The Regent’s Canal walking tour in London

Walking in London is impossible; if you don’t walk in London, you don’t get anywhere, and the walking itineraries are too dispersive. These are just some clichés I often hear, maybe too often.

Indeed, walking in London is unlike Paris, a much more compact city with close and well-defined neighbourhoods. However, the English capital offers many walking itineraries, either by following the subway lines or strolling from one neighbourhood to another.

Among the London walks I prefer, the one along the Regent’s Canal is undoubtedly the first that I would recommend, in its short version, and the long one, in case you are a tireless walker.

Walking tour along Regent’s Canal

The Regent’s Canal connects the district known as Little Venice, west of London, to the Thames in the Limehouse area, on the opposite side of the city.

Once a warehouse and industrial area, the canal has become fashionable. Renovations in the last decades have transformed it into a very cool residential area.

The walk lasts about three hours, passing through Regent’s Park and taking a slight detour to enjoy the views from Primrose Hill, Camden Lock, and Islington, but I suggest you add two more hours to get to the Limehouse Basin.

I recommend the Warwick Avenue stop on the Bakerloo line as a starting point. Taking the Clifton Villas exit, you will leave the church behind you to enter Warwick Place and onto Blomfield Road. On the other side of the bridge, you will find the steps to get off in the small dock, the heart of Little Venice, and the actual starting point of this walk.

Little Venice in London

The name Little Venice is due to the convergence of the two nineteenth-century canals, the Regent’s and the Grand Union, built to transport materials and goods between Birmingham and Paddington.

The route of the canal follows relatively straight lines, but not the walk: between private sidewalks, underground tunnels under train tracks, such as those entering Marylebone Station, and the absence of docks, you will have to walk up and down quite often, admiring romantic houseboats and the surrounding architecture and maybe trying to imagine that once the boats used to move up the canal pulled by horses. Surreal no?

Primrose Hill

At the height of the central London Mosque, you can cross Regent’s Park, admire the gardens, the pond, and the Queen Mary’s Gardens, or leave the park and canal for a short detour to the top of Primrose Hill, which you have undoubtedly seen in various movies set in London.

The highest point of Primrose Hill is only 63 meters, and it’s therefore just a very slight climb, but the park and the city seen here are beautiful. The skyscrapers above are those of the City and Canary Wharf, continuously expanding like the rest of the West End. If in doubt, check the steel panel that details what you’re looking at.

If you are in the mood for a sweet break, I recommend Primrose Bakery. Their cupcakes are a must, and it’s the perfect location if you’re looking for colourful photos for your Instagram profile.

Once back to the canal sidewalk, you cross the London Zoo, which is appalling. Oh, so sad. However, if you are interested in its history, you can also learn about it in the Tower of London, whose moat was the zoo’s precursor for decades.

Camden Lock Market

Just after the medieval-style bridge known as Pirate Castle, the next stop is Camden Lock, the first of twelve locks built to lower the canal level between this point and Limehouse.

Here, if it’s a weekend, if you’re hungry, thirsty, or curious and do not resist the temptation to go shopping, add at least an hour to the expected tour time.

The Camden market is a real Alibaba cave for me. There are indeed so many junkies for tourists. Still, there are charming objects, details, and stalls, such as the Spanish guy personalizing Converse and the countless dining options offering various high-calorie delicacies. For example, I can’t resist the handmade fudge!

Re-emerging from Camden Lock, you have to cross Camden High Street to find the next portion of the canal, squeezed between high modern buildings and with no pedestrian banks for a while.

This area also sees a succession of old decommissioned and converted warehouses and railway bridges leading to King’s Cross or Saint Pancras.

I like this area because it represents redevelopment in Italy, which we still see as a utopia. I like the London Canal Museum and the surrounding buildings. Until the twenties, it was used as a warehouse for storing ice harvested in Scandinavia!

Here, at the height of Granary Square, you’ll find one of my favourite bookstores in London: Word on the Water. It is certainly not the biggest, but it is the one that makes me daydream and fantasize as soon as I set my eyes on it. It is welcoming, romantic, and masterfully managed: excellent book selection, live jazz concerts on the roof, artistic improvisations, and happy chatter with customers/guests.

Islington

After the Thornhill Bridge, the canal enters the Islington Tunnel for about a kilometre, but to avoid getting lost, follow the blue disks on the ground, which look like breadcrumbs.

This neighbourhood was also known as Merry Islington, an area designed for outdoor recreation, including cricket pitches, spas, and tea rooms. It was also the arrival point of the Great North Road, which led from York to London and bifurcated towards the City or Smithfield Market, still the primary British meat market.

Once there, you can take the subway from Angel Station, on the Northern Line, or keep walking along the canal to Limehouse Basin, and if you feel strong enough, from there to the Tower of London. I dared the full walk only once: beautiful but exhausting!

Have a great stroll along the Regent’s Canal!

P.S. The Regent’s Canal is named in honour of the Prince of Wales, who, in 1811, the year before the canal’s inauguration, had become Prince Regent before being crowned King George IV.