Camden with kids: the family day out
Child fares on the canal boat from £14, under-4s free, pond dipping by King’s Cross, a narrowboat cabin to sit in at the canal museum and 1,000 fountains on Granary Square. A family day in Camden that is not just the market.
By Only Camden Editorial
The market is a lot for small children: crowded, loud and full of things they cannot touch. The better family day in Camden is built around the canal, with the zoo, a boat, a puppet theatre and a nature reserve all on the water. Here is how to do it, with child prices and opening times.
London Zoo
Winter season, daily 10:00 to 16:00. Children from £20.80. London Zoo is on the Outer Circle of Regent’s Park, NW1, about a 15-minute walk from Camden Market. In the winter season it opens 10:00 to 16:00 every day, with last entry an hour before closing. Guide prices listed by Tourism for All, including a donation, are £20.80 for children aged 3 to 15 and £29.70 for adults, and the zoo varies prices by day, so book online in advance. Carers of disabled visitors go free.
Free preview: the canal towpath runs through part of the zoo, so you can see the aviary from the path before you decide whether to buy tickets.
A canal boat
Children from £14, under-4s free. Kids love a boat, and the Regent’s Canal ones are slow enough for everyone. The London Waterbus Company runs about 45 minutes between Camden Market and Little Venice: £14 for children aged 4 to 16, free for under-4s, £17 for adults, per its booking page. It leaves from West Yard Wharf in the market, by the West Yard food stalls. It does not stop at the zoo.
Jason’s Trip runs an original 1906 boat between Little Venice and Camden Lock, with commentary on the way to Camden. Under-14s pay the £15 concession single and under-4s go free. Parents of toddlers: the boat is the nap.
The Puppet Barge, Little Venice
At the other end of the boat ride, the Puppet Barge has been putting on puppet shows on a converted barge at Little Venice for 40 years. Family shows carry age guidance, typically for 3 to 7 or 4 to 10 year olds, so check puppetbarge.com for what is on and book. A boat there, a show, and the boat back is a complete day.
Primrose Hill
Free. At the end of Regent’s Park Road, Primrose Hill is the place to let them run. The summit is almost 63 metres up and the slope is perfect for rolling down. Lunch afterwards at Greenberry Cafe on Regent’s Park Road, which has a kids’ menu.
Camley Street Natural Park
Daily, 10:00 to 16:00 from October to March, 10:00 to 17:00 from April to September. Walk east along the canal towards King’s Cross and you reach Camley Street Natural Park at 12 Camley Street, N1C, run by the London Wildlife Trust. There is a pond dipping platform, a visitor centre with a café, toilets and baby changing, per the Trust. The main path and visitor centre are accessible; other paths are woodchip.
London Canal Museum and Granary Square
A little further, at Battlebridge Basin, the London Canal Museum at 12 to 13 New Wharf Road, N1, lets you step inside a narrowboat cabin, learn about the horses that pulled the boats and peer down a huge Victorian ice well. It opens 10:00 to 16:30, Tuesday to Sunday and bank holiday Mondays, with a small admission charge. Then go up to Granary Square, where more than 1,000 fountains are each individually controlled and lit. Bring a towel; they will get in.
Older kids: the Roundhouse
The Roundhouse on Chalk Farm Road runs a youth programme in term time, with drop-ins such as circus and aerial skills for 11 to 14 year olds for £2, no booking needed. Check its what’s on page for the current term.
Where to eat with kids
Upstairs at the Hawley Wharf food hall, Three Uncles has communal seating overlooking the canal and rice plates from £12.95, and the bao at £5.50 are child-sized. Mildreds on Jamestown Road has a kids’ menu and the famous vegan tiramisu. On Regent’s Park Road, Greenberry does a kids’ menu and brunch from 09:00, which suits families who have been up since six.
Family tips
- Avoid Saturday afternoon in the market with a buggy; mornings and weekdays are far easier.
- Steps: the canal has stairs at several access points. The ramp at Granary Square and the bridge at Camden Lock are the easy ones.
- Toilets: Camley Street, the canal museum and the zoo all have them; the towpath does not.
- Vegan or fussy eaters: Mildreds on Jamestown Road has a kids’ menu and step-free access.
