 |
| Canalside Green Steps. |
Monday April 1, 2024.
As it was Easter Bank Holiday Monday, my friend Steve and I decided to take a trip to London, specifically to visit the regenerated King's Cross area and then to see where our feet led us.
Our journey began from from Watford Metropolitan station straight to King's Cross, taking less than an hour.
Exiting King's Cross station we headed into St Pancras International, so that I could point out the free jukebox and the model of 'HMS Alice Liddell' to Steve, who had never seen them before. This took us out onto Battle Bridge Place, where children and families were enjoying the IFO (Bird Cage), and we took a left up King's Boulevard towards Regent's Canal and Granary Square.
The first coffee van that we stopped at was having an issue with their machine, so we crossed to Granary Square, where we discovered 'Matchado'. This was a revelation as this little van, near Granary Square, is London's first Matcha specialist café, specialising in Japanese Matcha and hand-crafted special Matcha sweets. Steve opted for a latte, while I had a Sencha green tea. Both were excellent.
 |
| London's first Matcha specialist café. |
From here we began our wander by heading to Coal Drops Yard, then Stable Street, which was full of food, clothing and jewellery stalls, before turning west to see Gasholder Park.
 |
| Gasholder Park. |
Then we headed through Lewis Cubitt Square and Lewis Cubitt Park, before heading down York Way, so that I could see the old York Road underground station. This station opened in 1906 and was closed in 1932.
 |
| York Road station (disused). |
We then turned down Handyside Street and into the Granary Square building. The architecture of this building, including its interior, is something to behold. These Victorians warehouses and ancillary buildings were obviously built to last and I am glad that the regeneration of the area has saved as many of these buildings as possible.
 |
| Inside the Granary Square building. |
After this we found ourselves in a wonderful canopied area full of market stalls.
 |
| Canopy Market, where there is something for everyone. |
After a good peruse of the stalls, where artists, jewellers, seamstresses and more were displayed their wares, we decided it was time for a spot of lunch. And there was much to choose from. Rice dishes, oysters, burgers, Thai noodles, Indian dishes, pastries and so much more. In the end we decided to try 'The Frenchie', who was selling duck burgers.
 |
| We did duck ourselves. |
