An Urban Wander from Primrose Hill to Kings Cross via Camden

Interrupting my suburban wandering along the London Loop Recreational Walk I had an opportunity to visit the area around Primrose for a couple of hours before an appointment. The Primrose Hill area has always been a bit of a favourite of mine, although I don't think I've ever really posted any pictures of it, apart from one possibly from the top of Primrose Hill overlooking London. So, with an opportunity to put this right I set about with my hand-me-down phone whose camera is unfortunately nowhere near as good as my old phone.

Painted houses, Chalcot Crescent, Primrose Hill, London NW1

I hadn't ventured very far but was already in need of sustenance when I stumbled across this wonderful café, Chloe's Espresso, on the bridge crossing the railway line out of Euston. The road is actually a continuation of Regent's Park Road but cars are prevented from accessing this part of it, making it an interesting pedestrian thoroughfare linking the distinctly upper class Primrose Hill with the more edgier Chalk Farm and Camden.

Chloe's Espresso, Regent's Park Road, London NW1

Chloe's Espresso, Regent's Park Road, London NW1

I've walked along this stretch of the Regent's Canal plenty of times before but had never looked at it from above.

Regent's Canal, Primrose Hill, London NW1

Quite a contrast looking from the bridge in the opposite direction, across the railway lines, towards Camden.

Camden from bridge over the Regent's Canal, Primrose Hill, London NW1

This wheel is not going anywhere, unlike it would seem the rest of the bike. Unless of course this is an installation.

Art installation or unfortunate cyclist?

Having wandered around Primrose Hill, poking my way through as many different streets as I could find, I dropped down on to the canal tow path and made my way towards Camden.

Former wharves lining the Regent's Canal, Camden, London NW1

Former wharves lining the Regent's Canal, Camden, London NW1

The old and the new, Regent's Canal, near Camden, London NW1

Always a bit of a sucker for a gas holder, mainly through reading London's Lost Power Stations and Gas Works I was pleasantly surprised that the former Kings Cross gas holders have been kept and have been incorporated into the design of these new apartments.

Gas holder, Kings Cross, London

Gas holder, Kings Cross, London

And so another urban wander reaches its end. Despite this one being through some fairly familiar territory, I once again saw it with new eyes inspired by Psychogeography.

    

Urban Wandering: ghost signs of Camden, London

I managed to take another urban wander after work one evening last week, and this time I headed out to Camden. I have been to Camden many, many times before as an urban wanderer, and in a past life as a record collector, but until this visit I had never really looked up, so had been unaware of these marvellous ghost signs.

This first one is a bit of a mystery in that it's two, or maybe more, ghost signs overlaid on top of one another. The top two lines appear to read

W.H.JOHNS
DRAPER

followed by

BACON & SONS
STATIONERS

but other pictures of this ghost sign I found on the internet suggest that the first teo lines could also read

W.H.JOHNSON
BOOKBINDERS

I can see that the first line may in fact be JOHNSON rather than JOHNS, but cannot make out BIIKBINDERS at all, so I'm guessing it may be from the sign beneath the one more visible on my picture.

Ghost sign in Camden, London NW1

This next ghost sign was my favourite of this particular urban wander, althoug hsomewhat frustratingly the building to the right of the ghost signs obscures a great deal of it, and it actually built right against it, so it was not possible to get a better shot. At least the skies were blue for this one, although by now I was already quite wet.

MILLER BEALE
& HIDER LTD
GLAZING
CONTRACTOR

Ghost sign in Camden, London NW1

On the same building, there was another ghost sign which covered the top of the walls on two sides of the building. I can cleary make out

MILLER BEALE & HIDER LTD

on the left wall, but the writing on the right wall is a bit of a mystery, possibly starting with "GLASS" or "BRASS", and ending with "OLOROS".

Ghost sign in Camden, London NW1

Ghost sign in Camden, London NW1

Finally, a smaller and more difficult to read ghost sign. There seem to be two lines here but I can only decypher ther top line which says

GROCERY STORE

Ghost sign in Camden, London NW1