London Canal Museum

@canalmuseum

One of the most-visited waterways museums in the UK, located in central London. On two floors we tell the story of London's canals, their people, arts and crafts, boats, horses and engineering. We offer a programme of regular boat trips from the museum.

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London Canal Museum@canalmuseum· 20d

Looking for a unique experience? Our Ice Weekend starts tomorrow at the London Canal Museum. Saturday 25 July: family fun day with magical storyteller Olivia telling tales of ice and ice cream, the Ice Trail, a play ice cream parlour and the Norwegian ice trade tour. (1/2)

London Canal Museum@canalmuseum· 21d

This Sunday, 26 July, is the one day this year you can go down into and explore the Victorian ice wells under the museum. Small groups descend a two-stage ladder for a guided tour from a museum volunteer. Adults and older children only, 12+. (1/2)

Two silhouetted people in hard hats stand in a dim, underground brick space with exposed concrete ceiling beams.

London Canal Museum@canalmuseum· 21d

Joining us this weekend for Ice Weekend? Try our new 'Close-up clues museum quest' on our free digital guide. Suitable for families and adults who like a treasure hunt, try to work out the item in our collection from a close-up. Check it out here 👉 https://f.mtr.cool/unzhuuxofj

Bold "CLOSE-UP CLUES" museum quest poster on blue background, magnifying glass revealing layered wooden texture.

London Canal Museum@canalmuseum· 25d

(2/2) Sunday 26 July: the once-a-year chance to tour our Victorian ice wells with a guide. Min age 12, time slots going fast. Also: ice cream demos, ice trade talks, rare archive film. Booking a boat trip too? There's a discount. 👉 canalmuseum.org.uk/whatson/ice-weekend.htm

Promotional graphic for Ice Sunday on 26 July 2026 at the London Canal Museum. Adults in hard hats stand inside the Victorian ice wells with a tour guide. Three panels read: once-a-year ice well tours with a guide; ice cream demonstration, ice trade talk and building tour; add a tunnel boat trip.

A group of adults wearing hard hats stand in a circle inside the Victorian ice wells at the London Canal Museum, listening to a guide with his back to the camera. The walls are exposed brick and the ground is uneven earth. A blue text banner reads: Ice well guided tours.

London Canal Museum@canalmuseum· 25d

🧊 Ice Weekend is one week away: 25 & 26 July @CanalMuseum. Saturday is our family fun day — storyteller Olivia, Ice Trail challenge, 'Picture This' ice trade activity, and a new Norwegian Ice Tour of the ground floor. Boat trips through the Islington Tunnel are bookable too. (1/2)

London Canal Museum@canalmuseum· Jul 9

Once a year, on 🧊 Ice Sunday (26 July), we open our Victorian ice wells for guided tours where you can explore and learn more about them. Also included with your ticket: Victorian ice cream making demonstrations... (1/2)

Two people wearing hard hats stand inside the Victorian ice wells at the London Canal Museum, silhouetted against brick walls. The low ceiling with concrete beams is visible above, lit by artificial light. A blue text banner reads: Step inside two Victorian ice wells.

A woman in Victorian dress: black coat, white ruffled sleeves and apron, stands at a demonstration table with bowls and equipment against a brick wall. Handwritten historical timeline cards are pinned above her. A blue text banner reads: Victorian ice cream making demonstration.

London Canal Museum@canalmuseum· Jul 7

📢Calling families: discover London's waterway history on Tuesday, 28th July, at our Canal Boat Makers Fun Day. Join us for a boat trip on Long Tom to draw inspiration from boats on the canal, then head back to the museum for a craft workshop to build your own floating... (1/2)

Canal boat Long Tom on Battlebridge Basin on a sunny day, with the London Canal Museum building and sign clearly visible in the background and other colourful narrowboats moored alongside.

London Canal Museum@canalmuseum· Jul 6

Ice Saturday is back on 25 July, our family fun day at the London Canal Museum 🧊 Storyteller Olivia returns, plus we have our Ice Trail challenge, a photo-matching activity tracing ice from Norway to London, and boat trips on the canal to add on for an extra experience (1/2)

black and white historical photograph showing a group of men harvesting ice blocks on a wooden platform in a snowy Norwegian landscape. Several large rectangular ice blocks are visible in the foreground, with the men using long-handled tools. A wooden building sits in the background. A blue text banner in the lower left reads: Norwegian ice trade tours.

London Canal Museum@canalmuseum· Jul 5

We're at Cally Fest today ☀️ Visit our stand and spend a few minutes with our volunteers, who'll be sharing the stories behind London's canals. Want to know more about our ice wells or what's on at the museum? Come and say hello. We'd love to see you there.

Poster for the 2026 Cally Festival featuring a red cross-stitched embroidery design on cream fabric, surrounded by sewing materials. The embroidery depicts Caledonian Road landmarks and community scenes around the words ‘The Cally Festival’. Text highlights activities including music, crafts, children’s activities, dance, science, poetry, health and wellbeing, and a funfair. The event takes place on Sunday 5 July 2026, 12–6pm, on Caledonian Road, Islington.

