Little Venice to Kensal Green, the Home Stretch
Painted boats, a quieter canal towpath and a cemetery finish that is deliberately more local than central.
Prototype route – not yet field-checked.
Last checked: Not yet field-checked. Verify opening hours and access before going.
Start at Warwick Avenue, allow 3–4 hours, it is a proper walk, reckon on £30–£70.
No community walks reported yet.
Walked it? A concise field note helps keep the route current. Community reports never change the Field-checked label automatically.
Start without guessing.
Suggested arrival
Warwick Avenue Underground – Walk two minutes to the canal basin and choose the first stop by mood before taking the towpath.
Set your first pin
Little Venice
Once you arrive
Choose the bakery-café or Prince Alfred branch, then head west on the canal in daylight.
Start in Google Maps (opens in a new tab)Open the whole walk (opens in a new tab)
Draft skeleton: confirm towpath conditions, cemetery closing time and the current status of all local finish options before following this route.
We never request your location. Google Maps can use it privately, if you have already given Maps permission.
A canal route that gets quieter and scruffier as it goes, then ends like a local rather than a tourist.
Start with a chosen mood, let the canal do the long middle, then use the cemetery and an unflashy local finish to make the route feel like it was always going somewhere.
Best for.
- A dry-day solo reset
- A date that likes walking
- Anyone living near the western end
Not ideal for.
- A late-night canal walk
- Anyone who needs transit convenience at every stage
- Heavy rain
The route.
Warwick Avenue → Little Venice
Warwick Avenue station and Little Venice basin, London W2
From the previous point: From Warwick Avenue, walk two minutes to the painted boats at the basin.
An immediate canal opening that tells you whether the day needs a bakery-café or a first pint.
Walk here from the station (opens in a new tab)Open this point (opens in a new tab)
The Prince Alfred – pub branch
5a Formosa Street, London W9 1EE
From the previous point: Use the pub branch for the Victorian snob screens; for a daytime bakery-café opening, use Paulette instead and join the towpath afterwards.
Intact Victorian snob screens divide the bar into small compartments. Confirm current hours before making it the start; Paulette is the daytime alternative.
Walk from the previous stop (opens in a new tab)Open this point (opens in a new tab)
Regent’s Canal towpath
Regent’s Canal towpath, Little Venice to Kensal
From the previous point: Follow the towpath west in daylight, keeping the canal as the main line and using the live map at each bridge or access change.
Boats, herons and the backs of things. The city grows quieter and scruffier in the right way; do not use the railway-land section as an after-dark romance.
Walk from the previous stop (opens in a new tab)Open this point (opens in a new tab)
Kensal Green Cemetery
Kensal Green Cemetery, Harrow Road, London NW10
From the previous point: Leave the canal for the cemetery entrance and check the gate time before committing to the interior.
The oldest of the Magnificent Seven: Brunel, Trollope, Wilkie Collins and acres of leaning angels. Treat it as the anchor, not a checklist. The other end of this man's story is a tunnel shaft in Rotherhithe.
Walk from the previous stop (opens in a new tab)Open this point (opens in a new tab)
Parlour – local finish
5 Regent Street, London NW10 5LG
From the previous point: Walk from the cemetery to Regent Street. Paradise on Kilburn Lane is only a fallback if its current status and format are verified.
The neighbourhood dining-room option. Confirm hours before relying on it; if the finish feels uncertain, leave from Kensal Green or Kensal Rise instead.
Walk from the previous stop (opens in a new tab)Open this point (opens in a new tab)
Finish and easy exit.
A local NW10 finish
Nearest practical station: Kensal Green or Kensal Rise
Kensal Green is the mid-route Bakerloo/Overground exit; Kensal Rise is the practical end-of-route exit.
Choose the shape of the day.
Canal + cemetery
The daylight walking version with a clean station exit.
Canal + cemetery + dinner
The full locals’ route once the finish is confirmed open.
Notes before you go.
Best time
Dry daytime
Date notes
Good for a second date if both people like a sustained walk and a route that gets quieter rather than busier.
Friends
Best for a small group that will not resent the canal pace or a cemetery stop.
Solo
One of the strongest new solo prototypes in dry daylight.
Food and drink
Choose the first stop by mood, then treat Parlour as an optional finish until current hours are confirmed.
When the plan changes.
If it rains
Do not force the canal in heavy rain; use the first pub or café and choose another indoor route instead.
If it goes well
Keep the local dinner or return via Kensal Rise rather than crossing the city for a louder final act.
If you want to leave early
Use Kensal Green at the canal stage, or leave after the cemetery before dinner.
What not to expect.
Not transit-free convenience for everyone, and not a canal stretch to romanticise after dark.
Practical warnings
- Use the towpath only in daylight; one railway-land section is less charming after dark.
- Verify Kensal Green Cemetery closing time.
- Verify the current status and hours of the local finish options.
- The route has not yet been field-checked.
A route that admits it is allowed to end near home.
The rest of them are in the index, in the order I trust it.
Two things help most.
What was closed, and where you bailed – more useful than a compliment. Give feedback on this route.
Walked by a person. Wrong by the time you read it, in small ways. Tell us which.
Three words for effort, used the same way every time: flat, gentle, a proper walk. They are defined in Terms used here.