There is a two-mile walk in London that most visitors never take. It follows a canal through the back of Regent’s Park, past a zoo you can hear but barely see, and drops you straight into Camden Market. It costs nothing, takes about an hour, and shows you a side of London that the main tourist sites simply cannot.
The walk runs along the Regent’s Canal towpath, from Little Venice in the west to Camden Lock in the east. It is flat, easy to follow, and genuinely one of the best free things you can do in this city.
If you are planning your trip to London, this walk deserves a full afternoon on your itinerary — not a footnote.
Starting Point: Little Venice Looks Nothing Like Its Name
Little Venice is a canal basin in Maida Vale, about ten minutes’ walk from Warwick Avenue Tube station. When you arrive, you will wonder if you have taken a wrong turn.
The basin opens up to reveal a wide stretch of water surrounded by weeping willows and lined with colourful narrowboats. It looks nothing like the rest of central London. The poet Robert Browning lived nearby in the 1860s, and locals say he compared this stretch of canal to the waterways he loved in Venice.
Whether that story is entirely accurate or not, the name stuck. On weekends, local boat owners sometimes stage puppet shows and floating theatre performances on the water. Even when the canal is quiet, this basin has an atmosphere that feels deliberately removed from the city immediately behind you.
You can stop for coffee at one of the small cafés near the towpath before you head east. The towpath begins properly once you leave the basin and follow the water toward the park.
Through Regent’s Park: The Zoo Sounds Come Before the Sights
The canal runs along the northern boundary of Regent’s Park, and this stretch of the walk offers one of London’s more unexpected experiences.
You hear the animals before you see anything. The towpath passes directly alongside London Zoo, and on calm days you can pick out quite clearly the calls drifting across from the enclosures. Occasionally, if you look through the trees, you can spot some of the larger animals above the fence line.
The park stretches away to the south, giving the walk an open, spacious feel that most of inner London cannot match. John Nash, the architect behind much of Regent’s Park, designed the area in the early nineteenth century as an aristocratic retreat close to the city. The canal runs alongside his vision but was always more practical than grand — built to carry coal and goods, not passengers.
This section passes under several ornate iron bridges, each one slightly different in design. These bridges are good spots to pause and look back along the water toward Little Venice.
The Floating Restaurant That Sits Behind Cumberland Basin
Just before you reach Camden, the canal widens into Cumberland Basin. Here you will find one of London’s most unusual and wonderful sights: a full-sized Chinese junk moored permanently to the bank.
This is the Feng Shang Princess, a working restaurant that has sat on this stretch of water since the 1980s. It is enormous — the kind of vessel you might expect to find sailing around Hong Kong Harbour, not moored on a canal in north London.
You cannot see it from any road. You cannot stumble across it unless you are walking the towpath. This is part of what makes the canal walk so rewarding: it gives you things like this that the guidebooks somehow never quite convey.
Take a moment here. Walk to the bank and look at the vessel properly. The floating restaurant has been a fixture of this stretch of water for longer than most of the people walking past it have been alive.
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Into Camden: The City Changes in Front of You
From Cumberland Basin, it is only a short walk to Camden Lock. The energy changes almost immediately.
Where the canal had been quiet and green, it suddenly becomes the centre of a market. Camden Lock, built in 1816, still operates today, and narrowboats still pass through it on their way east toward Hackney and the Thames. But the canal here is also the spine of one of London’s most visited spots.
Camden Market grew around the lock in the 1970s, beginning with a few stalls selling second-hand clothes and records. Over the decades it expanded enormously, with food stalls, independent shops, and live music that you can hear before you see the market itself.
Standing at the lock and looking back west, you can see the full length of the walk laid out in front of you: the narrowboats, the water, the bridges, the park. It is a rare moment in London where the route behind you makes complete sense.
If you want to explore the canal neighbourhood in more depth, this guide to the canal district covers Little Venice and the basin area in detail. And if you have ever wondered what it would actually be like to live on the water full time, this piece on narrowboat life is worth your time.
Getting There, Getting Back, and Getting the Most From the Walk
The walk starts at Little Venice, a short walk from Warwick Avenue Tube station on the Bakerloo line. It ends at Camden Lock, near Camden Town Tube station on the Northern line.
The walk is about two miles. Most people take between one and two hours, depending on how often they stop. The towpath is flat, well-maintained, and suitable for pushchairs and buggies throughout.
The walk works in every season. Spring brings blossom from the trees along the park boundary. Summer brings out the café boats and the floating vendors. Autumn turns the towpath gold. Winter is quieter, but the canal has its own stillness in the cold months that is genuinely worth experiencing.
Is the Regent’s Canal walk suitable for families with young children?
Yes. The towpath is flat, wide, and easy to follow. Children tend to enjoy the narrowboats, the canal locks, and the unexpected sounds from London Zoo. Keep children away from the canal edges, which are unfenced in some sections.
How long does the Regent’s Canal walk take from Little Venice to Camden?
The walk is about two miles and takes between 45 minutes and an hour at a comfortable pace. Most people take longer because they stop. Allow two hours if you want to explore properly and take time for food or coffee along the way.
What is the best time of year to walk the Regent’s Canal?
The canal is worth visiting at any time of year. Spring is especially beautiful, with the park trees in blossom. Summer has the most activity on the water. Autumn brings golden leaves onto the towpath. Winter is peaceful and uncrowded. Each season gives you a different version of the same walk.
Is the Regent’s Canal towpath walk free?
Yes. The towpath is completely free to use. There are no tickets or entry fees. Some cafés and boat stalls charge for food and drinks, but the walk itself costs nothing. It is one of the genuinely free great walks in London.
London rewards people who leave the main roads. The Regent’s Canal is one of the oldest proofs of that. It was built before the railways, before the Underground, before most of the city around it existed. And it still works perfectly as a way to cross London — not the fastest route, or the most efficient, but the one that shows you the most.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How long is the Regent's Canal walk?
The walk is two miles long and takes about an hour to complete, with flat, easy-to-follow paths suitable for most people.
Where does the Regent's Canal walk start?
It starts at Little Venice in Maida Vale, roughly a ten-minute walk from Warwick Avenue Tube station, and runs east toward Camden Lock.
Is the Regent's Canal walk free?
Yes, walking the towpath is completely free, though you'll find cafés near Little Venice if you'd like to grab coffee before or after.
What will I see on the Regent's Canal walk?
You'll encounter colorful narrowboats and weeping willows at the start, hear animals from London Zoo as you pass Regent's Park, and finish at Camden Market. Puppet shows and floating theatre sometimes perform on weekends.