The canal at Little Venice
Local authority
Little Venice is in the City of Westminster straddling W2 and W9. It is in the Westminster North parliamentary constituency. Council tax for Band A properties is £448.50; Band D properties will receive a bill of £672.74; in Band H would council tax is £1,345.48.
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Property
Grand stucco-fronted houses and large Georgian and Victorian brick constructions line the wide streets of Little Venice.
Elnathan Mews, W9
Blomfield Road, W9
If funds are not in the multi-million pound bracket take advantage of the canal-side location and try living on a houseboat, which sell for as little as £120,000 for a one-bed. The average price of a two-bedroom flat in the area is £849,424; for a terrace house it’s £2,399,500; and for a semi-detached house you can expect to pay £3,738,375.
Education
More than half of pupils at Paddington Green Primary School are refugees and asylum seekers in the early stages of learning English, but the school was rated good by Ofsted, which found that pupils make outstanding progress learning the language. Edward Wilson School also received a good rating. Ark Atwood Primary, the local free school was deemed outstanding at its last inspection. There are several religious primaries in the area: St Saviour’s CofE Primary School is rated outstanding by Ofsted, while St Mary Magdalene CofE Primary, Our Lady of Dolours RC Primary School and St Peter’s CofE School are all rated good. L’Ecole Bilingue Elementaire is a small, fee-paying bilingual French-English school rated outstanding.
For secondary education, both Westminster Academy and Paddington Academy received outstanding ratings from Ofsted.
Transport
Warwick Avenue station
Little Venice is in zone 2 on the London Underground with Warwick Avenue on the Bakerloo line serving the area. Just over the Westway, Royal Oak is a Hammersmith and City and Circle line station, also in zone 2. For a charming commute, the London waterbus travels along the Regent’s Canal between Little Venice and Camden Lock, with a standard one-way fare costing £8.30 and lasting 50 minutes.
Landmarks and history
The coining of the name Little Venice has been attributed to the poet Robert Browning, who lived in the area between 1862 and 1887 and Browning’s Pool was named after the poet.
Alan Turing plaque on The Colonnade Hotel
However, this version of events is widely disputed and it is now believed that Lord Byron used the term satirically to describe the area. Code-breaker and computer science pioneer Alan Turing was born in what is now the Colonnade Hotel, where a blue plaque marks the spot.
Shopping and culture
Clifton Nurseries is a beloved local institution whose history stretches back as far as 1851. They offer a vast array of gorgeous garden goodies, alongside a garden design service and various events, pop ups and collaborations with perfumers and beauty brands throughout the year.
Clifton Nurseries
Clifton Road is the area’s chicest shopping street with Absolute Flowers, Sheepdrove Organic Butchers, greengrocer Clifton Greens, Raoul’s Deli, Baker and Spice and The Winery providing all the ingredients for a fabulous dinner party. Nearby Joujou & Lucy stocks sweet and often trendy children’s clothes while Paulie is a ladies’ fashion boutique. Formosa Street is a pretty hideaway with interiors shop akin and suri and lifestyle, clothing and kids’ boutique Pipa.
akin & suri - Handmade Interiors, Formosa Street
Eating and drinking
The Quince Tree café at Clifton Nurseries is the perfect location for an elegant afternoon tea in the palm house – they also serve breakfast and lunch. For a more down-to-earth meal try the cabman’s shelter by the water where an egg, sausage and bacon roll will set you back £2.80, and a cup of tea only 70p. Artist Martin Parr used the shelter as a location for one of his photography projects. It’s takeaway only though, unless you’re a cab driver. On Formosa Street Red Pepper is a good bet for wood fired pizzas and gastropub grub at The Prince Alfred dining room.
Green cab shelter, Warwick Avenue
Waterside Cafe
Canalside dining can be found at The Waterside Cafe, a barge based greasy spoon with overspill seating on the neighbouring towpath, The Summerhouse or The Waterway, which has a large outdoor terrace.
Sports and leisure
Little Venice Sports Centre has a recently refurbished gym and offers classes, as well as badminton (4 courts), table tennis and short tennis courts. Basketball, volleyball, netball and five-a-side football can be played in the multi-purpose indoor sports hall. There is also a physiotherapy and pilates studio at Little Venice Pilates on Bristol Gardens.
Little Venice Pilates, Bristol Gardens
Source - Ham High
The annual Canalway Cavalcade takes place each May Day bank holiday combining a boat rally with activities and entertainment for a family friendly day out.
Also on the canal is the Puppet Theatre Barge. It tours the Thames during the summer months but you can find the 55-seat venue on Blomfield Road for the rest of the year. They do put on shows for adults but the main focus is children’s marionette shows.
Puppet Theatre Barge
