Weekend Highlights: Cruising London's West Canals
Since moving to London, I haven't cruised the canals via bicycle... Alright, so I may have been a bit scared to do it, I'm not going to deny that. But since getting my Mango Bike {Portland model, with added bling bling bell of course...}, I figured I need to overcome my fears and go for it. One of the girls rented a boris bike - so if you don't own a bike, there's no excuse.
I convinced 2 girlfriends to join me, promising that we'd be stopping for some rosé along the way. We set off from Notting Hill and got completely lost after Paddington station... I thought the canals in Little Venice were more obvious to find and follow, but no, they were not. We took a lot of wrong turns, went in a few circles, and had to dismount countless times. So before hopping on a bike and just cruising, map it out. But finally, we found a promising entrance that ended up being exactly what we were looking for.
We were along Regent's Canal that goes straight through Regent's Park. The weather may have had a hand in the beauty, but it was such a beautiful and relaxing cruise the whole way through to Camden. The gardens along each side, the estates and even the green duck weed that engulfed the canal was gorgeous.
We went through Camden, wiggling our way through the massive crowds getting their vitamin D intake. Camden has a buzzing energy that would put anyone in the right attitude. We didn't stop for the market with our bikes in tow, but it's definitely on my list of things to do before summer's end.
We decided to take a 'break' at King's Cross, right near the floating bookshop's landing. I'm not sure if this is where the bookshop is permanently located, but every time I've seen it, it's been here. If you're ever in the area, it's definitely worth checking out.
Rosé:30. Time to reward ourselves for biking what could have been over 10 miles {as it took us almost 2 hours to go 3.5 miles}. We were fortunate enough to find a patio spot to enjoy our rosé and catch up properly. After the rose was empty, it was time to find our way back to Notting Hill - which was a thrilling experience {terrifying, but exhilarating... haha!}.
I'm not sure if there's anything better than catching up with girlfriends over a bottle of roseé on a perfect London summer afternoon. Enjoy the rest of summer, it'll go faster than you'd like. xoxo