• Old Mayfair - "the best address in London"
  
• The Secrets of Westminster Abbey
  
   
• Darkest Victorian London – "peeling forbidden fruit"
  
  

• Legal & Illegal London – The Inns of Court
   
• The Royal Wedding Unveiled 
   
• The Olympics Walk
   
• The British Museum Tour
• London's Secret Village

• Harry Potter Film Locations in the City
• Old Westminster by Gaslight
   
• The West End Ghost Walk
  
• Jack the Ripper Haunts
  
  

10.30 am on Mondays
from Green ParkTube
(meet on the corner, just outside the north exit)

Now here's a champagne cocktail of a walk. It's a marriage made in heaven: "the best address in London" and a bon vivant of a guide – a boulevardier and a place where Old Masters and old money, Rolls Royces and glamour, titles and butlers are par for the course. It's hob-nobbing with knobs on it – because Mayfair's been home to Admiral Nelson (and his mistress Lady Emma Hamilton), Clive of India, Disraeli, Handel, Florence Nightingale, Peter Sellers, Jimi Hendrix, Dodi Fayed, and the Earl Mountbatten, to name but a few. Last but certainly not least, it boasts London's best village within a village – Shepherd Market, a charming little nest of alleys that hasn't lost a jot of its 18th-century scale and village atmosphere, let alone its raffishness. Here's Graham introducing Shepherd Market. Yup, here's some audio. And double yup – the rich brogue is the real deal. Graham's one of  three Scots on the team! Now, who's for a wee photo essay?

Shepherd Market – and triple yup! It still looks like this.

The Old Mayfair Walk takes place
every Monday at 10.30 am
and every Thursday at 10.30 am.

Meet Graham or Peter or Richard III on the corner just outside
the north exit of Green ParkTube.

Green ParkTube is on
theVictoria, Piccadilly & Jubilee Lines

Guided on Mondays by Graham
Guided on Thursdays by Peter or Richard III

11.30 am on Mondays
from MonumentTube
(meet Jean just outside the Fish Street Hill exit)

Elsewhere is always surprising. Especially when elsewhere is the dark side of the moon: the Victorian underside of 21st century London. And this is how we get there. We poke around in forgotten corners of "the real London" just over the river. We make some thrilling - and chilling - "finds". Everything from trace evidence - archaeological fragments - to the whole kit and caboodle. Stuff from the old, furtive, toil-worn, hard-scrabble, soon-to-be-passing, villainous past: a paupers' burying ground, a ragged school, "model dwellings", a prison, Octavia Hill's cottages, etc. We see the stones. And hear the people. Really hear them. Because they speak through Jean. And she does them in character: chimney sweeps, prostitutes, the soon-to-be-executed "Black Maria", pickpockets, street sellers, the Body Snatching Borough Gang, etc. This is history as a seance. And for added value...at the end of the walk you'll be able to get into the Old Operating Theatre at half price! It's well worth seeing...it's the only Georgian operating theatre in the world!    An audio scene-setter anyone? Click here. Warning: it makes for sobering listening. Now cock an ear this way. And one more... Bottom line: this is a very special walk. Nothing else quite like it in the entire London Walks repertory. Read this if you're in any doubt.

Now who wants a lunch recommendation? Well guess what...you've just drawn to an inside straight. And hit it. Because the best cafe in London is here, in Darkest Victorian London. And it's not just me saying that...take a look at this. And of course what makes the whole thing even more piquant is the secret satisfaction of knowing that of the millions of visitors to London you're the only ones who'll ever find it! And the setting it equally brilliant - it's part of an old tea warehouse!

The Darkest Victorian London Walk takes place
every Monday at 11.30 am.

Meet Jean just outside the main exit -
the Fish Street Hill exit -
of MonumentTube.

MonumentTube is on
the Circle & District Lines 

Guided by Jean

 Complete Cecil Rhodes's famous utterance: "Remember that you are an Englishman and have consequently...

