Little Venice and Regents Canal

I hadn't realized how central to London's existence was the Thames River.  And, as it turns out, there are several other waterways through London.  There are several canals through the city, and yesterday, I took a water taxi ride from Paddington to Camden Town Lock market on the Regents Canal.

This canal has been around for over 200 years, and starts in an area dubbed "Little Venice".  The canal is filled with long narrow boats, and several taxi/tour companies, along with several boats that look as thought people live in them.

There are lots of mansions backing on to the canal which passes through a long tunnel before winding around the top of Regents park with a stop at the London Zoo.

As we approach Camden Town, there are even appartments that are right on the canal.  It amazes me how close to the water the windows are...

At Camden Town, we can see the first set of locks...

The locks are pretting amazing.  They are just sets of wooden doors, that are MANUALLY operated with a hand crank.   Please have a look at this animation that shows how the locks work.

The canal journey ends for me a Camden Town Lock market, which I'll talk about in my next post.