London's canals used to be insalubrious places that smelled of a hundred different kinds of nasty, and were inhabited largely by submerged trolleys lurking in the depths and the faded crisp packets of yesteryear. No one would have thought to take a stroll beside them, but fast-forward to the present day and that's just what's being suggested. Today the canals couldn't be more different – you're far more likely to see fish in the depths and ducks, or other water birds on the surface – and a stroll along them is a pleasant way to get across London in any season.
Regeneration has been the name of the game in London for the last twenty years or so and
Regent's Canal has been a beneficiary – in the form of a jolly good dredging, a good fix up of the walkways along it, and the addition of some new bankside developments. Now it makes for a particularly nice strolling ground. And there's a particularly stroll-able stretch between the
Islington Tunnel, which is just up the road from Kings Cross Station or down the road from Angel, and the zoo in Regent's Park, via Camden and the eclectically colourful wares of the
Camden Lock Markets.
The Islington Tunnel doesn't have a towpath beside it so you have to join the canal at the end of the tunnel's 960yards, but from there it's a gradual down hill walk between narrow parks and the canal until you get to the newly developed
St. Pancras Lock and
St. Pancras Basin, where the canal spreads out and you can too – but with a coffee in a basin-side café. One of the best things about walking along the canal is that there's no chance of making a wrong turning, and from behind St. Pancras Station you just keep on going under Grays Inn Bridge and North Road Bridge until you meet the front running stalls of the Camden Lock Markets just in front of Camden Bridge. What's a stroll without the opportunity for a little browsing and the opportunity to replenish yourself of the energy you've expended – and that opportunity is now.
Beyond the markets the canal gets even leafier, just like the suburbs – you're heading towards Regent's Park now. There are usually a couple of really nicely painted narrow boats on this stretch of canal – ones that look like they've put-putted their way right out of a Famous Five book about floating gypsies. This is also a good stretch for water voles and herons – maybe it's the smell of the zoo, you're getting pretty close to it now... And you'll know when you're right beside it, you can see some of the animals in one of the African enclosures as you go past – they have pretty nice view.
Beyond the zoo is Hampstead Road Lock where you've another chance to go top up on greenery in Regent's Park. Keep strolling for Maida Vale, the
Paddington Basin and Little Venice where Regent's Canal meets the Grand Union Canal.
If you're not a great walker you could opt to see the canal by canal boat. It takes about 90 minutes to do a full round trip in a canal boat, which is about the same amount of time it takes to walk the stretch suggested.
