A dozen or so local street names, this one included, were bestowed by St Pancras Vestry as street names were being duplicated. Lyme (as in Lyme Regis) seems to have no local significance; just dreamt up by some Victorian vestryman. But Lyme Terrace seems to suit its name, due to its close proximity to water.

The terrace itself has appeared on maps since the 1840s. It's a lovely, quiet, olde-worlde pedestrian walkway overlooking Regent's Canal, which curves from Camden Road to Royal College Street. According to the Canal and River Trust, Regent's Canal is one of London's best kept secrets. John Nash helped design it. It's certainly a peaceful haven away from the hurly-burly of the capital's busy streets. It was almost turned into railway track with the advent of the railways, which makes it even more precious. On the canalrivertrust.org.uk site, you can watch a video of a canal side walk from Islington to Camden Lock. Some highlights along the way: an insect hotel, a fish shaped seat, Islington Tunnel, London Canal Museum, Granary Square and a floating bookshop called Word on the Water. Apparently there are three locks, and none of them are called Camden Lock! Might be worth putting your hiking boots on and doing the walk for real.

At the north end of the terrace there is an eight-storey 1930s mansion block of 62 flats, built by the A.B.C. Ltd (Aerated Bread Company based in Camden Town on the site of the current Sainsbury's Supermarket). The A.B.C. Ltd was founded by Dr. John Dauglish (1824–1866). At its peak in 1923, the A.B.C. Ltd. had 50 branch shops in London and 250 tea shops. The Camden Town bakery was demolished in 1982 and the only traces of its existence are faded signs above stores.

Dauglish was a scientist who sought to do away with the unhygienic 'time honoured system of kneading dough by the hands and feet of the workman.' Eww! Yuck! Ugh! Ick! He achieved this by forcing carbon dioxide into the dough under pressure to make it rise, doing away with the need for fermentation. In other words, he aerated his bread. His self-service tea shops were the first public places where Victorian women could eat alone, without a chaperone, which made them very happy. This might not seem such an attractive proposition now as eating alone is, well, lonely. Remember that take away pizza you ordered because your cupboards were bare and how you spilt tomato sauce down your front and didn't care because there was no one at home to notice – that sort of lonely. But back then it was a bigger deal than Ronaldo moving from Man U to Real Madrid.

The eight-storey mansion block abuts a gorgeous terrace of elegant period houses of four stories whose front doors are reached over light wells. According to designbuildings.co.uk a light well is, 'an architectural feature that can be used to take natural light into the interior space of a building.' Nice! Talking about light, a row of Victorian street lamps around the crescent ensure that you can always see your way.

At the Junction with Royal College Street, the shop fronted corner building has been converted in recent years to an architect designed luxury home. This has been sold by Camden Bus many times, in a variety of configurations.

All in all, Lyme Terrace is a surprise of light and air, immediately off the busy Camden Road.