Summer in the City

Summer in the City

I am spending the summer in London. It gives me a great opportunity to linger instead of rushing from A to B to C. It is my privilege being based close to what is, I am learning, being named The Knowledge Quarter 

This part of town has been on my home turf for 35 years. lt is an exciting and fascinating experience to witness the transformation of an area from “no go rough street”, prostitution and drugs, to “destination knowledge street” and the developments that have taken place. It began, in my experience, with the development and building of Kings Place in York Way – an excellent meeting place and inspiration.  What once was a “dangerous  backstreet” only to be  approached by car when in need of petrol or when going west, my old petrol station has turned into a designer restaurant overlooking the Regent’s Canal. The canal itself has had a clean-up and a face lift. The towpaths are now busy all the time with walkers, runners and cyclists.

Walking on the canal has always been a treat, although in the old days never at any time except in full daylight and preferably in company with family and friends. Now, getting down on the canal path at Caledonian Road it is like hitting a communal highroad always full of people, pedestrians, runners and cyclists. The stretch between Cally Road and Camden Lock is changing from an area of derelict buildings and all sorts floating in the canal to new housing being built and the canal filling up with narrowboats.

Today I tested the Knowledge Quarter loop in one go. Starting from Cally Road, on to the Regent’s Canal, passing Kings Place, entering Granary Square and what began with the new building for Central St Martins, University of the Arts, now also a meeting place full of activities, restaurants and the wonderful fountain often full of children happily running and playing in the water. Before I walk down Kings Boulevard towards King’s Cross I make a small detour to Old St Pancras Church with Mary Wollstonecraft’s grave stone and the Thomas Hardy tree.

I am returning back up the road so I can walk down Kings Boulevard towards King’s Cross and St Pancras International. On the way I pass the new tube entrance on Pancras Square. It is a treat for body and soul walking to the trains surrounded by wonderful light design. When I walk through St Pancras International my heart beats an extra beat knowing that from here I can be in Paris in just two hours. It takes the same time as it sometimes takes to get from east to west or, from north to south London.

St Pancras itself is a marvellous building that has been restored putting romance back into travel with its sense of adventure, human stories and history. This time my destination is not Paris but the Francis Crick Institute that I haven’t really seen in its final form. Impressive with impressive work going on inside I’m sure. Next door is the British Library.

Before I turn left in to Euston Road completing my Knowledge Quarter loop, I take a walk down Judd Street to check if the little old French café has survived the ongoing gentrification. Yes, Patisserie Deux Amis is still there. A café au lait will be a treat for another day. Walking up Euston Road I suddenly remember Rough Luxe Hotel that opened in Birkenhead Street in 2008. Is it still there I wonder. Has its rough luxe concept survived the times? Yes, it’s still there and with mixed reviews from its guests, as I discover online. Just what I thought it would be when I visited during its opening season.