A.  won last prize in the lottery of life."

B.  won first prize in the lottery of life."

C.  one brain cell."

2 pm on Mondays
from HolbornTube

The Inns of Court - habitat of the wigged and gowned English barrister - could pass for a collection of Oxford and Cambridge colleges right in the heart of London. They are a warren of cloisters, courtyards, and passageways set amongst some of the best gardens in London. So: ancient rites and customs, high drama, colourful characters, and matters of life and death amid delightful surroundings. It's a rich confection, making this the prettiest and most historical of our central London walks.

  And as long as we're at it, why not hear from the man himself -  Shaughan - who guides the walk. Here's what he has to say about it: "I like this one - quiet gardens, a truly eclectic architectural rattle-bag, and a glorious roll-call of British eccentrics. The Wits, the Windbags and Wayward Wigs - The cream of English Intellect milking the nation as it battles over Wives, Writs, Wills Widows and Wrecks. Find out what happened when Tony met Cherie! Meet Rumpole! And as these are private grounds - a real privilege to be able to show you round, m'lud. And hear the verdict at the end in the High Court...."

And literally hear from him here. In short, here's a soundbite.

And here's another. What's particularly striking about these - apart from the calibre of the guiding, I mean - is the ambient sound. The background. It's tranquility itself. Particularly if you compare it with the soundbites from a lot of the other walks. It's a different soundscape entirely from the London we're hearing on most of the other walks. There's just no traffic at all. Shaughan's the maestro and here we're getting him in the outdoor equivalent of a concert hall. Can't be bad.

The Inns of Court Walk takes place:
every Monday at 2 pm,
every Wednesday at 11 am,
and every Friday at 2 pm.

Meet your guide just outside the exit of
HolbornTube.

HolbornTube is on
theCentral & Piccadilly Lines

Guided on Mondays by Shaughan
Guided on Wednesdays by Molly
Guided on Fridays by Gillian or Angela

2.15 pm on Mondays
from HolbornTube

The British Museum is the big one...the most important museum on the planet. It's an incomparably rich treasure-chest, brimming with things of world historical importance. The Rosetta Stone, the Egyptian antiquities and mummies, the Assyrian lion-hunt reliefs, the Parthenon Sculptures, the Black Obelisk, the Enlightenment Gallery, 4,500-year-old "Ginger" (the "pre-dynastic" red head!), the Sutton Hoo treasure, the Portland Vase, Roman gold, Celtic gold, ivories and enamels, tiles and pottery, an astonishing display of instruments for measuring time...here is civilisation, manifest. Here the past turns on its pivots to face the 21st century. The snag is that you can't see for looking...both because of the embarrassment of riches and the sheer size of the place (the building covers 13.5 acres - set off in the wrong direction and you have to walk three times too far). Indeed, how you see it is almost as important as what you see. "The best commentary on the revolution of Greek art and the quality of its achievement is...simply to come direct to the Elgin room from the Egyptian and Assyrian ones, as if into an explosion of life, even, as in the frieze, of gaiety." Which is by way of saying, to see these things with a great guide...well, you'll never be quite the same again. In short, the secret is to use your time at the British Museum well. Words, stills, audio... That all? Not quite. In short, here's the "film of the walk". Enjoy!

Okay, time to take the gloves off with this one. GO ON THIS WALK. Coleridge once said that watching Kean act was like reading Shakespeare by lightning. This walk has that kind of ampage.I'll go further: it's the only London Walk that's got that kind of ampage. These artefacts - and a great guide - it's the Everest - the summit - of this activity, this profession, this pursuit. It all comes together here - History, Art, Western Civilisation (and its counterparts). Who we are - and why we are what we are. It's more than heady - it's thrilling. Here's an example. It's Brian, shedding incandescent light on the Parthenon.(If you thought those were just some old Greek statues - of no moment, really, nothing to do with our modern age - well, these 90 seconds will have you mopping your brow.) And this is just his introduction! For a chaser, try this. Enjoy. N.B. this walk is a moveable feast - a diadem of delights, an amazing technicolour dream-coast. In short, every stop is cause for wonder. So come on back when you get a chance, there'll be more to sample here from time to time.

