Last Sunday we were heading into the West End. It was a gorgeous day so we took a more scenic route, thinking it would be fun to be tourists in our own city.
So we cycled down to Caledonian Road, then headed west along the Regent’s Canal towpath. I haven’t been down there for ages, and it has been improved almost beyond recognition. It’s great to see urban renewable that actually benefits everyone (including cyclists!), and there’s loads of great stuff down there.
Like this floating bookshop, “Word on the water”, which looked spectacular surrounded by frozen ice. It’s got a cosy warm fire inside, they were playing reggae on their soundsystem, and the selection of books was interesting and weird.
Or these new cylindrical buildings which are very intriguing. The architects have kept the external structure of some old gas reservoirs and build new flats inside. The metal panels are blinds which can be open fully to let more light in. One of the old gas reservoirs has been left empty and is now a public garden which will be heaving come summertime.
We cycled along past lovely old barges (some clearly inhabited by cyclists) and buildings and even people, the city looking effortlessly beautiful in the crisp winter light. It was one of those perfect days when everyone is cheery and everything’s great…
… and then we arrived at Camden Lock and suddenly the bikes were a complete pain in the arse (figuratively). That little bit with all the food stalls is always heaving with people, and today there were more than usual. No one actually swore at us but I don’t think we were very popular as we struggled to manoeuvre our bikes through the crowd.
But it didn’t take long, and soon we were back on the quiet towpath. Here are a few pics of the rest of our journey…
Is this retro barge not the coolest?
We came out just before the London Zoo to cycle through Regent’s Park but you could easily continue to Little Venice… or Liverpool which is apparently 302 miles away!
It’s so nice to be a tourist in your city, if you have any recommendations of scenic routes, get in touch with us and we will test them!
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