Regents Canal Walk (part1)

John and I try to do a walk at least once a week but preferably more. We had planned several walks for the Christmas break and so far we have managed two but we do have two more lined up before I go back to work next Monday. On Boxing Day (26th December) we completed our walk along the Regents canal. We did this walk in two parts with the first part being walked in August 2018. I completely forgot to post about it so I'll show you the photos today and continue with our Boxing Day walk tomorrow




The Regent's Canal Company was set up in 1812 to create a new canal from the Grand Union Canal  Paddington arm to Limehouse. Here they had planned to build a dock at the junction with the River Thames. It  was completed in 1820 but by then the Railway was starting to make money and the canal was almost turned into a railway. Although the railways were very successful the canal became a vital part of southern England's transport system. The canals now provide great pathways for leisure time both on the water and walking.

Back in August we walked from Limehouse basin to King's Cross station. The lock next to the weir takes boats from Limehouse basin  into the Regent's canal. You can see a boat in the lock

It amazing what you come across when walking along the towpath. This chimney was an old sewer chimney to get the fumes high into the air so they wouldn't cause any problems.

In Mile End Park we walked past these sculptures. The horses were used to pull the canal boats along. I called him rusty but he just carried don standing there.

The campaigner for women's suffrage was very pertinent since women first got the vote in Britain in 1918 - 100 years ago

I like the reflections that you get on the water. Even the algae couldn't stop the reflection.

There was a lot of new builds along the canal. It felt a friendly place to live but those flats really were overlooking each other.

There were a lot of weeping willows along the banks. When I was a child we had a garden pond and my father planted a weeping willow. I loved the way the branches reached down to and sometimes into the water.

We stopped for lunch in Haggerston, favouring a small independent cafe. Feeling nicely full we continued on our walk. We hadn't gone far when we saw Containerville. This is housing built out of old containers. They looked amazing. I'm guessing they used a lot of insulation to help make them warm for the winter and cool in the summer. I'm not sure how many containers made one residence.

I've also always been interested in the gasometers. These ones are no longer operational. There were two gas works by the side of the canal here and the coal could be easily transported via the canal to the processors to be converted into gas. The works declined after the introduction of electricity.

I'd forgotten to recharge my camera so I didn't take any pictures for a while. This one shows the entrance to the Islington tunnel. By the way just to remind you, we are still in London with lots of activity going on not far from the canal. This tunnel is 900 metres in length and has no towpath. When the barges were horse drawn the horses were unhitched and walked over the hill, meanwhile the barge crew would 'leg' the boat through the tunnel. The tunnel was built to avoid having to have a series of locks to go up and over Islington hill.

I took this picture because when I was young (centuries ago) my father owned a Sunbeam Talbot and I loved going out in it This car reminded me of his car and for a while I reminisced about our holidays and outings in the car. The seats were leather and I loved the feel and smell of them. Although it's nearly 60 years ago I still remember the license plate EYE 975.

The old canal buildings are still in use although often re-purposed. This one is a pottery but I took the photo because of the swan family. The other adult swan was just out of shot.

A little further on  we passed Battlebridge Basin on our left. Before 1830 what is now King's Cross was known as Battlebridge There was a bridge a little to the west over the River Fleet but this now runs in a culvert and the bridge has gone. The basin opened in 1825 and had a beer bottling plant,a timber yard and warehousing for corn, salt and imported fruit. In 1992 the London Canal Museum opened here with canal artefacts and displays showing the history of the canals. 

The railway lines in and out of King's cross go under the railway and just a little further on than the basin there used to be stop locks. During the war the German air force targeted this section of the canal. If it had been breeched the railway line would have been flooded and this would have disrupted getting people and goods to the north of England. To combat this stop locks were fitted either side of the railway lines and when the air raid siren sounded the stop locks were closed. 

From here it was a short walk into King's Cross station and the underground to take us home, But before  we reached the station we passed these fountains. The little girl was having great fun jumping onto and over the water.

Come back tomorrow and I'll tell you about part 2 of the walk and also about some stitching I'm doing.

Lyndsey