leisure boat trips start from heading towards Camden Lock.

Floating cafe at Little Venice, London
One of the floating cafes at Little Venice

We discovered several inviting floating barge cafes and even a Puppet Theatre barge on a 20 metre long houseboat converted to hold a stage.  I’m certain young children will be looking forward to watching performances on there when it re-opens.

Sheldon Square Amphitheatre, Paddington Basin
Sheldon Square Amphitheatre

It was then just a half mile walk along to Paddington basin which has a contemporary feel and is quite a contrast to the Georgian splendour of its near neighbours Maida Vale and Little Venice.  Different it may be, but this new waterside development in west London is nonetheless impressive with its floating restaurants, shops, gleaming office blocks and cleverly designed public spaces.  These high end shops, bars and cafes have already made Paddington a vibrant foodie hotspot.

Paddington Basin
Paddington Basin

At Sheldon Square a selection of bars and restaurants surround a public amphitheatre featuring a giant screen which must surely be a popular spot for office workers to enjoy their lunch when they are back in town.

Paddington Sculpture Trail, London
One of the pieces of artwork on the Paddington Sculpture Trail

The district is also home to Paddington Sculpture Trail with numerous pieces of public art.  The art work I’ve featured above is one of two life-size men standing apart by several metres, as if they were about to meet.

Paddington Pocket Park, London
Paddington Pocket Park

At the far end of Paddington basin is Merchant Square and here we found London’s first floating pocket park.  This 45m green oasis has been created from a series of interlocking pontoons made to resemble reclaimed wood complimenting the area beautifully with seating and a food truck.

A colourful floating restaurant at Paddington Basin, London
A colourful floating restaurant at Paddington Basin,

We could have ended our walk here and returned from Paddington but instead we decided to continue slightly further and take the District and Circle line from Edgware Road underground station.  Along the way we passed the Lindo Wing of St. Mary’s Hospital where the last two generations of the Royal Family were born.

Edgware Rod Station, London
Edgware Road Station with a statue of a Window Cleaner outside

I hope you have enjoyed my walk through some of the most scenic parts of London.  If you don’t feel like doing the walk all in one go, it can be split into sections or combined with a climb up Primrose Hill and/ or a visit to Regent’s Park.

 

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Regent's Canal, King's Cross - Paddington, London

 

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65 thoughts on “Regent’s Canal Walk: King’s Cross to Paddington”

  1. ThingsHelenLoves

    A fascinating part of London and not an area I’m familiar with but I feel inspired to visit now. It looks like it has lots of pockets that feel like little villages and yet the sky scrapers don’t look out of place either. Isn’t London wonderful like that? And the gas holder apartments look just right, especially with the planting around them. Love to see old places with a new lease of life!

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    1. I totally agree Helen it’s so wonderful to see new life breathed into old buildings and unlikely structures such as old gas holders getting a new lease of life. Hope you’ve been enjoying a good half term with your family. Marion x

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  5. I really enjoyed the walk next to the canal – what a great way of exploring! And yes, I also thought the boats were “parked” on grass – until I’ve read it’s actually algae. Do you think it will disappear again during winter? And what a nice idea are those floating cafes and restaurants (love that colourful one).

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    1. The algae often builds up on stagnant water during warm weather but it should dissipate soon if it hasn’t already now that it’s turned cooler. The canal boats and floating cafes are so colourful and bright. Are you familiar with London? It’s a great city.

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      1. No, not at all Marion. Saw many photo’s of my brother and his family visiting London (and even my mom went over there for two visits – and she loved walking next to the canals) … I hope we will be able to do this some day soon 💌.

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  15. Hi there,

    Loved this post! It brought very fond memories of our visit to London in 2019. While we didn’t do a canal walk, we spent all of our 2 weeks in that beautiful city taking walking tours. It was a great way to get to know the city and its people.

    I can’t wait to go back and explore all those areas we didn’t get to.

    Nancy

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  17. Loved your post Marion. We did a similar walk a few years ago from Camden to Little Venice. I have the same photo of the gasworks. I would love to see inside one of those barges, must be so cramped. We enjoyed Coal Drops Yard too.

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  20. Back in 1999 we did a home swap in N5 from memory, and my girlfriend stayed in a B&b in primrose hill. We went to Camden markets, and we loved taking the bus into the city as it was a tour of the tourist sites, Trafalgar Square etc, but I guess this area had not been developed. We would have enjoyed that walk. London is so vast, even three weeks homeswapping barely touched the surface.

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  24. This walk brought back some very happy memories for me, too. When I was a student in the S. London area, I had a boyfriend who lived in Primrose Hill, so I would visit the area quite often, especially Camden Market. It’s been some time since I did this walk and your post makes me think that I really should revisit to see all the new additions you have described. I would particularly like to see ‘Gasholder Park’ and Little Venice never disappoints!

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  25. Great post and wonderful photos, Marion. Walking in London city is quite impossible, but whenever we visit, I try to escape for a walk along the Regent’s Canal as there is a shorter and longer version, in case you are a tireless walker. It’s hard to pick my favourite part of the walk, but I always found myself drawn to the wonderful Camden Lock Market which I found to be a real Alibaba’s cave with many amazing stalls and plenty of high-calory delicatessens. Thanks for sharing and have a lovely day 🙂 Aiva xx

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