Walking from Wapping to West Hampstead to get a beer

During the various stages of Covid-19 Lockdown I have been walking more than usual and one consequence of this is I have not found the time to write about them. Hopefully this post will break that trend.

The monthly BCSA socials have been paused for obvious reasons but the venue, Bohemia House, has reopened and so I arranged to meet a friend there on what would have been the regular date for the social (second Wednesday). 

I would have walked there anyway, the only question was which route to use, and I used the opportunity to visit one of my sons in Wapping and walking from there. The route was to walk east until I got to Limehouse Basin and to follow the Regent's Canal from there all the way back to Primrose Hill before wandering the last few streets in West Hampstead. Google Maps estimated it at 18 km which meant that it was going to be a three hour walk. A simple plan and a good one.

I have walked all of the Regent's Canal and some sections of it many times so I knew what to expect and the walk definitely lived up to those expectations, starting with this typical view from early in the walk.

Here the old lock and the not as old social housing have been joined by very modern looking private housing and a bridge. There was a constant reminded that for most of its life Regent's Canal supported and was surrounded by industry and it is only in recent times that people have started to reclaim it.

There was one surprise along the way and it was a very nice one.

There was plenty of other art along the canal, mostly painted, and I found it a more artistic experience than The Line Art Walk which only has eight pieces, most of which are clustered around the Greenwich Peninsular.

It took me about two hours to get to my former office at Kings Place and immediately after that I had a coffee and a short rest in the recently opened Coal Drops Yard. I deserved that.

A brisk hour later I was at Bohemia House and attacking my first pint of Pilsner Urquell. It was followed by several more.

I also had the mandatory fried cheese but, being out of the habit, I forgot to take a photo of it and Instagram will always be the poorer for that.

The social was, of necessity, a lot quieter than in the pre-covid days but it was still a great evening and I shall be going back in October. I just need to decide where to walk there from.