Another lovely spring day, warm, sunny and no wind. We walked for miles and miles along canal paths today.

We started in Paddington Basin which is only 5 minutes from our hotel. The Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal, constructed in 1801, terminated in a 4 acre stretch of water called Paddington Basin. The basin was situated on a major road and hence was a busy transhipment facility for the supply of goods from the Midlands to London. Since 2000 the basin has been the centre of a major redevelopment and is surrounded by modern office buildings and apartments. Paddington Basin joins into Little Venice which is the junction of the Grand Union Canal and Regent’s Canal.

Little Venice is a neighbourhood at the junction of the Paddington Arm of the Grand Central Canal and Regent’s Canal. The area had been known as London’s Venice for a century or more before ‘Little’ was added. It is very pretty and an oasis of peace and tranquillity, home to many cafes and pubs. The name is usually attributed to Robert Browning but also sometimes to Lord Byron.

Regent’s Canal provides a link from Paddington Arm to Limehouse Basin and the River Thames. The canal is used for pleasure cruising and has a water bus service from Maida Vale to Regent’s Park Zoo and Camden Lock. We walked as far as Camden Lock and in this section the canal passed through two tunnels, one of about 300 m and the other about 75 m, while we walked on a road over the top. At Camden there is a very popular market with cafes, food stalls and vendors selling everything under the sun.

Walking alone the canals is always a peaceful experience. They are a great way to escape the busy streets and often hidden from surrounding buildings. The ones we saw today were very popular with walkers and cyclists. From Regent’s Canal we climbed to nearby Primrose Hill.

Primrose Hill is a district but it does have a hill, all of 66.7 metres above sea level, in the middle of a large park. The hill is very popular with we tourists because from its summit you get a good view of London’s skyline and can see for miles and miles.

Primrose Hill is adjacent to Regent’s Park and we walked through it back to the city. The park is one of the Royal Parks of London, officially The Regent’s Park, and is 410 acres. It was appropriated by Henry VIII on the dissolution of the monasteries. It has open parkland, a lake, sports pitches, playgrounds, flower gardens, nurseries, the London Zoo, and an open air theatre.

We were flagging a bit at this stage so stopped at a café called The Hub for a double espresso. The cafe was circular, on the top of a little mound and surround in all directions by cricket pitches.

Just outside (The) Regent’s Park is Baker Street so we went to gawk at 221B with all the others. There is a Sherlock Holmes museum at 221B Baker St but it is really 239. When Arthur Conan Doyle wrote the stories and created the fictional home of Sherlock Holmes, Baker St did not go as far as 221, this didn’t happen until the 1930s. At this time a building society building was allocated the numbers 215 to 229. There never was a 221B. In 1990 the Sherlock Holmes Museum which was at 239 was reallocated the number 221B even though it is out of sequence with all the other numbers in the street.

Next to 221B is a Beatles Shop. Basically full of Beatles labelled crap. Maybe I’m biased as although I like Beatles music now I was much more of a Stones fan in my youth.