The British Museum Tour takes place:
every Monday at 2.15 pm
every Wednesday at 2 pm
and every Saturday at 2 pm

Meet your guide just outside
the exit of HolbornTube

HolbornTube is on
theCentral & Piccadilly Lines

Guided on Mondays by Tom or Chris or Hilary 
Guided on Wednesdays by Molly
Guided on Saturdays by Karen

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2.30 pm on Mondays
from St. Paul'sTube, exit 2

The ancient, hidden village of Clerkenwell clings to a hillside barely a stone's throw away from St. Paul's Cathedral. Its very name - the clerks", or students", spring - is redolent of antiquity; and indeed this tiny hamlet serves up brimming draughts from the deep well of its history. Mystery plays and plague pits; riots and rookeries; bodysnatching and bombing; jousting and jesters; bloodshed and burnings; monks, murder, and medicine: Clerkenwell has a tale or two to tell. Tracing its narrow alleyways and ancient squares, we take in here a Norman church; there a magnificent Tudor gateway; round that corner venerable Charterhouse, London's only surviving mediaeval monastic complex; let alone Hercule Poirot's London flat and the trendiest house in town. But don't just take it from us...dip into these two paragraphs if you're in any doubt.

The "London's Secret Village" Walk takes place
every* Monday afternoon at 2.30 pm.

Meet Jean just outside exit 2 of St. Paul'sTube.

St. Paul'sTube is on theCentral Line

Guided by Jean

7 pm on Mondays
from WestminsterTube, exit 4

This is the cornerstone, the seminal London Walk. Miss it and you've missed London. For Old Westminster is London at its grandest: the place where kings and queens are crowned, where they lived, and often were buried. It's the forge of the national destiny, the beating heart of the Empire, the Mecca of politicians throughout the ages. The past here is cast in stone and we take it all in: ancient Westminster Hall, the Houses of Parliament, the Jewel Tower, and Westminster Abbey. And to see it with a great guide is to have that past suddenly rise to the surface...like seeing a photographic print come up in a darkroom. And embarrass de richesse we'll also explore the private face of Westminster. Unlike the tourist hordes we'll get to see the hidden and ever so picturesque 18th-century backstreets where all the political salons are. Totally off the beaten track, it's the London equivalent of Georgetown. And then some. Because not only do we take in, for example, the house where the anti-appeasement got started...but - for an aperatif - you'll also see a house where Marilyn Monroe spent the night! In short, welcome to one of those secret neighbourhoods that London excels in. And for that matter, there's no better time to discover "Old Westminster" because the swarms of tourists are long gone...we'll have it to ourselves and so be able to see it properly. It just doesn't get any better than this. But how could it, considering that we'll also nip over the bridge to take in the most famous night-time view in Europe: the view across the river to the Houses of Parliament. All towers and spikes and serried windows and bathed in golden light. And Big Ben like a sentinel, booming out the hour. And garlands of Victorian lamps along the Embankment. And dark patches that suggest the old and mighty consequence of the place...well, you get the idea. 

 

Garnish with some fascinating nooks and crannies, a secret mediaeval palace and a couple of quick pit stops at traditional old pubs frequented by Members of Parliament and you've got a great walk...it'll glow in the cockles of your memory for a long, long time. And how's this for a bonus: when Parliament is in session late night sittings are the norm on Monday nights - in short, on most Monday nights after the walk you'll be able to go inside Parliament and watch the House of Commons (or if you prefer, the House of Lords*) in action. And what's more, you won't have to queue to get in!

Meet Angela just outside exit 4 of 
WestminsterTube.

