London Canals - The UK City's Waterways

Places of interest near London's Canals

Bayswater (and the Westfield Centre by tube)

Bayswater is a useful shopping area with various ameneties such as Whiteley's cinema and the Queensway skating rink. Its about 15-20 minutes walk from Little Venice. Westfield is one of the largest shopping centres in the UK and is reached by tube from Royal Oak station

How to get there from Little Venice. This shows the nicer route from Little Venice visitor moorings via Westbourne Green

At the west end of the visitor moorings leave the towpath and enter Delamere Terrace

Turn right and descend along Lord Hills Road towards the open spaces. There are two routes along here in this view looking back to the canal embankment in the far distance

The two routes at the bottom of Lord Hills Road merge at Bourne Terrace and cross into Westbourne Green

The merged routes go through Westbourne Green towards the A40(M) viaduct in the distance

Harrow Road/A40(M) viaduct: Cross here and follow the road over Lord Hills bridge

Continuation of the route past the A40(M) Westway and over the westbound Harrow Road carriageway to Lord Hills bridge

Once on Lord Hills bridge pass Royal Oak tube station. This is where trains depart for the Westfield Shopping centre in White City. Royal Oak tube station is a good alternative to the one at Warwick Avenue and offers boaters further options for travel around London. For Westfield alight at Wood Lane station

Porchester Road at the junction with Westbourne Park Road

For Bayswater itself continune straight on along Lord Hills bridge and on to Porchester Road. This leads directly to Westbourne Grove and Queensway where most of Bayswater's shops are. There is a market just off Porchester Road on Saturdays. Further afield, Kensington Gardens and Notting Hill are within walking distance. The 27 bus is a useful link, and it also goes to High Street Kensington and Olympia (if anyone wants the 27 without walking to Westbourne Grove its best to catch it just a short walk away on the far side of Westbourne Bridge Road)

The most iconic attraction in Baywater is Whiteleys. This large department store is now host to a number of smaller units. You will find Marks & Spencers, HMV, food stalls, banks, a multiplex cinema, cafes and restaurants all under one roof. There is a Post Office, WH Smiths, Maplins, Boots, Superdrug, several charity shops and Tesco's opposite. A wide variety of individual shops catering for all tastes can be found in Westbourne Grove, as well as the usual restaurants and cafes. A new Masala Zone has just opened at the bottom of Porchester Road

The interior of Whiteleys

Bayswater (Circle/District) is complemented by Queensway (Central line.) The large indoor market & ice skating is nearby

Bayswater's amenities and further afield

Bayswater can be said to be Edgware Road on a smaller scale. There are a number of middle eastern restauarants, but again other cultures manage to get a look-in. Italian, Chinese, Indian, and theres a second Tesco's opposite Bayswater station. Queensway indoor market offers a large choice of traders under one roof and next door is the well-known Queensway Skating Rink. At the bottom of Queensway is Bayswater Road, which borders the north side of Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park, and one can walk across the parks to Kensington Palace or High Street Kensington, the Royal Albert Hall or Science Museum, Natural History Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum and a little further on is Knightbridge for Harrods. if you get this far to the museums or Harrods, there's always the opportunity of catching the 414 bus back to Little Venice!

Transport

The area is served well by buses, and has three tube stations - Bayswater for Circle and District lines; Queensway for the Central line; Royal Oak for the Hammersmith and City. The entire list of bus routes are as follows - along Bayswater: 94, 148 and 390; on Bishops Bridge/Westbourne Grove 7, 23, 27, 70; and Porchester Road 36

Around Little Venice & Paddington: History and transport systems / Canute's 'Canal': The mythological waterway that wasnt / Congreve's Hydro-pneumatic lock: A water-saving device that didnt work! / Croydon Canal: London's shortest-lived waterway, closing completely by 1837 / Cumberland Arm: A branch off the Regents Canal to Euston / Fleet River & Canal: The former Thames - Kings Cross waterway / Grand Surrey: The canal with an ambition to reach Portsmouth! / Grosvenor Canal: The Grosvenor linked Victoria to the Thames / Hertford Union Canal: A short cut with a nice flight of locks between the Regents Canal and the Lee Navigation alongside Victoria Park / Isle of Dogs (City) Canal: The Isle of dogs canal, where Canary Wharf now stands / Kensington Canal: The canal that became a railway and an underground route / Limehouse Cut & the Lee Navigation: The 28 mile route from London to Hertford / London's Canal Tunnels: There are three canal tunnels in London / McMurray's Canal: Wandsworths long forgotten waterway / Paddington Arm: The Grand Junction/Grand Union from Bulls Bridge to London / Pudding Mill River: Requiem for London's lost waterway / Regents Canal: This runs between Little Venice, Camden Town & Limehouse / Romford Canal: The penultimate, yet unfinished, canal to be built in London / Ruislip Feeder: The former waterway that fed the canal / Surrey Iron Railway: The route of the world's first public railway / Woolwich's secret waterway: The Royal Arsenal Canal

London Canals Outside: 1) Wendover Arm 2) Slough Arm 3) River Chess/Salter's Cut

Attractions near the London canals: Abbey Road / Bayswater / Crockers Folly / Derry and Toms / Edgware Road / Marylebone Goods / Nash Villas / Spitfire Works / St Pancras