King’s Cross to Birmingham (Grand Union canal) stage 1: KX to Lisson Grove

This is the first stage of the King’s Cross to Birmingham jaunt via the Grand Union Canal.

I joined the canal at King’s Cross and headed west towards Camden Town and Regent’s Park.  I know this route extremely well as I’ve been walking it since early childhood.

The Grand Union / Regent's Canal near Camden Town
The Grand Union / Regent’s Canal  – St Pancras Lock

I used to hang around the canal at Camden Market in my teens. This was when the market still had a down-at-heel bohemian air to it and was home to the excellent, and much missed, Compendium bookshop and a number of fine record shops.  The market was heaving as I passed through, now one of London’s top five tourist attractions.

It was good to leave the market and move on down towards the zoo.  This section of the walk brought back happy childhood memories of fishing for sticklebacks and, when a bit older, climbing over the fence to get into the zoo for free.

Blow-Up Bridge, near Regent's Park zoo
Blow-Up Bridge, near Regent’s Park zoo

I finished this stage of the walk at Lisson Grove where I left the canal and made my way down to Marylebone Road to catch a bus back to King’s Cross.

The canal at Lisson Grove
The canal at Lisson Grove

 

3 thoughts on “King’s Cross to Birmingham (Grand Union canal) stage 1: KX to Lisson Grove

  1. Yes I remember the compendium bookshop and quite a few places there – I also remember when Camden Lock market first opened.

    Thanks Martin

  2. When the canal first opened? Wow, that must have been the late 60s, right? Compendium was such a fine shop, I spent so much time lurking about the basement, reading obscure Situationist texts.

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