WestminsterTube is on
the Circle,  District & Jubilee Lines

Guided by Angela 

7.30 pm on Mondays
from EmbankmentTube, river exit

And, hugely important this, it's got a superb guide named Peter G. Hugely important because a Ghost Walk only works if you've got a guide who can bring it off, who's pitch perfect. Which is why we front our Ghost Walks with actors. Timing, presence, the great voice, audience awareness – the "tolerances" on those counts are ever so fine on a ghost walk. Joe Bloggs who thinks that "talking in a scary voice" is how you do it doesn't cut it. It takes a very very special guide to thread the ghost walk needle. Peter G. is that guide.

Update: we're often asked, "what will we see on this (or that) walk?" By way of a fun partial answer, here's a peek.

every Monday evening at 7.30 pm.

Meet Peter just outside the river exit of
EmbankmentTube.

EmbankmentTube is on
theCircle, Bakerloo, District & Northern Lines

Guided by Peter

7.30 pm nightly*
from Tower HillTube

He came silently out of the midnight shadows of August 31, 1888. Watching. Stalking. Butchering raddled, drink-sodden East End prostitutes. Leaving a trail of blood that led...nowhere. Yes, something wicked this way walked, for this is the Ripper's slashing grounds. We evoke that autumn of gaslight and fog, of menacing shadows and stealthy footsteps as we inspect the murder sites, sift through the evidence - in all its gory detail - and get to grips, so to speak, with the main suspects. Afterward you can steady your nerves in The Ten Bells, the pub where the victims - perhaps under the steely gaze of the Ripper himself - tried to forget the waking nightmare. More... And if you'd like a bang-up-to-date independent assessment of our Ripper walk - "an eerie experience" - here are some choice words from the Toronto Star.  Now anyone for some audio? Want to hear the man who is "internationally recognised as the leading authority on Jack the Ripper" in action? I thought so. Click here. And here. And for some stills of the walk and the neighbourhood, click here (Don's the chap wearing the fedora and red scarf and clutching the London Walks leaflets).

 

The Jack the Ripper Haunts Walk takes place
every* single night at 7.30 pm.

Meet the guide just outside the exit of
Tower HillTube.

Tower HillTube is on
the Circle & District Lines  

N.B. on Saturday afternoons there's also a Ripper "matinee".
I.E., we also do the Ripper walk
every* Saturday afternoon at 3 pm.

*Except Dec. 24 & Dec. 25

Guided on Mondays and Tuesdays by Donald and Molly
Guided on Wednesdays by Steve
Guided on Thursdays by Angela and Shaughan
Guided on Fridays by Donald or Shaughan
Guided on Saturdays by Steve
Guided on Sundays by Donald

N.B. Let's call a spade a spade. Going on Donald Rumbelow's walk is as close as you're going to get to nailing the Ripper. Donald is the author of the best-selling The Complete Jack the Ripper, the definitive book on the subject. He's been the chief consultant for every major television and film treatment of the Ripper for the last 20 years. In the words of The Jack to Ripper A to Z (the bible of Ripperology studies): "Donald Rumbelow is internationally recognised as the leading authority on the subject". The former Curator of the City of London Police Crime Museum and a two-time Chairman of the Crime Writers" Association, Donald is Britain's most distinguished crime historian. And I hasten add, he's not some dry-as-dust academic. He spent 25 years on the City of London Police Force - which in effect means you'll be taken over some of the most famous crime scenes in the world by a law enforcement professional. A law enforcement professional who into the bargain is the world's leading expert on the five murders in question. Can't be bad! Oh and I almost forgot - Donald's also a top drawer, professionally qualified Blue Badge Guide!

But a word of warning: never part with your money or set off with anyone until you're absolutely certain you're with Donald or - if it's another night - one of his London Walks colleagues. Donald (and co.) will be holding up copies of the distinctive white London Walks leaflet.* And remember, Donald and his colleagues never ever start the Jack the Ripper walk before 7.30 pm. In short, don't let anyone pull a fast one on you. In the words of the Toronto Star: "rip-off tours...capitalize on his[Rumbelow's] popularity and try to confuse people who show up knowing that this is the place for Ripper Tours, but haven't got the details straight."

* Which looks like this:

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