Europe2016

Paddington Arm of the Grand Junction Canal, at its intersection with Regent's Canal. The blue bridge is the Westbourne Terrace Bridge, I could not find information on its age. The building on the other side of the bridge is an original toll house. See adjacent and: londoncanals.uk/2010/01/17/a-look-around-londons-waterway-oasis-with-a-sprinkling-of-history

At the former toll house at Westbourne Terrace bridge. Lock-like structures built into the wall reflect the history of the canals as privately owned. At the time of the construction of the Regent’s Canal, canals were private enterprises that had specific rights for accessing the water needed to operate the canal. Since the Regent’s Canal and the Grand Junction Canal were different companies, they had different sources for water and thus there was a need for a lock at their juncture that controlled the flow of water. See: www.thehistoryoflondon.co.uk/the-regents-canal

There were a number of places along the canal marked as Poke spots.

In the distance, the entrance to the Maida Hill Tunnel (length 272 yards) on the Regent's Canal.

Looking west from about the entrance to the Maida Hill tunnel.

Interesting new architecture, seen from the path connecting the Regent's Canal as it goes through Maida tunnel.

On Aberdeen Place on Maida Hill, along the route connecting the portions of the Regent's canal. The building is labelled "Poynter House" and I could not find information on the building, though it appears to be moderne architecture from the 1930's.

A small area of Regent's Canal that seemed to have quite a few people actually living in their boats.

A small area of Regent's Canal that seemed to have quite a few people actually living in their boats.

A small area of Regent's Canal that seemed to have quite a few people actually living in their boats.

Window washers over the canal

The canal goes along a long stretch on the north side of Regent's Park (see nearby photos).

In the distance, a minaret at the Islamic Cultural Centre and the London Central Mosque

Map indicating the extent of the canal across the northern boundary of Regent's park. After seeing a few houses, walking the path through Regent's Park got boring, so I shifted to the roads to view the surrounding areas.

Homes in Regent's Park along the canal. I’ve read two different (and somewhat opposing) stories about the relationship between the canal and Regent’s Park. One story seems to suggest that the canal was part of the development of Regent’s Park as a site for homes of the wealthy. It seems improbable to me that this sort of development would have included a working canal commonly used in transport, with horse-drawn or steam-driven canal boats hauling freight past these mansions that are close to canal. Thus the second explanation (see link below) makes more sense – that the canal was built across the far northern stretches of Regent’s Park specifically to route canal traffic as far away from the mansions. See: www.thehistoryoflondon.co.uk/the-regents-canal

The building is Viceroy Court and the architecture is interesting, though I could not find any specific detail. I suspect this would be classified as "Streamline Moderne" (late Art Deco) from the 1930's. In searching for details I did find listings for 2 bedroom flats in the building -- 1200 sq ft (110 sq meters) for £1,795,000

From Primrose Hill, visible in the far distance is the Coca Cola Eye, closer is the BT Tower. The BT Tower, completed in 1964, was known as the Post Office Tower the first time I visited London in 1968. The tower was originally designed as a telecommunications tower and it is still used for that purpose. It contains offices and, on the 34th floor, a rotating restaurant that was closed in 1980.

Cranes... everywhere in London, lots of cranes creating new buildings. Considering the housing crash of 2008 and then the vote to leave the EU (Brexit), all of this construction seems reckless.