Moving stations.

We have been in contact with various people about being 'Boating Buddies' and as a couple of them worked in the Little Venice Office we called in to finalise things with them. We are now on for Wednesday next week. After that we walked back along the canal and made our way to Portobello Road Market. It seems the streets round about are being closed off for the Notting Hill Carnival this weekend. Helen managed to find one  or two bits for presents etc and we had a good chat to various folk and a look about the whole street. We then wended our way back to the boat for lunch.

Helen on Portobello Road.

We winded and headed out of the basin, just as some lucky person headed in and straight on to the only berth available, the one we had just left!

Our reflection in the office buildings along the Paddington Basin.

I thought that this was one of those performance artist statue things, but there was another at the end of the line on the ground facing him.

We turned right at the 'roundabout at Little Venice and headed on to the Regents Canal Past the moored boats we came to the Maida Vale Tunnel and it is one way only so we waited for one of the trip boats to exit.m They must be doing a roaring trade as every one we saw we crammed full.

Waiting to enter Maida Vale Tunnel with the  lunch crowd not paying a bit of notice.

The tow path then become a bit quieter until coming up to Regents Park where it skirts the zoo. There are some lovelly mansions backing on to the canal and I'm not sure who would live in them

I'm sure this isn't where they keep the elephants.

The aviary was on one side and various other enclosures on the other. From the canal it looked like the visitors where in the cages and we were observing them. After the Zoo there is a sharp turn at Cumberland Basin and then off towards Camden.

Floating Chinese restaurant in Cumberland Basin. It looks very top heavy to me.

There are three locks at Camden and the first in perhaps where the greatest crowds are. Luckily there were two lock keepers on hand to guide us round the gongoozlers that were the real hazard.

Helen can just about be seen in the purple in mid picture picking her way through the crowds to the middle lock. The lock keepers are not allowed to work at weekends as there are so  many people the crush is too  much. I'm not entirely sure what you are supposed to do then as it must also be unsafe for the regular boater too.

As always there are some lovely views from the canal and this terrace looked great. 

We stopped before St Pancras lock as we had booked in to St Pancras Cruising clubs moorings. We were greeted and directed to our moorings, stern first, and hooked up with electricity and give the local information before I filled with water and had something to eat.

We had decided to do a London Walk around Knightsbridge so caught the Tube to South Kensington. As always we were taken to some out of the way places that we would never have found without the walk, and learned some very interesting stories about the place. What struck me about the area was how quiet it was but apparently alot of the properties are bought for investment and nobody lives in the. There were very few lights on in the buildings. There were many Rolls Royce's and Bentley's with Saudia Arabian plate and it seems that they spend a fortune transporting their cars over to drive whilst they are on holiday over here.

Beautiful stucco mid 1800's houses on the Alexander Estate.

A very thin building that was added on to a row of house as it was built on railway land. Behind is the second Tube line, the District. It was not wide enough to fit a 6 foot bed in at this end.

It was a good walk and after a natter with a few of the other walkers and a couple of pints we found our way back to Kings Cross and our lovely mooring.