London/Camden

Camden is an inner northern district of London. Its heart lies in Camden Town, a neighbourhood known for its market and the colourful nightlife. Camden is home to three of the most important railway stations in London: King's Cross, St. Pancras and Euston.

Understand
For half a century Camden Town, the centre of Camden, has been the hub of alternative culture in London, be it punk, goth, hippie or emo. The area is home to large markets selling an extremely wide range of products from glowing t-shirts to didgeridoos, mostly from independent stalls. With some of the capital's most varied cuisine, great live music and an anything goes attitude, Camden is one of the most vibrant and interesting of all London districts.

The area has its origins in the early 19th century as a suburban town on the road leading north from London. Later, it developed as a service centre around the railways, canals and other transportation. Virtually the whole of Camden was traditionally a working-class, inner-city area with large estates of run-down public housing and some very seedy areas indeed. Inevitably though given its convenient inner London location, considerable gentrification has occurred across the district. Nevertheless, a friendly community atmosphere remains in the area which has bred such different people as singer Amy Winehouse and Labour politician Ed Miliband.

Orientation
The district of Camden, as covered here, is larger than Camden Town and smaller than the London Borough of Camden. This is for the sake of usefulness: the former is a rather small historic area and the latter simply an administrative unit, but don't be surprised by seeing contradictory uses of the term "Camden". As the term is used here, the Camden district roughly corresponds with the northern half of the Metropolitan Borough of St. Pancras, which existed until 1965.

Three of the main London railway stations are located in the south of the district. They are all along Euston Road, which is a part of the ring road around inner London. King's Cross and St. Pancras International are just across the street from each other (they're served by a single tube station), and slightly further to the west is Euston. A number of important main roads also converge in or around Camden.

For the traveller, it may be useful to divide the district of Camden into four areas. In the centre is Camden Town, with Camden High Street and Chalk Farm Road as its main thoroughfare. The Northern Line underground runs through this area and it's where most locations of interest are to be found. To the southwest of Camden Town is Euston, with its eponymous railway station but little else apart from office blocks and council housing. To the southeast is an area known as King's Cross, which contains the King's Cross and St. Pancras International railway stations. The King's Cross area used to be known for prostitution, drugs and crime, but today most of the area is being redeveloped and has become a lot more up-market. Finally, northeast of Camden Town is Kentish Town, linked to the rest of Camden by Kentish Town Road which branches out from Camden High Street. This is an interesting area, in some ways Camden Town's smaller sibling, it's quieter than its neighbour to the south but has many of the same characteristics.

By tube
The district is served by the following tube stations in fare zones 1 and 2, all are served by the Northern line:
 * Euston (Zone 1)
 * Euston Square ( (Zone 1)
 * King's Cross/St. Pancras (Zone 1)
 * Mornington Crescent (Zone 2)
 * Camden Town (Zone 2)
 * Chalk Farm (Zone 2)
 * Kentish Town (Zone 2)

Mornington Crescent and Camden Town stations are situated at either end of Camden High Street, whilst Chalk Farm is also near the Roundhouse and Camden Market. During busy periods (such as at weekends) Camden Town can be very crowded, and is an exit-only station on Sundays 1PM-5:30PM. Use Mornington Crescent or Chalk Farm for departures.

The Northern, Piccadilly and Victoria lines are part of the "Night Tube," with trains running overnight on Fridays and Saturdays.

By bus
Getting to Camden by bus is easy from almost anywhere in North or Inner London, with major bus stops near:


 * King's Cross station
 * Euston station
 * Camden High Street and Chalk Farm
 * Kentish Town

At night, routes N5 and N20 roughly follow the same route as the Northern line, and can be used as an alternative to the London Underground when the service is closed.

By Overground
Camden is connected to the London Overground by two stations on the Mildmay line (North London Line) from Richmond to Stratford and one on the Lioness line (Watford DC Line) from London Euston to Watford Junction.

This is most useful if arriving in Camden from either East or West London, as most other options from those areas require going into the centre and then back out to Camden.



By rail
Camden is served by three major train stations: Euston, St. Pancras International and King's Cross. All three train stations can be reached directly by the London Underground's Northern and Victoria lines.

London Euston
Euston is served by:
 * London Overground has 4 trains per hour from Watford Junction via Willesden Junction on the Lioness line (formerly the Watford DC line).
 * Avanti West Coast daytime trains from Scotland and Northwest England
 * from Glasgow via Carlisle, Preston and Crewe
 * from Edinburgh or Glasgow via Birmingham
 * from Manchester Piccadilly via Rugby
 * Caledonian Sleeper overnight trains from Scotland (departing each Sunday to Friday):
 * Highland sleeper from Aberdeen via Kirkcaldy and Dundee, Fort William via Dalmuir, and Inverness via Stirling and Perth
 * Lowland sleeper from Glasgow Central and Edinburgh Waverley via Carlisle
 * London Northwestern Railway from Birmingham, Stoke-on-Trent, Stafford, Northampton, Tring and Milton Keynes.

