Lock keeper's cottage

Having spent the night in a hotel near London City Airport with W, we had some time today to explore part of London.  Having been, with Z, for a meal at Dishoom, in King's Cross, and been impressed with the work the city is doing to repurpose old buildings, I proposed a walk from Camden lock down the Regent's Canal to King's Cross, followed by a meal at Dishoom.

We passed a number of locks, and much canal activity.  I particularly liked St Pancras Lock, with the old lock keeper's cottage still preserved.  The Regent's canal was built with paired locks - the water could be moved from one lock to the other, thereby conserving water when operating the locks.  But use of these paired locks was complicated, requiring full time attendance by lock keepers, and there was a risk of flooding if they were incorrectly used.   As the canal lost its function as a commercial canal, it was not viable to employ full time lock keepers.  Eventually, one of the locks was converted to a weir.

The red brick building visible behind was a water tower for steam engines.  It had to be moved when St Pancras was expanded for the Eurostar.  I'm not sure what it is being used for, but it looks a little incongruous with the satellite dish on the top.

We had lunch at Dishoom, and then walked on, to catch a tube from King's Cross.  I got off at Liverpool St Station, W went on to connect with the DLR.