I've done the canal ride from Little Venice to Camden Locks. I've also walked the path along that same canal. The boat trip was fine, but I enjoyed the walk more than the ride.

The canal goes through Regent's Park and the Zoo and is very attractive. You can walk along the towpath or there are boats from Little Venice (www.jasons.co.uk) or Camden (www.walkersquay.com); there is also a waterbus service between Camden and Little Venice. It's possible to get the boat one way and walk the other, but the canal goes through a tunnel which doesn't have a towpath - you have to walk through the streets to rejoin the canal.

Geoff?

Has someone blocked the towpath? It's a few months since I last walked it, but although there is a point where the canal goes through a tunnel, the towpath just went through a different underpass. Indeed, from the east end of the Islington tunnel, there was an uninterrupted towpath all the way to Liverpool.

It's not just acacdemic. I'm with Patrick: unless you're unwell, or want to eat on the boat, it's hard to see the advantage of the boat over walking. And walking on this part of the towpath gives you a lot of flexibility - for spending time at the market, for going back through Regent's Park or even (though heaven knows why you'd want to) visiting the zoo.

Actually we've done the walk twice. When we did it a few years ago, I think we had to go around a couple of places, but last year I don't remember leaving the tow path at all (except to go up the hill (Primrose?) for wonderful views of London, and then back down again.

The tunnel without a towpath is the one under the Edgware Road immediately to the east of Little Venice. As you head westwards from Regent's Park, there is a short tunnel which does have a towpath, but the longer tunnel under the Edgware Road does not have a towpath and never has had one. It's easy to walk over the top and there is an excellent large pub whose name I can't remember (Crocker's?). If you walk westwards from Little Venice, I don't think you can get to Liverpool without coming across a tunnel without a towpath, but I've never tried going all the way.

We've done the canal trip from Camden Locks to Little Venice and thoroughly enjoyed it. It's a pleasant way to grab a bit of rest between walking excursions. Perhaps you could time your boat ride to wind up with one of the London Walks tours of Little Venice, a fascinating area to explore.
Have a great trip.