Walking with family and friends: St John's Wood to King's Cross... and beyond

Tuesday August 11, 2026

Sunny with a high of 26°C (78.8°F)

Yesterday my family, myself and our friend Steve should have been on a flight to Lanzarote, for a well deserved holiday. Unfortunately, due to issues at the hotel, and with no other options available, our holiday was cancelled. But, we will get the money back and we still have great weather here in the UK. With that in mind, Steve, Erin and myself decided to head off to London.

Erin and I met up with Steve at Watford underground station, where we boarded a Baker Street-bound train, that we took to Finchley Road. From here we crossed the platform and continued our journey to St John's Wood, via the Jubilee line.

On exiting the station we headed south along Finchley Road, before turning along Circus Road, where we stopped at the Tesco Express to grab some snacks and extra drinks. From here we travelled along St John's Wood High Street where I discovered well-kept rows of coal hole covers. Usually these have been removed or worn away. But here, there were rows of up to thirteen covers still in situ. St John's Wood High Street brought us to Prince Albert Road, where we joined the Regent's Canal at the North Gate.

The towpath was remarkably quiet as we made our way eastward, passing beneath the Macclesfield 'Blow Up' Bridge before passing by the Snowdon Aviary. The aviary, opened in 1965, was Britain's first walk-through aviary. housing many exotic birds. Today it has been reimagined, following a multi-million pound renovation, and is now called Monkey Valley, and is home to eastern black-and-white colobus monkeys. As we passed we could see the monkeys with their bushy white tails, munching on branches and clambering along ropes.

Gasholder Park

The guide frame for gasholder No. 8.

Some of the most striking buildings that have been part of the King's Cross skyline, for over 150 years, are the gasholders. These giant cast-iron buildings were in use until the late 20th century, but soon became redundant and, along with the rest of the area, fell into disrepair. 

I have seen these gasholders from trains, but never up close, so was looking forward to paying them a visit. 

Walking along the Regent's Canal, from Camden, these iconic buildings now stand just east of the main rail line, at St Pancras Basin.

One of them stands completely empty with just its wrought iron columns and girders surrounding the small park at its centre. 

Erin & Keilyn checking out their reflections in Gasholder No. 8.

It is a wonderful place to sit and relax, with mirrored surfaces reflecting the ambient light, which is supplemented in the evening with extra lighting.

Three other gasholders have been converted into apartments with roof gardens, offering amazing views across the city for those lucky enough to live here.

Fortunately for King's Cross, but not for Waterloo, the decision to move the Channel Tunnel Rail Link from Waterloo to St Pancras was what caused the regeneration of the area.

With grassy areas and the canal, this is a great place to stroll on a warm day, whether as a stop-off on your way to Coal Drops Yard and further east, or heading west to Camden and onto Little Venice.