THE SATURDAY DAY TRIP FROM LONDON |
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THE SATURDAY MORNING LONDON WALKS |
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THE SATURDAY AFTERNOON LONDON WALKS |
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THE SATURDAY EVENING LONDON WALKS |
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SPECIAL LONDON WALKS ON SELECTED SATURDAYS |
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THE SATURDAY DAY TRIP FROM LONDON Away We Go! |
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10.30 am on Saturdays
from Embankment Tube |
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What a wonderful goulash of a walk this is. It gets you into streets that you'd never find off your own bat - streets that look like an old movie shot through a vaselined lens. Into a neighbourhood that precious few Londoners have seen, let alone visitors. It's a thrilling discovery - the real deal. There's no better sense of place in London - and no finer architectural effect. Yellow brick, perfectly preserved, all unselfconscious self-respect, real Cockney - unaltered Dickensian London. And the miracle is that it's still there, embedded in central London - screwed in to the big city. That discovery alone makes this one of those bewitching "somewhere else" London Walks. And getting there is a bit of all right too - because there's a dramatic river crossing, a high octane stroll along the Thames (here's a preview), the world's foremost arts complex, London's best loved old theatre, a real London street market (instead of a tourist trap), a stunning bird's eye view of the capital (and there's a lift, so we won't have to climb hundreds of stairs!), and buckets of character.  Here's Adam reading from his chapter on Somewhere Else London in our book, London Walks, London Stories. And here's a "grab" from the walk itself. And here's a little photo-essay.
The "Somewhere Else" London Walk takes place
every Saturday at 10.30 am
and every Tuesday at 2 pm
Meet Adam or Stephanie just outside the exit of EmbankmentTube
(they're normally outside the exit that leads out towards the Thames).
EmbankmentTube is on
theCircle, Bakerloo, District & Northern Lines
 Guided by Adam or Stephanie
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DOCKLANDS Cobblestones, Quaysides & Cloud-capped Towers
10.30 am on the first Saturday of every month
from Canary Wharf Tube, main exit* (Click here for a photo)
(N.B. when Canary Wharf Tube is closed take the DLR (Docklands Light Railway) to Heron Quays (a DLR station). It's a very short walk from Heron Quays to the Canary Wharf Juibilee Line exit. Heron Quays is in fact closer to the Canary Wharf Jubilee Line station than the Canary Wharf DLR station is. And it's all clearly signposted.)
And so we come to the most extraordinary letter in London's alphabet.First, the bass note: the river. Down here the Thames is broad-shouldered, easy and big. There's a salt tang in the air. And gulls. And cat-o'-nine-tails winds. Haunted winds that whisper of tall ships and swollen sails and spices and silks and rum. And then make good on that promise when they Zephyr us round corners into a pungent past of centuries-old sugar warehouses and ships workshops and the Dockmaster's House. So, yes, like the river, time bends here. And flows. Flows backward. And then, round other corners, ricochets into the fireworks of a futuristic London. Because this is Wall Street on Water - a place where cutting-edge, 21st century power and energy are made visible and tangible.A place where this time-honoured city is re-inventing itself. Spectacularly. In short, if you like walks that have Surprise Me written all over them...well, you just turned up trumps. And a bonus...we'll end at the new, not-to-be-missed River Thames & Docklands Museum.
 The Docklands Walk only takes place
on the first Saturday of every month.
just outside the main Jubilee Line exit –
NOT the East exit – of Canary WharfTube.
Here's a photo of the main exit.
N.B., a 2-Zone Travel Card (or Oyster Card) is a good idea, because we take a couple of short journeys on the DLR. And in any case you'll be able to use it for your initial journey to Canary Wharf Tube for the start of the walk; and use it for your return journey at walk's end; and indeed use it for the rest of the day. Bottom line: you'll save yourself some dosh if you're a card-carrying London Walker!
Canary WharfTube is on
the Jubilee Line
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NOTTING HILL & PORTOBELLO MARKET |
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Many a beau without a shilling,
Many a widow not unwilling;
Many a bargain, if you strike it:
This is London! How d'ye like it?
John Bancks, "A Description Of London"
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FROM THE REPERTORY - The 10.45 am Saturday Tour du Jour! The 10.45 am Saturday Tour du Jour!
The walk in this time slot changes weekly.
