The Regents Canal - Past Kings Cross/St Pancras to City Road
Below Camden the canal has a series of sharp bends that crosses the former valley of the Fleet River. This is a view looking north west from Camden Rd bridge
Moored boats at Camley Street bridge, just above St Pancras
St Pancras Lock from the north west looking to the 'spire' of St Pancras station. In due course the area will be completely unreconisable
Above and below: major changes that will take place at St Pancras Lock
The next lock is at St Pancras. The new mega station that serves international trains is just a few yards away at St Pancras and Eurostars can now be seen crossing the canal as they make their way towards the continent. Camley Street natural park runs along the south side of the canal here. On the far left can be seen the St Pancras Waterpoint. It was originally built in 1872 by Sir Gilbert Scott and was sited at St Pancras until the redevelopment of the station for Eurostar meant it had to be removed. It was dismantled carefully and transported 700 metres to its new home by St Pancras Lock
Below St Pancras lock the canal is right next to both Kings Cross and St Pancras rail stations. Clearance work in readiness for redevelopment has afforded this view showing the stations in realtion to the canal, along with one of the remaining gasholders
The new development at Kings Place (headquarters of the Guardian newspaper) which has a 400 seater Concert Hall! The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and the London Sinfonietta will have their main residence here. Battlesbridge (or Horsfall) basin is another major feature here. Its said that boats will have to have their engines off and be towed past the premises so as not to upset the acoustics. That includes Bollinders! Any offenders will make the Guardian headlines! :-)
The butty Coronis in its setting within the London Canal Museum at Kings Cross
London's one and only canal and waterways museum can be found at Battlebridge Basin, just to the east of Kings Cross station at 12-13 New Wharf Road, a short walk from either Kings Cross/St Pancras or the towpath at either York Way or Caledonian Road. The museum itself is fully accessible. Deaf patrons will appreciate their attempts to make the museum accessible in terms of visual presentation and BSL videos as will other ranges of disability for which many needs are now considered. Podcasts covering towpath walks are also available for download from the museum's website (or directly through London Canals' Links page)
Link: London Canal Museum - The only London museum of inland waterways, situated at King's Cross by the Regents Canal. Easily reached from international rail, national main line, bus and tube services
Kings Cross has changed so much. The days when I remember trolley buses plying down Grays Inn Road have gone. Now there's a new international rail terminal in St Pancras station, the whole area between the stations has changed and there's a large Tesco's in Cally Road, and plenty of shops and coffree bar and restaurants around the rail stations. The new St Pancras station has two Marks and Spencers and a large shopping Mall. A highlight at St Pancras is the bronze statue called 'The Meeting,' a useful redezvous for lovers! Even more changes are onthe cards as one wil see if they make a visit to the German Gym opposite St Pancras station. Here can be found the plans and large scale model of the Kings Cross re-development
Entering the west portal of Islington Tunnel on way home to Kingsland basin. The east portal of the tunnel can clearly be seen
The longest of the London canal tunnels is at Islington. This is the eastern portal near City Road lock
Islington Tunnel Visitor Moorings Information Board - click on image to download pdf version generated by London Canals
City Road during the 2009 Angel festival, with one of the strangest boats so far to grace the London Canals! There's an increasing number of alternative styles of boat in use as people become desperate for accomodation but cannot afford narrowboat prices. In many ways its a call-back to the sixties and early seventies when anything that floated was put into use, so its just history repeating itself
City Road basin. This was and still is, the largest of the Regent Canal's basins. Its mainy used for canoeing and sailing activities
The view below was taken from the upper deck of a 43 route bus travelling down City Road. The stalls are part of the Angel Canal Festival 2009. Eventually this view will alter considerably when new development is permitted around the southern extremity of the basin. The Regents Network called for the reinstatement of the basin area on the farside of City Road. This is not an impossible job for City Road is still at the correct height to allow sufficient headroom for a possible link to a new basin area. Unfortunately many developers in London are messing up the canal scene as well as the potentiality of their own developments by short sighted planning. The awful Paddington Basin is one of the prime examples of such short sightedness, because there was enough land to create extra waterways and have the buildings sited alongside. It would have also made the residential properties more sought after. But there you are, the history of re-development alongside the waterways in London is a chapter of utter mess and totally missed opportunity
The Narrowboat pub, near City Road Lock. This is the old order complete with model narrowboat. The pub has recently been rebuilt.
Next: Down to Old Ford
THE REGENTS CANAL PAGES:
intro blomfield rd/maida hill marylebone regents park marks crescent camden town camden market st pancras/city rd hackney/old ford mile end/limehouse
