This excursion will be back soon. In the meantime we’d be happy to organise a private tour for you. Please contact us on 020 7624 3978 | [email protected] to make a booking.

Grand Junction & Regent’s Canals

Paddington railway station, London

Guided by Canal Guides

Short Version: Little Venice & Paddington

Long Version: Ahhhh! The delights of discovery… Of I spy with my little eye for grown-ups.

Item: A Brunel iron bridge no-one knew was there.

Item: Now where in London would one look for an amphitheatre?
Oh my goodness, just round the corner, here it is …

Item: A secret corner of London, closed to the public for 200 years. Where might that be?
Well I never – here it is. And look at it now: opened up as a large water space; and into the bargain a great place to “I spy” some very imaginative bridges. Thomas Hetherwick’s Rolling Bridge, for example. (Yes, that’s right, that Thomas Hetherwick, “the Leonardo da Vinci of our times.” The one whose atelier is “part hi-tech research lab, part art school campus and part, well, Wonka chocolate factory or Caractacus Potts workshop.” The designer-inventor-artist-architect who couldn’t turn out something banal or banausic if he tried.)

Item: Paddington Green. Ahhhh, Paddington Green, that treat of a countryside village that the folks from London came to visit. They came and they stayed, some of them. Liked it that much. So it wasn’t just hempen homespuns who lived in Paddington Green. I mean, good heavens, that’s Lady Emma Hamilton. And look over there – London’s first private detective; yes, that’s right, the chap who earned a mention in Gilbert & Sullivan’s operas.

Item: The pub which gave its name to Maida Vale.

Item: Little Venice of course. Ahhh, Little Venice, arguably the most beautiful residential neighbourhood in London. You can see why so many poets, playwrights, novelists, artists, and actors lived (and live) here. And took inspiration from it. It’s just so visually appealing.

Item: One of London’s “lost rivers.” It’s hidden here. A dowsing we will go – because we’re going to find it.

Staying in the area after your walk? Discover the hidden gems Little Venice has to offer here!