Maida Vale is fortunate to be blessed with a wealth of lovely cafés, where you can relax with a coffee, meet with friends or just take some time for yourself. Below are a small selection that are within walking distance of Morshead Mansions. Most you will probably know but if not, why not give them a try..?
Moored on the canal in Little Venice is the Waterside Café, which opened in 1995. As well as tea and coffee, it’s open for breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea.
Nestled down inside Clifton Nurseries is The Café, a peaceful retreat in a beautiful setting. Part inside a glasshouse and part outdoor terrace, this unique cafe is the perfect place to relax.
Primarily a chocolatier, Formosa Flowers and Chocolaterie is also a lovely place to grab a coffee, situated on the iconic Formosa Street. What could be better than enjoying a cup of coffee or tea while being surrounded by chocolates, pastries, flowers and scented candles?
Perhaps not where you’d expect to find exceptional Peruvian coffee beans but the entrance to Maida Vale Station is home to So Café. The intimate setup has a surprising menu that includes freshly brewed coffee, donuts, French pastries, Italian buns, cappuccinos and mochas.
A little closer to home on the corner of Castellain Road is Petit Café, which has seating inside for colder days and an outside terrace. Open during the day for breakfast, lunch and snacks, as well as good coffee you can find Avacado Eggs, Eggs Benedict and a range of tempting deserts.
Last but not least is Le Cochonnet, a bar and café that feels like it’s been a landmark at the end of Morshead Road forever! Featuring Italian menus and open from noon until late, it specialises in freshly cooked pizzas and is open for coffee all day.
A short walk from Morshead Mansions, down past Warwick Avenue tube station and on towards Paddington Basin, is the beautiful and historic area known as Little Venice, where The Regent’s Canal meets The Grand Union Canal and the Paddington Basin tributary. Often described by visitors as one of London’s hidden gems, its history dates back to the early 1800’s.
The area was called London’s Venice for a century before becoming known as Little Venice, the change often attributed to the poet and playwright Robert Browning, who lived nearby in the late 19th century. Browning spent part of his life in Italy and died in Venice. The small bird island in the middle of the triangle between the canals is named after him.
It was more recently thought that it was actually Lord Byron who is responsible for the name, as stated in 1966 in a letter by Lord Kinross. Byron has been featured on the recently added plaques that can be seen on the walls close to the Waterside Café, a popular floating eatery that’s moored close to the Westbourne Terrace Road Bridge.
The exact boundaries of Little Venice aren’t completely clear, however, it’s generally thought to be roughly bounded by Delamere Terrace, Warwick Crescent, Howley Place and Maida Avenue to the south, Maida Vale (Road) to the east, the Lord Hill Road / Formosa Street Bridge to the west and Sutherland Avenue to the north.
Little Venice is at the southern end of Maida Vale, which takes its name from the Italian town of Maida, in Calabria, where in 1806 the British won a battle over Napoleon. A pub called ‘The Maida’, now no longer in existence, was sited on the Edgeware Road and its sign showed a likeness of General Sir John Stuart, who was made Count of Maida by King Ferdinand IV of Naples after the victory at the same battle. More recently, the pub formerly known as The Truscott Arms was renamed The Hero of Maida.
In 1801 Paddington was just a village on the outskirts of London, but the arrival of the canal saw it become an important waterways hub and as a consequence, the area started to flourish. In 1911, architect John Nash produced a masterplan for the Prince Regent to redevelop a large area of central north London. As a result, the Regent’s Canal was included in the scheme, running for part of its distance along the northern edge of Regent’s Park and into Little Venice.
Following this successful development, many of the other houses and mansions in the surrounding area and further along the canal were built in a similar style. These greatly elevated the status of the whole area and set the tone for Little Venice becoming an ‘expensive’ area to buy property, as it is to this day. The character of this neighbourhood is largely defined by the Regency style, with beautiful white stucco buildings on many of the surrounding streets, including Blomfield Road, Warrington Crescent and Randolph Road.
On the eastern side of Paddington Basin is Rembrandt Gardens, which was originally planted in the 1970’s on the 700th anniversary of the founding of Amsterdam, known as the ‘Venice of the North’. Along the canal, as well as The Waterside Café you can find the Canal Café Theatre, The Puppet Theatre Barge, The Summerhouse Restaurant and Café La Ville, which spans the bridge on the eastern end of the canal. The area also hosts the annual Canalway Cavalcade, which you can read more about here.
Close by, the area is blessed with three Grade II Listed pubs with historic facades and interiors, The Prince Alfred on Formosa Street, The Warwick Castle in Warwick Place and The Warrington, on Warrington Crescent. The Colonnade Hotel, also on Warrington Crescent, dates back to 1863 and was originally a pair of houses. The interior still boasts many original features, including mouldings and a continuous 1st floor balustrade, and there are blue plaques on the outside in tribute to historical associations with code-breaker Alan Turing and psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud.
