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Think you know the Grand Union canal? Think again

We challenge any other stuio holders to have so much insider knowledge about the Grand union canal! In our recent chat with Simon Ryder, CEO of the Electric Barge, we discovered so much we didn’t know about the canal and will be off on new lunchtime adventures from now on.

You obviously know the Grand Union canal very well. How has it changed over the years?  What are some of your favourite spots which Studio holders should be visiting?

It’s got a lot busier! House boats are now moored pretty much end-to-end along the Grand Union from Little Venice to Ladbroke Grove, which is quite different to how it was 10-15 years ago. There’s been a lot more development alongside the canals; GWS is obviously an example of that, but you don’t have to walk far along the towpath to see plenty of others.

Favourite spots for visiting?

  • A 5-minute walk west along the towpath from GWS, you’ll find Meanwhile Gardens, a 4-acre community gardens established in 1976 on a temporary basis, but still here 48 years later. Beautiful on a summer’s day, it has a couple of ponds, a Moroccan garden, a drop-in children’s playhut, an iconic skatebowl and a courtyard garden.
  • Gerry’s Pompeii – the collection of sculptures and mosaics created by local man Gerry Dalton along a strip of land on the opposite side of the canal to Meanwhile Gardens.
  • For food, you have Panella at the foot of Trellick Tower, Lisboa for pasta da nata, the stalls on Golborne Road, and Layla Bakery on Portobello Road.
  • St Mary Magdalene Church at Westbourne is worth a look, too. It was restored about 10 years ago with a Heritage Lottery grant and it has the most amazing ceiling and a very cool undercroft. We used it to film a zombie movie with local children as part of a week-long filmmaking project we ran a few years ago.
  • Sticking with buildings, Paddington has two great examples of Brutalist architecture right by our mooring: the Battleship Building and the Rotunda (originally a British Rail maintenance depot, but now home to Nissan Europe Design).

Are there any other local businesses along your route that you’d recommend?

Beany Green in Paddington right by our mooring is very good for coffee. Also, their Lamingtons seem to inspire a lot of love.

Heist in Paddington Basin is a really good bar – great beers, excellent pizzas and a pool table!

Café Laville is a beautiful spot – an Italian café perched right on top of the entrance to the Maida Hill Tunnel with a great view of the canal and the houseboats moored along the approach to Little Venice.

Good friends of The Floating Classroom, the Puppet Theatre Barge in Little Venice is as charming as it is unique and is well worth a visit for children and adults alike.

Discover more about The Electric Barge here.