The Basin, on foot
The quarter.
The Basin keeps its own hours — coffee at seven, water all day, music some evenings. Everything below is measured from the gatehouse door.
1
min
The Long Towpath
Green
Four miles of level water walking, starting at the wharf gate. Supervised by herons.
3
min
Ropewalk Coffee
Coffee & food
A hatch in a boatshed wall. Two options on the board, both of them correct.
4
min
Basin Wharf stop
Transit
Trams every six minutes; eleven minutes door to door into the centre.
5
min
Gauge Street Bakery
Coffee & food
Sourdough by eight, gone by eleven. The queue is part of the neighbourhood.
6
min
The Dredger
Coffee & food
A canal pub since 1888. The brewery’s money went on the cellar, not the signage.
6
min
The Boilerhouse
Culture
A gallery in the old pumping house. Shows change quarterly; opinions change faster.
7
min
Ballast Green
Green
A pocket park on made ground. The ballast is real; it arrived by barge.
9
min
The Tramshed
Culture
Music most nights, folk to techno, with the acoustics of a shed — which is to say, excellent.