Friday 8 October 2010

Paul Smith writes (9 October 2010):

I don't think FOCUS TRANSPORT has included anything on canals before so I am sending a few shots I took yesterday, as it was a beautiful day in London and I had time to kill. I didn't fancy shooting endless rows of red buses so took a stroll round the Battlebridge Basin on the Regents Canal at Kings Cross.

I regularly work at Kings Place, the new concert hall in Kings Cross, the rear terrace of which backs onto the Battlebridge Basin, part of London's Regents Canal network and home to the London Canal Museum. Situated only a five minute walk from Kings Cross Station, the basin is a hidden oasis of serenity and calm after the frenetic activity of the nearby station area. A substantial number of narrow boats are moored in the basin, some being used as homes, others undergoing restoration. An occasional working barge still passes through, together with visiting narrow boats from across the canal network.

Also based at here is the narrowboat 'Tarporley', built as a working boat in 1937 which is now operated as a passenger boat by the Camden Canals & Narrowboat Association, providing trips along the canal for school parties, community groups and other interested users (visit their website HERE).

Please find below a few photos which show the variety of boats seen here. Many of the former warehouse buildings which once served the busy canal traffic are now converted to or replaced by luxurious apartments and office facilities, which make this particular part of North London an attractive and popular place to live and work.