Today, the area around Paddington Basin is a vibrant tourist spot and a lovely place to go for a stroll. Walking further into Paddington Basin provides a complete change from historic to modern, with huge amounts of redevelopment having taken place in recent years. Here too you will find an array of restaurants, bars and cafes and fascinating places to take a break, including Sheldon Square and Merchant Square, which features the Floating Park and the Fan Bridge. From the Basin, you can take boat trips along The Regent’s Canal to London Zoo and Camden Town.
If you’re looking for something to do this coming May Bank Holiday, why not take a walk down to Little Venice and Paddington Basin to experience the annual Inland Waterways Association Canal Boat Cavalcade? The boats will be moored between Blomfield Road, Warwick Avenue and Warwick Crescent, with entertainment stretching into Paddington Basin.
Each early May Bank Holiday, over 100 narrow boats from all over the country converge on Little Venice to create a truly unique spectacle. The event takes place over the whole weekend, this year it will be from the 4th-6th May and will showcase canal boat living to its full, with a wonderful array of floating colour and entertainment.
For 2024, ‘Fund Britain’s Waterways’ is the theme and there’s a lot to see. Along with the boats themselves, you’ll find stalls selling unique items, a real ale bar and a fantastic selection of street food stalls for a quick snack. Other features are the eclectic live music, Morris Dancers and plenty of children’s entertainment. This year, for the first time, there will be a special illuminated boat parade between 9 pm and 10.30 pm on Sunday.
Opening times for the weekend will be 10am-6pm on Saturday and Sunday and 10am-5pm on Monday. You can find out more on the Inland Waterways Website.
With the Autumn season well and truly upon us, there’s no better time to take a walk in and around Morshead Mansions and Maida Vale to take in the full beauty of the local area. From right on our doorstep to a little further afield, we’re all extremely fortunate to live in an area where there is so much colour and natural wonder.
The first and closest place to experience the colour of Autumn is the communal gardens behind Morshead Mansions, which all residents are able to easily access with a garden key. Over the last few years the garden has continued to look better and better and at this time of the year it’s a colourful, convenient and happy place to take a quick stroll.
Just a little further away and right opposite Morshead Mansions is Paddington Recreation Ground, which at this time of year is full of reds, oranges and yellows, with carpets of leaves. This park has wide open spaces, as well as a great selection of secluded garden areas and is a really handy place to wander around and stretch your legs.
At this time of year, the area around Warwick Avenue Station is particularly pretty and colourful and well worth taking the time to have a look. Only a 5-7 minute walk from Morshead Mansions, it’s easily accessible and once in the area there are many other parts that are worth exploring too.
A short walk along the flaming red tree-lined Warwick Avenue brings you to Little Venice and the bridge that looks over the canal below. At this time of year the colourful boats that line both sides of the canal are beautifully complemented by the explosion of colours from the trees.
On the opposite side of the bridge is the start of Paddington Basin, which is a truly lovely place to go for a walk. It’s an area that’s full of canal boats and also a place where you can take a boat trip along the canal through Regent’s Park to Camden Lock. In the middle of the water is Little Venice Island Gardens, which is dedicated as a bird sanctuary and out of bounds to the public. On the opposite side is the Waterside Boat Cafe, which is an idylc place to stop for a coffee, a light breakfast or some lunch.
If you’re feeling particularly energetic, why not walk a little further into Paddington Basin and along to Sheldon Square. This whole area has been completely re-developed over the last few years and is dedicated as a Clean Air Zone. Along the canal there are many bars and restaurants, many of which are on boats, and it’s a great place to have a stroll and while away a couple of hours. Further along the canal still is Merchant Square, which features the acclaimed Fan Bridge.
A little further afield, Primrose Hill always looks especially colourful at this time of year. It is walkable, which would probably take around 15-20 minutes each way, however, for those who drive it’s good to know that Morshead Mansion’s ‘C’ zone parking permits extend right up to the west side of the park. This makes it pretty convenient to get to and once there, you could easily spend at least half an hour walking around the whole of the park. If you’d rather just visit to take in the views, a short walk up to the top of the hill will reward you with spectacular views over central London and its famous landmarks.
Another alternative if you feel like walking to Primrose Hill or Regent’s Park is to take the canal from Little Venice. Most of the route is accessible along the canal, apart from a short stretch between the Edgeware Road and Lisson Grove.
Regent’s Park adjoins Primrose Hill and is accessible in the same way, with ‘C’ zone parking all along the north side, up to where Primrose Hill begins. At this time of the year, the whole of the park looks incredibly beautiful and with a good selection of cafes it’s a great place to while away a few hours and take in the scenery.
So these are just a selction of suggested places that are fairly close to Morshead Mansions that you can visit to take in the splendour of Autumn colours. If you have time to visit any of them you’re unlikely to be disappointed, it’s worth remembering though that Autumn won’t last forever, so make sure you go soon!
