Itinerary #5: Camden Market, Regent’s Canal, Primrose Hill, Little Venice

To get there on the Underground, take the Northern Line to either Camden Town or Chalk Farm.

After so many years of visiting London, I had somehow never made my way to Camden Market, so I decided to fix that on a recent trip. The markets are open seven days a week. I ended up there on a sunny Sunday afternoon with about a million other people who had the same idea. So if you can go at an off-peak time, I highly recommend doing so.

When you exit either Underground station, just follow the signs or the crowds. The markets are easy to find, and there are two major ones – Camden Market and Camden Lock. It’s hard to provide a lot of direction here – best to just wander around. Camden Lock is an actual “lock”, which is a device for lowering and raising boats between stretches of water that are at different levels (thank you Wikipedia). The Lock is active and can be interesting to watch.

In terms of things to buy, it’s mostly a flea market feel, which is not of huge interest to me but to each his own. They also have a decent sized area with food stalls…much more up my alley. There are some interesting and different choices. I believe I had a paneer sandwich.

Because it was so crowded, I moved on quickly, but the visit was worth it. You could easily spend half a day or more here. I’d like to go back when it’s less crowded.

Ferry option: If you don’t want to do all the walking this itinerary includes, there’s a ferry (think small-ish boat) you can catch that has stops at the Regent Park Zoo and Little Venice (can do in either direction obviously!). I didn’t try it, but it seems like a fun idea and a good way to save your feet. The London Waterbus one ferry operator that makes a stop at the zoo. Another is Jason's, which only runs between Little Venice and Camden Lock with no stops. Travel time is roughly 45 minutes one way. You could easily do the boat trip one way and travel home on the Underground.

To get out of the crowds, I ended up walking along Regent’s Canal, which is a narrow body of water that makes you feel a bit like you’re in Venice. Just head away from Camden Lock along the path beside the water and keep going. This is a lovely walk with lots of interesting things to see – from beautiful mansions and “interesting” houses to a Chinese pagoda and people chugging along in rented picnic boats. There are also a number of places to exit the path and see other sites (see below). I walked all the way to Little Venice.

One exit point and possible side stop is Primrose Hill, which is a park that features the highest spot in London. I didn’t have the energy to climb it on this particular day, but it would be an easy thing to incorporate into a Camden Market outing. The views on a clear day are said to be spectacular. If you decide to climb and have the energy, you can return to the Regent’s Canal path and keep walking.

Another exit from the path takes you to the Regent’s Park Zoo (or to Regent’s Park if you’re not a zoon fan). Like many of the parks in London, Regent’s Park is large with many interesting things to do – including a well-known zoo. There’s a lake where you can rent boats, a café, and many other items of interest. You could definitely spend a leisurely afternoon here.

If you stay on the path and keep walking as I did, you’ll end up in Little Venice, which is a charming neighborhood. There’s didn’t seem to be anything in the way of sites (although to be fair, I didn’t stay long), but I’m told it has great restaurants. You can definitely find a spot by the water. From here, the Underground options are a bit limited. Warwick Avenue station on the Bakerloo line is the closest.

Possible activity: If you have a nice sunny day and are looking for something a bit different to do, buy some wine and a few lunch supplies, rent a picnic boat from Little Venice, and spend a few hours tooling up and down Regent’s Canal. I saw many of these boats along my walk, and people seemed to be having a lovely time.

I would love to hear from you...

• n_haines@bellsouth.net