Camden Market, London, UK (OTBT)

On a recent London trip, we were a little jaded with the whole British Museum, Piccadilly, Trafalgar Square routine, (and less mobile thanks to a recent MVA). We decided to explore the area near our hotel. This included Regents Park, the Zoo and, most notably – Camden Market including the locks and surrounding canals. Here we discovered a whole “ecosystem” of canal residents, barges, markets and small rural hideaways.

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London is laced with a canal system dating back to the early 19th century. The advent of trains, the Tube and cars left this area dirty and rundown, but it has experienced a renaissance in recent years and is fascinating to explore.*

First we walked from our hotel, (right next door to Regent’s Park), to Camden Market, taking a shortcut along the Camden canal. Camden Market itself features a wide range of ethnic food choices plus all the usual market fare, from etchings to T-shirts. It’s a great place to wander, people watch, grab some cultural cuisine and soak in the atmosphere of daily London life. We selected some unique souvenirs for the family back home.

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We headed home via the canal and discovered that people live here year round on barges. There are some homeless people; it is rural and scenic; there is a regular bus, or barge, service; you can rent kayaks or boats to explore yourself; it is a favourite exercise/jogging area for locals; there are water birds, including some rarer ones, (there is a population of Egyptian geese, indigenous to Africa).

Camden canal is quiet, allowing one to deflate from the hubbub of the busy London streets.

Overall, it’s a welcome respite from “tourism” London. We felt we had discovered a “real” aspect of the city and in subsequent visits we plan to explore similar areas.

Incidentally, we recommend the Regents Park area for a London stay. It is an easy and interesting 20 – 30 minute walk down to the hubs of Oxford Street, Trafalgar Square, the West End and Soho. But you can also spend a couple of days wandering around locally and The tube, taxis or Uber, will get you anywhere else quickly.

*In the novel “Warlight”, Michael Ondaatje gives a wonderful description of the London waterways in the post war period, whilst Robin Robertson’s novel, “The Long Take” revolves around the life of a modern barge dweller — both great reads!