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.

Mark Lane (former) Underground Station

Many of London's abandoned or 'ghost' stations can be seen all over the city. Although some have completely disappeared above ground, like Lord's station, they are usually easy to spot because most of them were housed in the tell-tale oxblood tiled buildings designed by Leslie Green.

Mark Lane, however, is different. It didn’t have those lovely tiles, instead being housed in a stately, stone-faced building. Because of this, many people walk right by this building, or sit inside with a drink, without ever noticing the clues to its previous life.

A Tangled Underground Timeline

The story begins in 1882, when the Metropolitan Railway opened an underground station called the 'Tower of London'. Between 1882 and 1884, Byward Street was laid out, cutting through the existing Great Tower Street toward Trinity Square in alignment with the railway line below.

London's Bandstands

Wandering through London's many parks you will discover that many of them still have bandstands. But, what brought about their construction and are they still as important today?

The story of London's bandstands is a fascinating look into Victorian social engineering, military history, and the evolution of public entertainment. They were far more than just pretty park ornaments, they were the focal points of working-class leisure.

Here is how they came to dominate not just London's green spaces, but the rest of the country, too.

The Victorian Boom

Before the mid-1800s, London’s royal parks were largely the playground of the wealthy. However, as the Industrial Revolution packed people into dense, smoky urban centres, Victorian reformers realised the working class desperately needed "rational recreation". Meaning wholesome, outdoor activities to keep them out of the gin palaces.

Music was the perfect answer, but early performances suffered because musicians had to play on the grass or temporary wooden stages where the sound simply drifted away.

St Olave's Church, Hart Street

Tucked away in the heart of London sits St Olave Hart Street, one of the precious few medieval churches to miraculously survive the Great Fire of 1666. While the surrounding city crumbled into ash, St Olave’s stood firm. Today, it remains a captivating time capsule, boasting direct connections to the Black Plague, the American Revolution, and legendary writers.

Here is the incredible story of a sanctuary that has weathered nearly a thousand years of British history.

From Viking Warrior to Stone Sanctuary (1014–1450)

The deep roots of St Olave’s stretch back to a bloody battle for the throne of England. In 1014, Olaf Haraldsson, a Norwegian king, supported the English King Ethelred "the Unready" in a fierce battle at London Bridge to reclaim the city from the pagan Danes. Olaf, who had been baptised into the Christian faith in Rouen, France, was later canonised as the patron saint and "Perpetual King" of Norway.

Local legend suggests that St Olave’s Church was built right on the site of that historic battle. Around AD 1050, the first church was erected here as a humble timber structure. As London grew, the church grew with it; it was rebuilt in stone during the 13th century, and expanded again in 1450 under the wealthy patronage of Richard Cely, a prominent wool merchant. Visitors today can still step down into the eerie, atmospheric crypt that dates entirely from this medieval era.

The Final Voyage of HMS President (1918): From WWI Q-Ship to the Scrapyard

History and Strategic Role

Launched on January 29th 1918 as HMS Saxifrage by Lobnitz & Company in Scotland, HMS President (1918) was a Flower-class Q-ship built during the First World War. Designed as a disguised merchant vessel meant to lure German U-boats to the surface before unmasking hidden 4-inch naval guns, she served as a direct ancestor to modern anti-submarine frigates and Second World War convoy escorts. 

Recognised as one of only three surviving Royal Navy warships from the First World War and granted the official suffix "(1918)" to distinguish her from the later shore establishment in St Katharine Docks, she spent decades as a celebrated London landmark before structural deterioration and unsuccessful rescue campaigns ultimately led to her being towed to a scrapyard in July 2026.