walk/tour
John Nash, 1820
The Toll House, Delamere Terrace, W2 6ND
Calling all canal enthusiasts - also known as 'gongoozlers' - to walk through the social and industrial history of Little Venice, Camden Lock, and St Pancras. If you enjoyed Gongoozlers of Regent's Canal & Limehouse Basin in the east (Open House 2024), you will enjoy this new west side story. Discover how a hand-dug canal shaped the lives of West Enders, Londoners, and the United Kingdom.
Paddington
Paddington
Starting point: PADDINGTON Station to WESTBOURNE TERRACE RD BRIDGE. Ending point: COAL DROP YARDS at KINGS CROSS-ST PANCRAS Station
Deaf-Aware Walking Tour, includes: pre-tour key word list, visual information of places/people, access to lip reading, radio aid trained.
Sun safety: Practice safe sun. Walk is full sun with minimal shade access. Active walking pace: Comfier shoes for a comfier walk.
Walking tour
09:30–12:30
Deaf-aware guided walking tour on the towpath of Regent's Canal
How to book
Please create a free visitor account to book your festival tickets.
Walking tour
09:30–12:30
Deaf-aware guided walking tour on the towpath of Regent's Canal
How to book
Please create a free visitor account to book your festival tickets.
'Gongoozlers' are defined as canal enthusiasts, who marvel at canal life from the towpath without the use of a barge boat. Regent's Canal in Little Venice to Kings Cross offers much for a gongoozler to ponder. Come along, 'gongoozle' about a purpose-built history from the Industrial Revolution to modern-day regeneration.
London's first mass transportation system were the humble canals.
Built in 1812, Regent's Canal from Paddington to Limehouse Basin fulfilled London's growing transport needs to link the UK's mainland Grand Junction Canal to the internationally connected waters of the River Thames. Here, sea-bound vessels exchanged domestic goods with the riches of the vast British Empire.
The Paddington to Camden canal branch was constructed in 1816. The rest of the canal followed through to Limehouse by 1820.
'Canal mania' ballooned in the Regency and Victorian Eras. Architect John Nash influenced development of London's canal, as director of Regent's Canal Company. This prestige was bestowed to Nash through his connections to Prince Regent (later King George IV). Alas, 'Regent's Canal' pleased Nash as an ideal waterway through his design of Regent's Park, and it pleased the UK as a cargo interchange hub between the North, the Midlands, and the rest of the world.
From Paddington's laguna Little Venice, to the stuccoed homes of Maida Vale. From private garden moorings of Lisson Grove, to the thick foliage of Regent's Park. Then from the vibrancy of Camden Lock and Camden Town to the regeneration of St Pancras. Every stretch of towpath is a rudder steering into the industrious past from 1801 to 1969, when the canals officially closed for commercial use.
This tour walks the history of the human-made canal and glints at the rediscovery, redevelopment, and gentrification of communities along the canal. The once dominating working class slowly make way for an office working class.
Join us enthusiastically from the towpath for this year's tale of gongoozlers' London history.
This tour is led by an alumnus of Open City’s Golden Key Academy - an eight-month course designed to train insightful and engaging guides who bring London’s rich stories to life.
Learn more about the Golden Key Academy here: open-city.org.uk/golden-key-academy
Drop in / Guided tour
religious, community/cultural, gallery
Grade I Victorian Gothic church by G E Street, architect of the Royal Courts of Justice. The recent conservation project reveals the majestic colours of Daniel Bell's painted ceiling, plus Dow Jones Architects' contemporary heritage wing.
G. E. Street, 1867
