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Saturday 22 November 2014

An Urban Wander from Shoreditch to Islington, London

With the evenings firmly in the grip of winter darkness, it's very difficult to manage to do any urban wandering after work, but fortunately this week I had some time on my hands during daylight hours. For this particular Urban Wander, I have returned to one of my favourite haunts, Shoreditch, from where I drifted northwards until I hit the Regents Canal. The whole of Shoreditch and surrounding area is home to a wide range of ever-changing street art. Here are just a couple of examples that I'd either not seen previously, or not photographed before.

Street Art, Shoreditch, London N1
Street Art, Shoreditch, London N1

Street Art, Shoreditch, London N1
Street Art, Shoreditch, London N1

I'm not quite sure what this fabulous old building is used for now, but pretty sure it's no longer the Haggerston Branch of the Shoreditch Library.

Former library, Shoreditch, London N1
Former library, Shoreditch, London N1

This ghost sign is not as old as many I've seen in this area, but I like it all the same.I can make out some of the writing, but not all of it.

Medallion
Homes

? Borders Limited
? Orford Road
Walthamstow

Ghost sign, Hoxton, London N1
Ghost sign, Mill Row, Hoxton, London N1

Now we come to the part of the wander where I turned my attentions to the Regents Canal, walking from Kingsland Road to Islington. The first thing that struck me about this canal was how busy the towpath was. I really had to pick my timing to get some of these pictures to avoid the passing pedestrians and cyclists. Secondly, I had stumbled across a district in London that was new to me, De Beauvoir. I only really saw it from the canal, and like so many other places I only scratched the surface, so have made a mental note to return.

Thomas Briggs Factory, de Beauvoir Town, London N1
Thomas Briggs Factory, De Beauvoir Town, London N1

This ghost sign on the former Rosemary Works building, or rather two separate ghost signs, is across the canal from the Thomas Briggs factory above. Unfortunately it's almost impossible to decypher any of the words.

Rosemary Works, de Beauvoir Town, London N1
Rosemary Works, De Beauvoir Town, London N1

Rosemary Works, de Beauvoir Town, London N1
Rosemary Works, De Beauvoir Town, London N1

Back to the Thomas Briggs factory once more, which seemed to have something interesting on every facade.

Thomas Briggs Factory, de Beauvoir Town, London N1
Thomas Briggs Factory, De Beauvoir Town, London N1

Thomas Briggs Factory, de Beauvoir Town, London N1
Thomas Briggs Factory, de Beauvoir Town, London N1

Thomas Briggs Factory, de Beauvoir Town, London N1
Thomas Briggs Factory, De Beauvoir Town, London N1

Thomas Briggs Factory, de Beauvoir Town, London N1
Thomas Briggs Factory, De Beauvoir Town, London N1

Thomas Briggs Factory, de Beauvoir Town, London N1
Thomas Briggs Factory, De Beauvoir Town, London N1 

Conscious that I was running out of time, I made my way quickly along the canal towpath towards a chimney tower I could see in the distance. Initially I thought this was the one on the Diespeker building that I'd been to before, but was pleased to discover this was in fact another one at Eagle Wharf. Unfortunately the weather was rather overcast and I'm sure this tower would look much better with a blue sky background. Next time maybe.

Eagle Wharf, de Beauvoir Town, London N1
Eagle Wharf, de Beauvoir Town, London N1

So this next chimney tower is the one on the former Diespeker marble works.

Diespeker Wharf, Islington, London
Diespeker Wharf, Islington, London

Having now run out of time, as I left the towpath near Islington, the sun had finally managed to burn through the early morning mist, allowing me to get at least one photo with a blue sky. This is an abandoned pub, just off the canal in Islington.

Abandoned pub, Islington, London
Abandoned pub, Islington, London

    

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