A floating museum at City Road Basin, Sunday 1st September

The Angel Canal Festival takes place every year on the first Sunday of September around City Road Basin, Regents Canal, Islington (11am to 5pm). The event is always vibrant with plenty to see and do.

City Rd Basin, 1970s. Photo: Bernard James

If you have ever wondered about the history of the canal then this year you are in for a treat because this year there will be a floating exhibition on the Dutch barge Fiodra which will be moored along the towpath of the canal at the end of City Road Lock. On board there will be 'now and then' photos, stories and memories about working and living by the canal, old maps and plenty of info about the industries which once thrived here. A free booklet will be available from the stall alongside the barge.
The project is spear-headed the Young Actors Theatre of Islington (YATI) along with Regent’s Canal Heritage Project and supported by the London Canal Museum. It forms part of the 2020 celebrations for the 200th anniversary of the completion of the canal.
Jamie Lynch of YATI says “We are so grateful to the National Lottery Heritage Fund for supporting us. We have brought local elders to share their stories of Islington’s past with some of its newest residents and collected lots of memories and photos over the few months. We have all learnt such a lot and we're delighted to share these at the exhibition and in the booklet".
In summer 2020, the exhibition will transfer to Islington Museum, St John Street.

Guided walks – On the following weekend, on Sunday 8th September, the exhibition will be brought to life through two 2-hr free guided walks: ‘Regent’s Canal Two Hundred Years On’. The tours, led by the two JPs*, will start from City Road Basin at 11am and 2pm. Spaces are strictly limited. The specific meet-up point will be on your ticket. More info and booking here.

*Jane Parker (me!) and Jen Pedler, my fellow Islington guide. 
I already offer two guided walks along and around this stretch of the Regent's Canal– Waterways Wharves and Windmills and (about the varied industries pre-1960s) and Boxes, Babies, Beans and Bras (a ghostsigns trail – signage for many of these old businesses is still visible) – see here for more.

Norway Wharf

Wandering around Dalston a few weeks ago I ambled down onto the canal towpath and had a peek around Kingsland Basin that used to serve Norway, Benyon and Quebec Wharves etc. There's not much going on there these days – it's all waterside apartments, pushchairs and pilates.

On the northwest side there is an information board which I assume was put there to enlighten visitors who might wonder what went on in these marvellous brick-built warehouses 200 years ago.
Well, if you'd like to read the board, you'll need to be 6ft tall or sitting on someone's shoulders as it's set too high for the average able-bodied mortal and there is no platform to stand on. Add to that, it's protected by 'clear' plexiglass that has over time become frosted; effectively a blurring of the past.
Near to the sign and the stable block there is a rather nice linear depiction of the Regents Canal carved into the paving. It sort of makes up for the info board, but not really.

City Road Basin looking North and South

This sign is opposite the end of City Road Basin and it bugs me every time I look at it because photographic devices like this are usually employed to highlight the change over time in one particular place.
However, here, the black and white left half is a historic view looking from City Rd across the basin north to St Mary's Islington, and the contemporary right hand side shows us the view from the towpath looking south.
Changing and regenerating?
More like misleading and confusing.

Drink Prosecco on the Regents Canal and Save the Swans

On Saturday 15th September 12-2pm, please come and join us for a 2-hour boat trip on Freda, one of Hidden Depths' narrow boats that moors on the Regents Canal at Granary Square Steps, Kings Cross.

Denise's lovely hand-drawn sign

The trip has been arranged to raise money to pay for the continued care of sick and injured swans at the wonderful Swan Sanctuary in Shepperton.

All monies raised will go to the Swan Sanctuary – Hidden Depths is waiving the boat hire fee and we are hoping to raise around £1,000.

The guided tour with free Prosecco will depart Granary Square steps at 12 noon and will travel twice through the 200 year old Islington Tunnel.
Come and find out more about this historic section of the Regent's Canal whilst sipping some fizz and enjoying the eerie, yet calmingly quiet experience of the tunnel. Along the way you'll hear about art, innovation, engineering, ice, coal, shopping and, of course, swans.

Islington Tunnel

Tickets cost £25 per person – the boat holds a maximum of 42 so to secure your place please call Barbara on 07456 084584.

Hidden Depths' narrow boats can be hired for all sorts of private parties and occasions. Guided tours also available*.

A narrowboat cruise through Islington Tunnel with Hidden Depths

There was a two-day event in and around St Pancras Lock this past weekend and it included free access to The Canal Museum and free rides on Freda, the larger of Hidden Depths tour boats.
Denise and her crew shuttled people back and forth the museum and Granary Square and as an special treat for the final trip on Sunday we went through the Islington Tunnel. At 860 metres long it's the 9th longest in the UK (I think that's right), made with four million bricks and almost 200 years old (completed in 1818).

As the day drew to a close, and the crew moored up and secured the boat for the night, the view west was lovely with the sky was turning a beautiful shade of pink. And then to nearby The Charles Lamb for a few pints of ale. What a lovely way to spend a Sunday.