17.11.19
It’s amazing to discover something wonderful that’s literally been under your nose the whole time.
We’ve walked down Caledonian Road a dozen times in the last week and missed this gem every time. Until this morning.
Keystone Crescent, formerly Caledonian Crescent has the smallest radius of any crescent in Europe and is unique in having a matching inner and outer circle.
With its cobblestones and lamposts, it felt very Mary Poppinsish!
Not only that, but on the corner of the Crescent and three other cross roads, used to stand a grand statue commemorating the reign of George 1V. Hence why it is known as King’s Cross.
Nine years after the memorial was erected, Queen Victoria succeeded the throne, the statue came down to ease the traffic, and nowadays only a wall plaque remains. George 1V…easily and quickly forgotten!
Walking the other direction from our little bolthole, only 200m away, is the London Canal Museum! Originally an ice storage warehouse, the owner Carlo Gatti imported ice from Norway, transported it across the North Sea to England where it was taken by canal barge to London. Carlo’s ice helped develop ice cream as being an everyday treat for the masses, not just the wealthy. Amazing.
The museum was tiny, old school, no bells and whistles, but fascinating! I learnt so much!
I had seen plates such as these in lots of second hand shops, but I didn’t realise they were inspired by the lace as featured on many canal boat windows. They used to thread ribbon through them to make the food look even fancier.
We started walking along the canal in the opposite direction to Camden.
And just kept walking!
A picnic lunch and a few pints along the way made for a pleasant couple of hours. There were some very pretty areas.
And some pretty ugly ones too.
People living rough, lots of sinking boats, and an apartment block made entirely of shipping containers.
What amazed us was how much canal traffic there was and how many permanent moorings there seemed to be. In the middle of London!
We’d walked so far we realised we had nearly reached the Thames, so kept going, finally emerging at the Limehouse Basin.
We had such sore feet and legs!
Luckily, there was a watering hole nearby, so we enjoyed a well-deserved beverage and watched the sunset over the river.
A much quicker trip back to Angel on the tube found us with Katie and Chris at the Pig and Butcher for a Sunday evening roast. With just a small yorkie or two!
Kanga And Wombats Adventures 