A walking tour along the towpath of the Regent's Canal is a walk along
a route of living history, with remindes of London's past to be seen and
pointed out by our guides as you explore. There aremany reminders of the
canal's industrial past if you notice them, or if a guide points them out!
Public Walking Tour 2nd October:
150th Anniversary of the Macclesfied Bridge Explosion
Dates and Times
2nd October 2024 is the 150th anniversary ofthe famous "Blow Up Bridge" explosion at Macclesfield Bridge in
Regent's Park. A convoy of three barges was passing beneath the bridge when sparks from the boatmen's cabin ignited
leaking petrol from barrels being carried on board. There was also gunpowder being carried and the result was devastation
and sadly the loss of three lives. The accident led to the passing of the 1877 Explosives Act, which imposed tighter
regulation on the carriage of dangerous goods.
Our guide will lead a walk from the museum to the Bridge. The walk will take around an hour or so and is a one-way
walk passing through Camden Town. The museum opens at 1000 so a morning visit to the museum won't be practicable but on
showing your ticket for the walk you will be able to visit the museum later in the day at half price. You can return on foot
or by bus 46 or 214.
The Cost
£5 flat rate for all participants
Places are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Priority will be given to customers who booked in advance.
If there are spare places they will be bookable from 1000 at the museum on the day.
Arriving for the Walk
If you are on the way and are late
please call 020 7713 0836, we will wait up to 5 minutes or will arrange to
meet at a convenient point part of the way into the canal walk. If the weather
forecast is poor, please bring an umbrella or raincoat as there is limited
shelter. The walk will not be cancelled due to rain. The walk departs from London Canal Museum, New Wharf Road, N1 9RT at 1015
Book Here
Walks available to pre-booked
groups:
If you are considering bringing a group of at least ten people a
special walk may be possible for your party by prior arrangement, combined with
a group visit to the museum. Walks for groups
can take place at any time of year. The following walks are suggested, subject
to availability of a guide. Group walks are not offered without a museum visit.
These London walks are specialist walking tours and a guide won't be available
on all dates.
Cumberland Arm Walk
- See the stump that is nowadays known as Cumberland Basin
- Look at an attractive bridge over nothing and discover the canal
connection
- See the route where once there was water and boat traffic and
discover the real Cumberland Basin.
"Footsteps" Walk
- Explore the canal between Caledonian Road and Islington Tunnel, and
learn about the history of the tunnel
- Explore the route that was once taken across Islington Hill by the
horses, whilst boats went through the tunnel. This part of the walk will be led
by a guide from Clerkenwell and Islington
Guides Association and an additional charge will be made by CIGA
- See east end of Islington Tunnel and discover City Road Lock and
the canal basin that was once one of the major destinations for narrowboats
arriving from the midlands and north..
"River Fleet" Walk
- Explore the course of the now-hidden River
- Discover the influence that this watercourse has had on the
building of the area
- Walk will take in the area around King's Cross, St. Pancras, and
Gray's Inn Road
Other London walks to try and ways to walk
Towpath walks are also offered by Original London Walks in
co-operation with the Inland Waterways
Association. These cover various routes. They do not start from the museum.
There are local guided walks available from Clerkenwell and Islington
Guides Association, known as Clerkenwell Walks.
The Guide booklet
We offer a short colour guide booklet to the towpath walk from the
museum to Camden, in our shop, at a price of £2.00. This is suitable for
people to use on their own without a human guide.
The Mobile Walk
The Mobile Walk is a guided walk on the same section of canal but walking west to east, from Camden
to the museum. The Mobile Walk can be undertaken at any time (not reccommended
after dark) with the assistance of your mobile smartphone. The museum's mobile
Internet home page is at www.canalmuseum.mobi and the walk page is at
www.canalmuseum.mobi/mobilewalk.htm
The MP3 Towpath Tour
You can also download a guided tour of the towpath from Camden to the
museum in audio format from this website. Use your Ipod, MP3 player, or
MP3-playing mobile phone to listen to the history of the canal as you walk
along it. Please go to our podcasts page to
download the file (or a script for the hearing-impaired visitor)
