Jason’s Trip

Great trip, great people, great fun.
People were nice, had a London Pass so it was free, learned a lot about the canal people.

I simply cannot say enough about this most excellent way to spend an afternoon. Board at their slip and sit back and enjoy a ride to Camden Market. This excursion offers great value so I expect it will continue to increase in popularity. One of the best boating cruises I’ve ever taken and I take them wherever I go. I’m a huge fan of Jason’s Trip!!!
I encourage them to speak less about real estate prices in St. John’s Wood and to continue to build their narration around the water and it’s storied history. Much is revealed during your trip — I learned so much. Loved it, loved it, loved it.

Unfortunately this contact telephone number doesn’t exist anymore. I wanted to get in touch with them to find out the nearest tube station and to see if I could book but unfortunately was unable to do so.

Located between Little Venice and Camden Town Jason’s Trip offers a way to see London that most natives don’t even know about. I rode a round trip journey (8£ one way, 9£ return trip) from Camden Town to Little Venice and back and enjoyed it immensely. The commentary was interesting and the views were great.
Of note: there is no commentary from Camden Town to Little Venice (only on the opposite route) so if you’re just looking for a quiet romantic-​ish canal cruise that’s the direction to take it. It’s also fairly difficult to find the starting point of the cruse in Camden Town, make sure you work your way back to the river walk behind the Camden Market food vendors around the time of your trip. Easiest way to find the load in area is to see the boat.

Who knew this existed?- even though it’s not far to walk, this has to be the best way to get from Little Venice to Camden Lock because a) it floats you there requiring zero input from you on a lazy summer’s day and b) your head is stuffed with canal history facts as you go. And they are surprisingly interesting. You also get as close a peek of the 60 million pound mansions in Regents Park as you’re ever likely to get unless you know someone that lives there –I don’t. Jason rocks.

There are over 4000 miles of canals in the UK. I think that those within cities provide a really unique and old perspective you don’t otherwise get in those urban areas.
Jason’s is one of a couple of canal long-​boat rides that ply Regent’s Canal. You join it at Little Venice and can go just one way to Camden (for £7.50) or return (for £8.50). You get a commentary, but only in the Little Venice-​to-​Camden direction. Check their web page for exact places to catch them and times.
The boat holds a few dozen people but can be pretty busy. You can only book by phone, or by email request, throughout the week. If you’re going to try to stop by without a reservation make sure you get there plenty early.
It’s a bit pricey, and you could walk the exact same route — barring the Maida Hill tunnel — for free. But there’s something nice about seeing things from the water.
Try it once.

So you want to go on a canal cruise in Venice but you’re short of a few hundred bob or two? Well, you CAN go to Venice, and you don’t even have to leave the city. Confused?
Jason’s runs sublime little boat has been running guided tours between Jason’s Wharf in Little Venice and Café Crema in Camden for over 50 years now. Learn about the waterways from the 1800s to present day, put your feet up, and enjoy something a little different this Sunday afternoon. And the best part is it’s only £8.50 round trip (1 and a half hours). I had a lovely time with my date last summer, and I also discovered that you can hire a party boat ‘Dusk til Dawn’ for the night — something I’m seriously considering.

In the course of the past two years I’ve been on this cruise twice; once when getting to know the area we’d just moved to and once with my Mother-​in-​Law-​to-​be. Both trips were interesting without being overly long, with great photo opportunities and the satisfaction of knowing one of London’s secrets. The trips are seasonal, running from April to November each year, and they can be busy so it’s wise to call ahead and reserve your place. (On both occasions when I’ve taken the cruise, people who’ve just turned up without booking have been turned away.) The trip runs from the pier outside the Boathouse restaurant on Blomfield Road up to Camden Lock and back. On the way TO Camden there is live commentary on places of interest as the boat passes them. On the way BACK from Camden there’s no commentary although often the host will answer your questions. The boat heads for Browning’s Island before chugging past houseboats, many with beautiful decoration, and through a long tunnel where horses once pulled the boats through by hefty rope, the marks of this still visible on the walls. Then the trip passes the back gardens of impressive Nash mansions and you can play ‘spot the animal’ when London Zoo and Lord Snowdon’s aviary hove into view. A floating pagoda housing a Chinese restaurant makes an interesting sight and little jetties at the backs of homes sport a variety of boats, from dinghies to moss-​covered canoes. On up to Camden Lock, where you can get off to explore the market or have a bite to eat before heading back to W9. You might like to combine your canal trip with a visit to The Boathouse restaurant on Blomfield Road, just by the pick-​up and drop-​off point, or you could check out the Waterway pub which is less than a minute’s walk away.