Trip to the Canal Museum

A link to London's canal heritage

I had heard a lot about the London Canal Museum and I found myself in Paddington with plenty of time to spare so I thought I would take myself down to the London Canal Museum to see if it matched up to the reviews. I wended my way from the station to the museum - a brisk 10-minute walk ably served by my TripTide planner and found this little museum up a side street.

Having coughed up my fiver to get in, my eye was taken by a real narrow boat along the side of the ground floor which visitors are encouraged to walk around in. I was quite surprised at the cramped conditions of the boat in which lived whole families who used to ply their trade taking their wares up and down the canal system. Along all the walls on the ground floor are some very informative displays and storyboards making it a very worth while educational experience on its own. Interestingly enough the museum is on the site of two old ice wells which used to store huge blocks of ice imported by ship from Norway and then by barge along to the Regents Canal to the be stored here.

Look out a little further – out back – and you will see the Battlebridge Basin still part of the canal system and ‘living history’. Up the stairs and you find more to look at and learn about the British canal system and its place in history. I was entranced by the videos Barging through London and Barge Fellows (one silent, one talky) which described in the very best BBC English about life on the old canals – both classics. The exhibition Water and Locks was also interesting and even educational describing such fundamentals as ‘how do locks work’. (apparently a lock is nothing more than a liquid lift).

All in all it was a thoroughly enjoyable couple of hours spent in this obviously child friendly museum. Its well worth a small detour in your trip plan and I for one can recommend it. Don’t forget to give generously if you can, as this is a registered charity doing fine work to preserve an important part of London’s heritage.

Evie The Scribbler

TripTide User