Somers Town

Photo of a partially demolished building hidden behind boards plastered with posters. Photo of a partially demolished building hidden behind boards plastered with posters.
Photo by me, perhaps an unfair representation.

Somers Town has had a rough time: Initially a dumping ground, then sandwiched between competing railway companies and even now disrupted by Euston’s HS2 redevelopment.

It is little wonder that it has a rather murky reputation, being somewhere most only see briefly on the walk from Euston to St Pancras.

I found it to be a refreshing antidote to the extreme gentrification of Kings Cross. It’s nice to finally visit an area where people actually live, and there’s a bit of a countercultural feel.

Things to do

Photo of the courtyard of the British Library showing a modernist clocktower in the background.
Photo by me. There's an Origin Coffee kiosk here!

British Library

While the British Library is mostly, well, a library, replete with reading rooms and quiet researchers there are frequent events for the general public.

The permanent exhibition - Treasures - lets you see famous manuscripts from throughout history, from the Magna Carta to lyrics from The Beatles.

Free - Paid exhibitions

www.bl.uk
Photo of the Francis Crick Institute, a huge modern building. Parts of it are out of frame.
Photo by me, I tried but couldn't fit it all in frame. :(

Francis Crick Institute

A collaboration between several universities and pharmaceutical companies, the Francis Crick Institute is a huge set of research laboratories.

Most of it is off limits to the public but there’s a smallish area around the cafe at the front of the building that hosts free exhibitions.

Free

www.crick.ac.uk
A corner of the People's Museum, with an arm chair, furniture and all kinds of other exhibits.
Photo by me, a magnificent collection of clutter.

People's Museum

The People’s Museum tells the story of Somers Town through a detailed timeline, a display of activist posters and a number of exhibits retrieved from past & present housing.

I found it completely fascinating. The space is a former shop so it is only small, but I left with a much greater appreciation for the area.

Free - donations encouraged

aspaceforus.club

Parks

A picture of a meadow in the park with long grass and reeds, with an information sign in the foreground. A picture of a meadow in the park with long grass and reeds, with an information sign in the foreground.
Photo by me, on a literally freezing November day.

Camley Street Natural Park

Camley Street Natural Park is located east of Somers Town, beside the Regent’s Canal. The area was the site of the notorious Agar Town swept away by the railways in the 1860s.

It is a nature reserve and haven for wildlife, within moments of entering I was joined by a Great Tit (stop laughing at the back) and there’s an enormous variety of plants to see growing amongst the ponds.

www.wildlondon.org.uk
St Pancras Old Church, framed by trees with autumn leaves covering the ground. St Pancras Old Church, framed by trees with autumn leaves covering the ground.
Photo by me. Such framing! Such colours!

St Pancras Gardens

St Pancras Gardens comprises the churchyard of St Pancras Old Church and a former burial ground once used by St Giles-in-the-Fields.

The Midland Main Line scythed through the area in the 1860s and a number of graves were moved under the supervision of Thomas Hardy.

The resulting Hardy Tree, surrounded by gravestones, sadly fell in 2022 but there’s the tomb of Sir John Soane and an elaborate sundial commemorating Baroness Burdett-Coutts to see.

cindex.camden.gov.uk