Coal Drops Yard

North London


The latest part of post-industrial King's Cross to be regenerated is this double-level shopping and eating arcade, curving its way along the Regent's Canal, just west of Granary Sq. Beautifully restored buildings from the 1850s used to transfer coal from rail wagons to road carts (and, later, ’80s raves) are now home to independent clothing outlets, a range of restaurants and bars, and changing art installations.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby North London attractions

1. Gasholder Park

0.07 MILES

Part of the impressive redevelopment of the King's Cross area, this urban green space on Regent's Canal is a masterpiece of regeneration. The cast iron…

2. Camley Street Natural Park

0.09 MILES

A tiny nature reserve sounds like an unlikely find in such an urban part of London, and yet Camley Street truly is wild, cramming three different habitats…

3. Granary Square

0.09 MILES

Positioned on a sharp bend in the Regent's Canal north of King's Cross Station, Granary Sq is at the heart of a major redevelopment of a 27-hectare…

4. House of Illustration

0.13 MILES

This charity-run gallery founded by the legendary Sir Quentin Blake (famed as the illustrator of Roald Dahl's books) is the UK's sole public gallery…

5. London Canal Museum

0.32 MILES

This little museum on the Regent's Canal traces the history and everyday life of families living and working on London's impressively long and historic…

6. King's Cross Station

0.34 MILES

With its clean lines and the simple arches of its twin train sheds, you might be forgiven for thinking that King's Cross is a more modern building than…

7. St Pancras Station & Hotel

0.45 MILES

Looking at the jaw-dropping Gothic splendour of St Pancras (1868), it's hard to believe that the Midland Grand Hotel languished empty for decades and even…

8. British Library

0.51 MILES

Consisting of low-slung red-brick terraces and fronted by a large piazza with an oversized statue of Sir Isaac Newton, Colin St John Wilson’s British…