Canal Walks in London
The iconic River Thames isn’t the only waterway that winds its way across London. Our network of canals have been a vital infrastructure for the city for centuries. Think transport for barges and home to canal boats. And now, their towpaths are hotspots for cyclists, dog walkers and visitors to the many chic canalside cafes as well as our oh-so knowledgeable walking tour guides.
Canal walks can take you from West London, through Central London and across to East London. As you follow canal paths, you’ll take in sights like Regent’s Park, London Zoo, Olympic Park and Camden Market.
Our Docklands walks open your eyes to the history of this ever-changing area beside the Thames, including Limehouse Cut which is London’s oldest canal. Or, discover the fascinating stories of East London, walking via Hackney Wick, Mile End park, Victoria Park and more.
Regent’s Canal is particularly popular, flowing from Little Venice via Kings Cross and along to Docklands. It’s known as “the loveliest inland waterway in England” for good reason, as our Regent’s Canal walk reveals. Our expert guides will show you pretty green spaces, hidden nooks and historic sites on our Regent’s Canal walking tour. All the guides are members of the Inland Waterways Association and many of them are barge owners themselves, so have amazing insights and stories to tell. They’ll give you their personal perspective of London life from the waterways.
Below you’ll find our best canal walks which range from London towpath walks, out to the Grand Union Canal and beyond.
Grosvenor Canal & Battersea Power Station
Sunday, 03 December 2023 @ 2.30 pm (Click here for more dates)
Combines the hidden byways of London's least known, most secret canal and the Thames' mightiest cathedral. What's not to like?
The Regent's Canal - King's Cross, Granary Square, St. Pancras
Sunday, 17 December 2023 @ 2.30 pm (Click here for more dates)
"unseen, untrodden, unexplored, unknown London beckons"
The Regent's Canal - Little Venice to Camden Town
Monday, 01 January 2024 @ 2 pm (Click here for more dates)
Life's better by water...
The Regent's Canal – Islington to Kingsland Road
Sunday, 07 January 2024 @ 2.30 pm
"ankle power, water power, horsepower, steam engine power, electric power, internal combustion engine power – the walk, er, runs the gamut"
The Regent's Canal: King's Cross-Granary Square-Camden
Sunday, 21 January 2024 @ 2.30 pm (Click here for more dates)
The London of a couple of centuries ago. A London of tunnels and bridges and narrowboats and locks.
The Regent's Canal – Mile End to Limehouse
Sunday, 04 February 2024 @ 2.30 pm
"from the Age of Canals to cutting edge, 21-st century London"
Limehouse - Thames - Docklands
Sunday, 17 March 2024 @ 2.30 pm
"part gentrified, part solidly working class"
The Regent's Canal – King's Cross to Hitchcock's Hackney
Sunday, 07 April 2024 @ 2.30 pm
out of the chrysalis of old 19th-century industrial London into the buzz of a new London
The Regent's Canal – River Tyburn to Little Venice
Sunday, 05 May 2024 @ 2.30 pm (Click here for more dates)
"we step into a different world here, a different world bouquet’d with incidental delights – 'The Upside Down House', for example..."
Tours available upon request
We run a ton of private walks. If you to go on any of the walks below, it’s eezy peezy as well. Just give Fiona, Peter, Niamh or Mary a ring on 020 7624 3978 – or email us at [email protected] and we’ll set it up for you and make it happen.
The Grand Union Canal – Kensal Green to Alperton
"there are places along the towpath that are little changed"
Grand Surrey Canal – Rotherhithe, Russia Dock Woodland, Greenland Dock
We could be in 1620. Or May 28, 1940. Or June 6, 1944.
The Regent's Canal – King's Cross to the New River
a stretch of London – a secret way across London – you won't have seen before
The Regent's Canal – River Tyburn to Camden
Bucolic to huzzah and colour and panache and buzz
Four Hundred Years of the New River
It's not new and it's not a river
The Grand Union Canal – Uxbridge to Little Britain and West Drayton Walk
...a well-concealed World War II pillbox
River Lee Navigation – Enfield to Ponders End
"the source and inspiration for one of the great classics of English literature"
Royal Victoria Dock to East India Dock Towpath Walk
A new towpath walk created by the London Walks team of Regent's Canal guides (in conjunction with the IWA – Inland Waterways Association)
The Secrets of the Northern Queen Elizabeth Olympics Park
"unique in Britain. A double radial gate lock, it was designed to cope with floods and tides..."
The Regent's Canal – Mile End to Haggerston
"Welcome to an English rainforest of different types of trees and plants. Then a POW! of a contrast..."
Grand Surrey Canal, Royal Navy Victualling Yard, Greenland Dock
A get away from it all walk – down on that towpath it's 200 years ago.
The Grand Union Canal – Kensal Green to Little Venice
"the Cinderella of London's canal network"
The Grand Union Canal – Little Venice & Paddington Green
"a secret corner of London closed to the public for 200 years"
East India Docks – Thames – Docklands
"London's only lighthouse...then on to East India Dock"
Regent's Canal – Islington to Mile End
Jollying our way along a handsome, tree-lined canal on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Perfect.
The Grand Union Canal – Uxbridge to Denham
"just what one might imagine a classic English village should look like"
Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Three Mills & Bow Back Rivers
An out-of-the-way, hardscrabble, forgotten corner of London is now a jaw-dropping contrast of old and new..."