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.
Sunday, 04 June 2023 @ 2.30 pm (Click here for more dates)
A new towpath walk created by the London Walks team of Regent's Canal guides (in conjunction with the IWA – Inland Waterways Association)
Sunday, 18 June 2023 @ 2.30 pm (Click here for more dates)
"part gentrified, part solidly working class"
Sunday, 02 July 2023 @ 2.30 pm (Click here for more dates)
"unseen, untrodden, unexplored, unknown London beckons"
Sunday, 16 July 2023 @ 2.30 pm
"Welcome to an English rainforest of different types of trees and plants. Then a POW! of a contrast..."
Saturday, 29 July 2023 @ 2.30 pm
"the Cinderella of London's canal network"
Sunday, 06 August 2023 @ 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..."
Sunday, 27 August 2023 @ 2.30 pm
"ankle power, water power, horsepower, steam engine power, electric power, internal combustion engine power – the walk, er, runs the gamut"
Sunday, 03 September 2023 @ 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.
Sunday, 17 September 2023 @ 2.30 pm (Click here for more dates)
out of the chrysalis of old 19th-century industrial London into the buzz of a new London
Sunday, 01 October 2023 @ 2.30 pm (Click here for more dates)
"from the Age of Canals to cutting edge, 21-st century London"
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.
"there are places along the towpath that are little changed"
We could be in 1620. Or May 28, 1940. Or June 6, 1944.
a stretch of London – a secret way across London – you won't have seen before
Bucolic to huzzah and colour and panache and buzz
It's not new and it's not a river
...a well-concealed World War II pillbox
"the source and inspiration for one of the great classics of English literature"
"unique in Britain. A double radial gate lock, it was designed to cope with floods and tides..."
A get away from it all walk – down on that towpath it's 200 years ago.
"a secret corner of London closed to the public for 200 years"
"London's only lighthouse...then on to East India Dock"
Jollying our way along a handsome, tree-lined canal on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Perfect.
"just what one might imagine a classic English village should look like"
Life's better by water...
An out-of-the-way, hardscrabble, forgotten corner of London is now a jaw-dropping contrast of old and new..."