Albany Basin was the actual terminus of the canal, a little short of the Camberwell New Road. Burgess Park incorporates the entire Surrey Canal route west of Trafalgar Avenue, with the exception of Albany basin

Burgess Park is well known for having been reclaimed mostly from the Grand Surrey Canal. Its a claim of sorts because there is so little to commend the canal itself. As far as canal related things go its a bit of an anti climax. The walk along here does give one the idea of how the Grand Surrey must have seemed as it stretched into the distance towards its terminus at Albany Basin. The canal was progressively closed in several phases, the section to Camberwell being the first to be closed and filled in. There were many accidents involving children from the local estates and this prompted the Port of London Authority decision to close this section down in the late 1960's.
The footway through Burgess Park. The canal actually ran on the left hand side of the footway as far as the footbridge to nowhere.
After the lattice girder footbridge the Burgess Park footway runs ON the course of the canal.
This isolated wall in Burgess Park to the rear of St Georges must have been associated with the canal in some way.
Underpass by St Georges Church, near Camberwell.
One of the most famous pictures of the Grand Surrey Canal shows a large sailing barge moored up at this very spot, with the church and Wells Way bridge in the background.
Part of the site of Albany Basin, Camberwell. The canal's terminus was set back from Camberwell Road just off Addington Square. There used to be a group of canal buildings fronting onto the Camberwell Road - an archway led through to the canal basin.
The remains of a gate pillar at Albany Basin.
Part of the canalside wall at Albany Basin. It now forms a kerb on the footway at this location through Burgess Park.
The sign on Camberwell Road welcoming visitors to Burgess Park.
No acknowledgement of the canal's existence. Sad! Epilogue: Beyond this point not one single bit of canal was built. The plans for a canal to Epsom (with a branch to Croydon) and Portsmouth were never realised. Croydon was served by the separate route that ws built from New Cross via Forest Hill for 26 years (see the Croydon canal feature.) Portsmouth was reached via a very longer route taking in the River Thames, the River Wey navigation, the Wey and Arun canal, the River Arun navigation, the Portsmouth and Arundel Canal, a dodgy tidal voyage round the Thorney and Hayling Islands - and a final stretch into Portsmouth on the short Portsea Canal