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On Tuesday the 18th October 2022 I got the train up to Kings Cross Station and walked out of the station. I pass the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel.
The St. Pancras Renaissance London Hotel forms the frontispiece of St Pancras railway station, one of the main termini in London and the final stop for international trains departing to Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and other destinations in mainland Europe. It opened in 2011, and occupies much of the former Midland Grand Hotel designed by George Gilbert Scott which opened in 1873 and closed in 1935. The hotel is managed by Marriot International.
I walk on and up pass another exit to Kings Cross, so ,many exits I had no idea which to take!
I up to past the lighthouse that sits on the corner of Pentonville Road and Grays Inn Road.
The Lighthouse building, as it is now known, dates back to 1875. Nobody seems quite sure what its purpose was, but the most popular belief is that it was displayed to advertise Netten’s Oyster Bar, which was on the building’s ground floor. Some say the lighthouse was lit when fresh oysters arrived!
The building was restored in 2013 having been on Historic England’s Buildings at Risk Register. By this time the interior had mainly become derelict.
The lighthouse tower was completely renovated and clad with pre-weathered zinc and capped in lead, and the original weather vane reconstructed.
I walk on down the Caledonian Road to the Regents Canal.
Regent's Canal starts at Little Venice and ends in Docklands. It was named after the Prince Regent, later George IV, and is part of London's Grand Union Canal. A quiet and atmospheric waterway, Regent's Canal passes by parks, a zoo, Camden Market, Victorian warehouses and celebrity hangouts.
I pass a floating book shop "Word on the Water" Sadly wasn't open yet!
I walk on and across the water was Camley Street Natural Park, a part of London Wildlife Trust.
Camley Street Natural Park is a unique urban nature reserve, surrounded by significant new development in a bustling part of central London - between King's Cross and St Pancras.
The woodland, grassland and wetland habitats including ponds, reedbed and marshy areas, provide a rich habitat for birds, butterflies, amphibians and plant life, while the new Visitor Centre caters for the thousands who visit annually.
I decide not to cross and visit and walk on.
I pass St Pancras Lock.
I walk on through London along the quiet waterway, away from the hustle and bustle of London life.
I reach Grand Union Walk Housing and I immediately knew Camden was close by.
In this commission for Sainsbury's Grimshaw negotiated that residences should take the form of individual houses rather than a block of flats and the project includes 10 three-bedroom houses, a one-bedroom maisonette and a studio flat.
Located on a 10-metre-long strip of land parallel to the canal, carefully eked out by optimising lorry turning circles in the adjacent loading bay, the plot is bounded by a wall to the south to exclude vehicle noise.
The narrow site and the need to allow sunlight into living areas without south-facing windows dictated the distinctive form of the houses. At first-floor level, L-shaped open plan living spaces are top-lit; their double-height dining areas can act as external spaces, opening to a canal-facing balcony in summer months.
United by uniform building materials of dense concrete blockwork with precast concrete floors and felt-covered timber roofs, the houses are now recognised for their highly imaginative answer to an eclectic context.
I walk by The Icewharf pub and out onto Camden High Street.
I have a walk through Stables Market, only one of the many that really remain. Camden is sadly being gentrified and losing its identify it once had.
Way before Camden Market became one of the most famous markets in the world, and even before it became a market at all, the whole area was an industrial site, including many a distillery. In fact, in the 19th Century, Camden was known as the hometown of some of the world’s finest gin.
It wasn’t until 1974, on the brink of demolition, that Camden welcomed its first traders.
Before Camden Market became home to thousands of stalls, it started by just 16 of them selling jewellery, antiques and crafts. Situated in the heart of Camden Town, alongside Regent’s Canal, it is a colourful community composed of diverse street food traders and independent stores. So it will come as no surprise that every year this vibrant market attracts millions of people from all over the globe.
I pop into The Coyote Ugly bar, no beers here that I haven't had so I decide to grab a drink elsewhere!
Coyote Ugly Saloon opened in 1993 in New York, expanded across the world. Coyote Ugly Camden IS open 7 days a week and IS offer incredible.
ckages.
I leave the market and wanted to visit the Camden Brewery again but it isn't open on a Tuesday so I pop into The Elephants Head for a half of Brixton Atlantic pale ale.
I stop in the Camden Eye for a half of Beavertown Fuzz Box Peach and Apricot Hazy Pale and laines Old Volks Wagon Dark Lager.
I cross the road to the station for the journey home.