London Canal Museum@canalmuseum· Jul 1

This month's book recommendation is from Adam: London Canal Museum in 12 Objects: Stories from the Collection 'Twelve objects, three themes: the ice trade and rise of ice cream, life on canal boats, and the engines, horses and diesel, that powered them.' (1/2)

A member of the London Canal Museum team stands smiling in front of the museum’s historic narrowboat, holding a copy of London Canal Museum in 12 Objects. The colourful boat’s traditional painted stern fills the background, with decorative canalware displayed on top.

London Canal Museum@canalmuseum· Jun 20

We're at the Brentford Canal Festival today ☀️ From 1805, Brentford was where the inland canal network met the Thames, cutting around 60 miles off the Birmingham to London route. West Indies lime juice was warehoused here before heading to Rose's in Hertfordshire, until 1981. (1/2)

London Canal Museum@canalmuseum· Jun 15

It's another #MysteryMonday. In June 1811, 2,000 guests were drawn to a house on Pall Mall. Supper at 3am. The host's table stretched 200 feet through a Gothic conservatory. Running down the centre of that table was a miniature canal. 🧵1/2

Portrait of an English king, standing in elaborate ceremonial robes. He wears a richly embroidered silver and white outfit with a crimson sash, gold regalia and the collar of a chivalric order. A long white fur-trimmed cloak drapes behind him, while his right hand rests on a ceremonial sword. To his left sits a royal crown on a table covered with red fabric. Large crimson curtains frame the scene, creating a grand backdrop that emphasises royal authority and status.

London Canal Museum@canalmuseum· Jun 7

It's the end of Volunteers' Week, and we want to say thank you. The London Canal Museum runs on the work of our 60+ fabulous volunteers - greeting visitors, guiding boat trips, running the shop and bookshop, and maintaining our collection. (1/2)

Two vintage painted metal water cans with floral rosette motifs, bright red and green paint and "Canal Museum" lettering.

London Canal Museum@canalmuseum· Jun 1

Looking for your next read? June's pick from Alette: 'Britain's Canals: Exploring Their Architectural & Engineering Wonders' by Anthony Burton and Derek Pratt. "This book is about the architecture and engineering of British canals...how they met them through design innovations." (1/2)

A museum volunteer stands outside the London Canal Museum holding a copy of Britain’s Canals by Anthony Burton and Derek Pratt, June’s book recommendation. The museum entrance and signage are visible in the background.

London Canal Museum@canalmuseum· May 19

Did you live on Battlebridge Basin — or do you still? We're planning an exhibition on the basin's history, from industrial use to the community here today, and we need your memories to tell the modern chapter. (1/2)

Narrowboats moored on Battlebridge Basin in front of the London Canal Museum, a Victorian brick warehouse building with blue signage, surrounded by modern residential buildings in King's Cross, London.

London Canal Museum@canalmuseum· May 18

Physical access to our wells is reserved for our Ice Weekend, but you can explore digitally today! Use our digital guide to learn the story, then visit our site to peer into the darkness via our live, controllable 'well-cam'. 🔗 https://f.mtr.cool/kqrvpptbny (2/2) #IMD2026

A high-angle view looking down into a large, rectangular opening in the wooden floor of the London Canal Museum. Below the floor level, a deep, circular brick-lined Victorian ice well is visible, illuminated by purple and blue artificial lighting. In the foreground, an educational display board titled 'Our Ice Wells' shows historical diagrams and facts about the 19th-century ice trade.

London Canal Museum@canalmuseum· May 18

It is International Museum Day! 🏛️ We are closed on Mondays, but you can still look beneath the surface. Our building wasn’t built to be a gallery - it was a giant Victorian 'refrigerator' used by Carlo Gatti to store tonnes of ice shipped from Norway. 🧊 (1/2) 👇

London Canal Museum@canalmuseum· May 16

It's #MusicHallVarietyDay 🎭 Carlo Gatti is known as London's Ice King — but the ice trade was only half the story. After his café was demolished in 1862 to make way for Charing Cross Station, he used the £7,750 compensation to build an entertainment empire. (1/2)

Victorian programme cover for Gatti's Palace of Varieties, dated 30 May 1898. Black and white engraving shows an aerial view of Westminster Bridge Road, with Big Ben to the left and the Gatti's venue visible on the right. Decorative lettering reads: Gatti's Palace of Varieties, Westminster Bridge Road, Established 1864, The Family Resort. A scroll in the lower left names the proprietors as Messrs G and L Corazza (Gatti)

London Canal Museum@canalmuseum· May 12

(2/2) ... then return to the museum to construct your own Nature Crown inspired by the local wildlife 👑 Our school holiday boat trips are very popular, and spaces are strictly limited. Children £5.50 · Adults £10.50. 🎟️ Book your tickets: canalmuseum.org.uk/whatson/family-fun-days.htm

A child holds up a paper bird — cut from orange card and mounted on a wooden stick — during a craft activity at the London Canal Museum. Nearby, another child holds a green paper crown decorated with orange and purple shapes. A tray of coloured paper cut-outs, scissors, and pipe cleaners sits between them on the floor.

