THE LONDON WALK - Westminster & the West End
LS Walter - Washington, DC / Bangkok, Thailand
December 2009
The giant throng (it seemed to be at least 30 people) who took this tour on 18 November, 2009, were lucky indeed. The Queen presided over the start of the new session of Parliament that morning, and we all benefitted from Tom's inside scoop on the best places to observe her going to the Palace of Westminster, and then as she returned to Buckingham Palace. Somehow Tom managed to project his voice through the wind and drizzle so that even when my friend and I were stuck at the back of the group, we could still hear what he said. While the Queen sightings meant this was an atypical tour (I suspect we would have covered somewhat different ground on a 'normal' tour), Tom offered loads of historical and royal protocol information, as well as many funny anecdotes, as he led us around. I still can't get over that he knew exactly where we should go to get up-close, unobstructed views of the Queen's entourage processing by. It was the best-kept secret of the day, while thousands of non-London Walks tourists crammed themselves cheek-by-jowl onto the pavements near the Palace of Westminster, straining to see a glimpse of Her Majesty's carriage, our group had enough space that everyone could line up directly along the kerb to wave at the royals -- and see some of them waving back! (That Princess Anne was especially obliging with waves! LOL) It was a very fun, exciting, educational morning. I've attached a photo of Princess Anne in her coach, but I didn't get to snap her mid-wave. My photo of her mum turned out blurry, however, because my camera-holding hand impulsively waved at the monarch as she glided by.
Patricia Carvalho - Rio de Janeiro - Brazil
May 2007
This walk joins pleasure and necessity. It includes many of the "must see" sights with fantastic stories and inside info. Tom was superb! He was great fun, included all the "walkers" in the jokes and I´m sure everyone had a great time. I really did!