London St. Pancras International
St. Pancras International is served by:
 * trains from the East Midlands (Bedford, Derby, Leicester, Nottingham, Sheffield)
 * trains from Kent (Canterbury, Ashford International, Margate)
 * Thameslink trains from Gatwick Airport and Luton Airport, Cambridge, Peterborough, South London and Brighton
 * Eurostar services from Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and destinations in Mainland Europe

London King's Cross

 * London North Eastern Railway has services to Edinburgh, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, York, Lincoln and West Yorkshire.
 * Great Northern services to Cambridge, extended to Ely or King's Lynn.
 * Thameslink services to Cambridge.
 * Hull Trains services to Kingston-upon-Hull and limited weekday service to Beverly.

There are also trains to Doncaster, Leeds, Bradford, Middlesbrough, Sunderland, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Inverness.

Other stations
There is also a station at served by Thameslink trains from Luton Airport, destinations in Central London, South London and Hertfordshire.

By bicycle
Getting to Camden Town by bike is easy.


 * From the Southbank, Blackfriars or Bloomsbury, cyclists can follow the predominantly traffic-free . The route is signposted towards Camden Town and Kentish Town, with both destinations approximately 20 minutes' cycle from Bloomsbury.
 * From King's Cross, the is a traffic-free cycle route to the Kentish Town and Camden Locks. The path is shared with pedestrians, so from King's Cross, it takes about 10 minutes to cycle to Camden Market.
 * From Maida Vale and Primrose Hill, the runs traffic-free to the Camden and Kentish Town Locks. The path is shared with pedestrians, but from Primrose Hill, it only takes around 5 minutes to cycle to Camden Market.

Bicycle parking can be found on Parkway (opp. Caffè Nero) and Camden Road (outside the World's End pub).

Cycle Hire
Santander Cycles can be used in the Camden Town area. You can dock your bike at several locations, including at:


 * Camden Road station
 * Hawley Crescent (opp. Camden Market)
 * Greenland Road (opp. Camden Town station)
 * Harrington Square (opp. Mornington Crescent station)

There are no docking stations in Kentish Town, but other bike-sharing schemes extend across the whole district, including Jump and Lime.

See




Do

 * See also Clubs and Music venues

There are several nice walks along the canal, but the main focus of Camden is the shops, restaurants and nightlife.



Camden Town markets
The markets in Camden Town are why most people come to Camden. Several markets are packed into the area between Camden Town and Chalk Farm tube stations, and in the weekend it can be difficult to distinguish one from another. With increased tourism, the markets have become more commercial and less unique than they once were. However it is still possible to find some great things to buy - clothes, art, books, records - simply by persisting through the most commercial bits and going on through to the more interesting parts deeper inside the markets.



Shops
In addition to the markets, there are a large number of interesting shops dotted all around the area.

Take a long slow wander down Chalk Farm Road (it will need to be slow, the sheer number of people makes walking quickly impossible!), checking out the amazing collection of boots and leather that dominate it. Of special note are:



Eat
Camden has some of the most varied cuisine in all of London. A key part of Camden's food scene are the many stalls offering quick and tasty food from every country possible. Quality varies, but generally it is good and cheap. Stalls tend to be in and around the Lock and Stables markets, but they appear everywhere. A perennial favourite has been the donut and cake stall located next to the bridge, as have the many Chinese and Thai stalls nearby. Camden also contains a large number of more formal restaurants, many of which are relatively inexpensive and open after the stalls have closed.



Drink
Camden has a great nightlife, with lots of cool bars, pubs, clubs and restaurants.

Stay safe
Camden has long had strong associations with drugs, in particular cannabis (weed) and magic mushrooms. Even during daylight, you are likely to be offered weed or hashish. These dealers will usually accept no for an answer. Remember that these drugs are still illegal, streetside dealers are not to be trusted and often just steal your money if you look interested. Also, there are many undercover police around to catch you.

Walking around Camden at night is generally fine, but gangs of youths can seem threatening, and best avoided if alone. At night walking on well-lit streets, such as Camden High Street, is a good idea but take a taxi if you are feeling insecure.

Fake goods are found in abundance in Camden. Most of the time it's fairly obvious (Bolex watches, etc.), but be careful when purchasing - refunds are not common. Fake DVDs are mostly terrible quality.

Go next
Three very good parks are within walking distance of Camden:
 * Regent's Park lies along Camden's western edge, a beautifully planned garden where you can get away from the fast pace of London life.
 * Primrose Hill, immediately to the north of Regent's Park, is easily within walking distance of Camden and has the best views over London.
 * Hampstead Heath is less than away from the heart of Camden Town, or just a few tube stops away.

For shopping, Tottenham Court Rd with its famed electronics stores lies south out of Camden, close to Euston. At the other end of Tottenham Court Road is Oxford Street.

Looking further afield, from St. Pancras International you can catch the Eurostar for Paris, Lille or Brussels.