Camden Tour Guides present ‘Five places around Kings Cross to eat your packed lunch’ by Jean Jacyna
Grab your sandwich or lunchbox and head on to one of these five green spaces around Kings Cross to sit and enjoy. All within a 15 min walk from the British Library (some are closer)
- Goldington Crescent Gardens, King’s Cross – a nice oval-shaped oasis, enclosed by railings with a few benches and some modern sculpture by Robert Worley (2010). The land was once owned by the Duke of Bedford and the gardens provided for the occupants of surrounding houses but are nowaccessible to the public.
- The Burdett-Coutts Memorial Sundial, Pancras Gardens by George Highton – an elaborate Victorian gothic style structure (1879) with inscriptions to those once buried in the surrounding churchyard but whose graves were disturbed by the cutting of the Midland Railway in 1865. One of the surrounding stone animal statues was thought to be modelled on Baroness Burdett-Coutts collie dog. Find the plaque on the bench where The Beatles sat on their ‘Mad Day Out’ in July 1968
- Regent’s Canal Towpath steps near Granary Square – since the refurbishment of Granary Square this is a popular south-facing stepped, seating area covered with 500 square metres of AstroTurf leading down to the canal. Here you can enjoy seeing barges moored up alongside ducks, geese, moorhens and coots. The installation is part of King’s Cross Summer Programme. In the winter, these steps revert to granite.
- Handyside Gardens – a landscaped pocket park, designed by Dan Pearson Studio in 2013 and constructed using materials from old railway sidings. It uses raised planting beds (as the rail tunnels are just 4.5 metres below) and many of the plants are those often found on railway embankments.
- Gasholder Park – This iconic Victorian Grade II listed, cast iron structure, known as Pancras Gasworks Gas Holder No 8, and which once stood on the opposite bank of the canal has been converted into a park (2013) with a circular lawn and a shiny steel pavilion. From here you can watch the narrow boats at St Pancras Lock.
About the Camden Tour Guides Association
Camden Tour Guides Association (CGTA) is a member organisation of qualified guides who research, develop and conduct walking tours and lectures on all things Camden!
Their guides are fully qualified to understand the history and culture throughout the London Borough of Camden. They are skilled in interpreting Camden’s many fine buildings and green spaces and can tell the stories of Camden’s famous people who either lived in its streets or worked in its institutions.
