Regents Canal

A few pictures from our trip along the Regents Canal at the end of last week.  
We left Paddington Basin, which gives a very good, quiet and safe-feeling base for exploring the city and moorings are for 7 days,  giving plenty of time to see the sights.

Paddington Basin

Brownings Pool looking towards Regents Canal

The Regent's Canal was built to link the Grand Junction Canal's Paddington Arm, which opened in 1801, with the Thames at Limehouse.

As you head towards Maida Vale Tunnel there are lots of residential moorings along both sides of the canal making the well known sight of London's Little Venice.

Closer to the tunnel and those blue skies and sunshine look encouraging but it is still very cold and there is ice on the water.

Very soon come the Mansion houses, very imposing homes looking down on the canal.

Then there's Blow-up bridge, where a gunpowder barge exploded in 1874 destroying the bridge. When it was rebuilt the iron columns from Coalbrookdale were turned around and now grooves worn by the horses ropes can be found on both sides of the end columns.

A number of basins were built along the route, one of them is Battlebridge basin where the London Canal Museum is now sited.

Battlebridge Basin

Cumberland Basin

The Pirate Castle is a youth and community project providing lots of water based activities for budding pirates.

Pirate Castle, Camden

And then there's Camden locks, running alongside the famous market. 

Camden locks

I don't seem to have any more photos of the rest of the canal,  at least not from this journey.  Here's a favourite from last year and one which is on our calendar for this month.