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Paddington Arm - Grand Union Canal

We cruised the Paddington Arm of the GUC in June 2008 from Bull Bridge Junction on the GUC Main Line to Little Venice and the Paddington Basin.

The Paddington arm leads from Bulls Bridge Junction to its terminus at Paddington Basin and, just north-west of the Basin at Little Venice, it connects to the Regent's Canal. This is a great cruise of around four hours or just over 12 miles without a lock in sight! Passing through or skirting: Southall, Northolt, Perivale, Alperton Park Royal, North Acton Old Oak Common and Kensal Town, terminating just after a right turn at the 'roundabout' at Little Venice in Maida Vale, a stone's throw away from Paddington Basin and Paddington Mainline and Underground Station.

The Paddington Canal Arm was remarkably rubbish free and quite picturesque in places with plenty of birds including some parakeets seen nesting in a mobile phone mast just north of Southall. Notable features along the route for us were: Bulls Bridge Junction itself with a Tesco 'Extra' supermarket, with 24 hour moorings and an opportunity to stock up on some 'ethnic' foodstuffs and examine the old canal boat 'Wet Dock' opposite the junction. The North Circular Aqueduct with its central reservation, the road noise from below making us appreciate the quiet of the canal! Alperton canalside Sainsbury's between bridges 12 and 11. Little Venice a colourful area with graffiti free bridges, houseboats, live-aboards and canalside businesses and of course Paddington Basin with its up market, free, 7 day visitor moorings.

Other features were not only the sights like the Horsenden Golf Course, the huge Kensal Green Cemetery with its monuments, passing under the 'wing' of the elevated A40 Westway Road but the smells too as we passed by bakeries and other foodstuff manufacturers - Mmmmmm....

If you have a weekend in london then see:
www.Weekend-in-London.com
and www.DoFreeStuff.com/London