London Canal Museum@canalmuseum· May 12

Looking for a half-term activity? Join our Nature Crowns Fun Day on Tuesday, 26th May. Board our boat 'Long Tom' for a trip to St Pancras Lock. The Regent's Canal is a designated Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation, so there’s plenty of wildlife to spot (1/2)

Two young children sit together on a tartan blanket inside the London Canal Museum, both wearing handmade green nature crowns decorated with paper wildlife shapes, smiling at the camera.

London Canal Museum@canalmuseum· May 12

(2/2) ...they open just once a year, on Ice Sunday in July, as part of our annual Ice Weekend - why not join us? Find all the details and tickets at canalmuseum.org.uk Image of St Pancras © St Pancras Old Church #StPancrasDay #IceSaints #LondonCanalMuseum #KingsCross #LondonHistory

View from above into one of the London Canal Museum's Victorian ice wells, lit from within by purple and amber uplighting. In the foreground, an interpretive panel headed 'Our Ice Wells' displays historical photographs and a cross-section diagram of the original ice house structure. The museum's ground floor exhibition is visible in the background, including wooden panelling and wall-mounted display cases.

London Canal Museum@canalmuseum· May 12

St Pancras, whose feast day is today, is one of three Catholic saints known as the 'Ice Saints', associated with a last cold snap in mid-May. Our museum building in King's Cross was built for the Victorian ice trade, with the only publicly accessible ice wells in the UK... (1/2)

Byzantine-style painted icon of Saint Pancras, depicted as a young man with curly brown hair and a gold halo. He wears a blue-grey robe and red cloak, holds a decorated cross aloft in his right hand, and carries a gold-covered book in his left. The background is gold leaf.

London Canal Museum@canalmuseum· May 11

It is #MysteryMonday! 🧩 Exploring the Regent’s Canal for #NationalWalkingMonth? You will see these brick slopes every few hundred metres. They weren't built for people, and they are almost unique to this canal. Can you identify what they were built for? 🔍 1/2

A monochrome photo of a brick ramp leading from the towpath into the canal water at Battlebridge Basin.

London Canal Museum@canalmuseum· May 7

May is Local and Community History Month. Ever wonder why Clerkenwell was known as 'Little Italy'? It became home to Italian-speaking immigrants like Carlo Gatti, who arrived from Paris in 1847 and built an ice empire right here in King's Cross. #LocalHistoryMonth (1/2) 👇

A black and white photographic portrait of an older Carlo Gatti, featuring a long white beard and wearing a dark jacket and bow tie.

London Canal Museum@canalmuseum· May 2

The Canalway Cavalcade is in full swing at Little Venice! ☀️ Have you spotted Bantam IV yet? Listen out for the distinctive sound of her original 1950 Lister JP2 engine. She has just returned from a specialist engine rebuild and is running beautifully. #CanalwayCavalcade (1/2) 👇

London Canal Museum@canalmuseum· May 1

May’s book recommendation comes from Charlie, who has chosen a definitive guide: The Regent's Canal: London's Hidden Waterway by Alan Faulkner Alan Faulkner’s ‘The Regent’s Canal’ is the book of record for the facts behind the canal’s planning, construction and operation. Published in 2005... 1/3

A smiling older man, Charlie, stands on the Regents Canal towpath, wearing glasses and a light pink shirt. He holds up Alan Faulkner's book, 'The Regent’s Canal: London’s Hidden Waterway'. In the background, the canal curves under a series of historic brick and metal railway bridges, one of which shows pink graffiti.

London Canal Museum@canalmuseum· Apr 29

We’re at the IWA Canalway Cavalcade this weekend! Look out for our historic 1950 tug, Bantam IV, doing runs around Little Venice. Give us a wave! She’s back on the water after her most intensive engine overhaul since being built. (1/2) 👇 #Cavalcade2026

A small, sturdy black and red tug boat named Bantam IV moored at the London Canal Museum, with its distinctive rounded prow and metal railings visible.

London Canal Museum@canalmuseum· Apr 27

On this day in 1828, the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) was founded, and the London Zoo opened its doors on the Regent's Canal. If you're visiting the Zoo for its 200th anniversary celebrations, why not explore the canal and stop by the museum on the way? Image:©️ZSL - The zoo in the late 1800's

Image:©️ZSL - The zoo in the late 1800's.

London Canal Museum@canalmuseum· Apr 15

Did you know that Leonardo da Vinci invented the mitre lock gate? Next time you watch a narrowboat passing through a lock on the Regent's Canal, you're watching a 500-year-old design in action. Happy birthday, Leonardo. Born #OnThisDay in 1452

London Canal Museum@canalmuseum· Apr 14

We love posts like this ❤️ Children from the Regents Park Time Bank joined us recently for one of our Family Fun Days - check out some great pics and a write up in their Easter newsletter - thanks RPTB for visiting and glad you enjoyed! https://f.mtr.cool/xbgotvvtjn