Backwaters of London

One Friday morning at about 11am, I set off from my London hotel to Paddington Basin, where I joined a small assorted group of in-the-know travellers who had come together for a common purpose: to witness the Rolling Bridge. At midday, the event began. Staff from the adjacent office block emerged and rolled it up and rolled it down again, then handed out postcards as a souvenir.

The Rolling Bridge was built in 2004, to span a small canal inlet next to Marks and Spencer's new HQ – but be movable, to allow access for the occasional boat (not a large one). Indeed, so small is the inlet, I couldn't help surmising that the bridge was a vanity project. It takes only a few steps to walk around the little basin, something possible for all but the terminally lazy. 

This engineering marvel is 12m long and built in eight sections, connected by links and moved by hydraulic cylinders that extend and pull the bridge in on itself to form a circle. Since there isn't much boat traffic, the bridge is exercised every Friday at noon, and the operators appear to enjoy the appreciation of the small audience. 

Since the day was turning out fine, I explored further up the Grand Union canal and soon came upon another basin that formed a junction of three canals: Little Venice. Over a picturesque bridge stood a pretty narrowboat 'Jason' tied up to the side. When I realised that tourists were boarding, I dashed over to find it was about to depart on the tour to Camden Lock known as 'Jason's Trip'. 

And so I discovered the quiet secret world along a green and cool byway: Regent's Canal. We glided past present-day boat communities and were given fascinating descriptions of life on board in times past, when entire families lived in cramped little cabins and plied their boats around London transporting goods ranging from coal to imported Norwegian ice. 

The boat puttered along between Regent's Park and the London Zoo, where our guide pointed out the large Snowdon Aviary containing Sacred Ibis. I found it ironic that they are considered interesting enough to display in London – whereas in Johannesburg they are as common as mossies (sparrows for non-South Africans).

We throbbed through a tunnel with no towpath – before engines, crews had to 'walk' their boats through, lying flat and pulling with their feet along the sides of the tunnel. We were shown Banksy drawings above the water and informed on the politics of competing graffiti artists. It was a delightful sojourn in a part of London I never knew existed.

The towpath follows the canal almost all the way, and it's another outing to see the canal from the sidelines all the way, if you will, to King's Cross.

The 45-minute journey ended at Camden Lock, where one can visit Camden Market, a vibey spot, but I'd been several years ago and had vague memories of ageing hippies flogging tie-dyed kaftans and home-made bead bracelets, alternating with stalls manned by menacing skinheads selling heavy-death-metal-goth-rock T-shirts and marijuana-leaf stickers. 

The busyness continues across the High Street at Camden Lock Village, where you can sit on an old scooter facing the locks and munch the wares of the fast-food outlets. And so I was back among the throng of tourists and I regretfully left the peace of the canal behind, and rejoined the bustle of London life. 

'Jason's Trip' runs every day between April and October. Visit www.jasons.co.uk for timetables and information about a lovely English summer day out. 

 

I made this trip in 2011 and 2014, and also walked the towpath in 2011.