For details see the following list.
| DATE |
WALK |
TUBE STOP |
| Feb. 4 |
Secrets of the City The Mad, Bad & Dangerous to Know |
MoorgateTube |
| Feb. 11 |
The Boy in the Blacking Warehouse Charles Dickens' Childhood – The Bi-Centenary Walk |
EmbankmentTube |
| Feb. 18 |
"Paradise Merton" Hall, Gardens, Farm, Mill & Riverside |
MordenTube |
| Feb. 18 |
Revolting London Rebels, Radicals & the Red Flag |
Chancery LaneTube exit 3 |
| Feb. 25 |
Rat's Castle to Midtown Sordid Past to Sort of Post |
HolbornTube |
| Mar. 3 |
The Archaeology of London Guided by a distinguished Archaeologist! |
St. Paul'sTube exit 2 |
| Mar. 3 |
Foodies' London The West End |
Green ParkTube Green Park exit |
| Mar. 10 |
Paved with Gold "Some of the richest, wickedest, let alone the oddest of London" |
Sloane SquareTube |
| Mar. 17 |
Publish & Be Damned The Street of Shame's Inky Secrets (Journalist Guided!) |
TempleTube |
| Mar. 24 |
South Kensington Albertopolis, Alcazar & Alcoves in SW7 |
South KensingtonTube |
| Mar. 24 |
Epicurean, Gourmets', Foodies' London |
MonumentTube Fish Street Hill exit |
| Mar. 31 |
In Winston Churchill's Footsteps "The Verdict of History" |
EmbankmentTube |
| Apr. 7 |
Brick Lane Mecca of the East |
Aldgate EastTube |
| Apr. 14 |
Strand on the Green "London's last remaining true village" |
GunnersburyTube Grange Road exit |
| Apr. 21 |
Mediaeval London |
Tower HillTube |
| Apr. 28 |
Suited & Booted A History of Men's Fashion |
Piccadilly CircusTube meet by the Eros statue |
| May 5 |
Foodies' London The West End |
Green ParkTube Green Park exit |
| May 12 |
Publish & Be Damned The Street of Shame's Inky Secrets (Journalist Guided!) |
TempleTube |
| May 19 |
Bethnal Green The "Lost Village" in London's Backyard |
Bathnal GreenTube Museum of Childhood exit |
| May 26 |
Epicurean, Gourmets', Foodies' London |
MonumentTube Fish Street Hill exit |
| June 23 |
Suited & Booted A History of Men's Fashion |
Piccadilly CircusTube meet by the Eros statue |
| Oct. 13 |
In Winston Churchill's Footsteps London's Finest Hour
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EmbankmentTube |
| Oct. 20 |
TBÅ |
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OLD WESTMINSTER - 1,000 Years of History
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11 am on Saturdays
from WestminsterTube, exit 4
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This is the cornerstone, the great 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 place where the heart of the Empire beat, 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. It doesn't get any better than this.
And embarras de richesse, we'll also explore the private face of Westminster - the London equivalent of Georgetown! Unlike the tourist hordes, we'll get to see the hidden and ever so picturesque Georgian back streets where all the political salons are! We end at the Cabinet War Rooms, the fortified bunker that housed Winston Churchill's centre of operations during the war. You'll get a brilliant discount on the price of admission if you want to visit the War Rooms.
And fancy a listen? Here's Karen doing her high wire act across the mid-17th century. And some more? Click here. It's the opening of the Secret Westminster chapter in our book, London Walks London Stories. A chapter that was inspired by – and draws on – this walk. N.B., the little film is a primer about London Walks in general. But it's a primer that focuses on this walk – and featues Karen – winner of the London Tourist Board's Guide of the Year Award!
The Old Westminster Walk takes place:
every Saturday at 11 am;
every Sunday at 2.45 pm;
every Tuesday at 2 pm;
and every Thursday at 2 pm.
Meet your guide just outside
exit 4 of WestminsterTube.
WestminsterTube is on
theCircle, District & Jubilee Lines
Guided on Saturdays by Karen
Guided on Sundays by Graham
Guided on Tuesdays by Judy
Guided on Thursdays by Shaughan or David
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THE LONDON OF OSCAR WILDE 11 am on Saturdays
from Green ParkTube
(meet outside the north exit, on the corner)
The 1890s. Gaslit streets. The rattle of hansom cabs. The silvery laughter of stagedoor Johnnies and chorus girls. The London of Whistler, Beardsley, Shaw, Lillie Langtry, and Gilbert & Sullivan. Above all, though, the London of Oscar Wilde. Oscar - of all writers, the best company. Oscar - at the height of his fame as dramatist and wit, amusing and outraging Victorian society by turns. Oscar - refulgent, majestic, ready to fall. And fall he did. His life came crashing down...mired in scandal and broken in three of the most celebrated trials of all time. We follow in Oscar's footsteps...tracing his triumph and tragedy in the very places where the drama unfolded, bringing to an end the Naughty Nineties. One of those "very places" Alan's talking about right here, in this bit of audio.
And while we're at it, why not hear from a walker? (Indeed, I learned a few things about the walk myself from reading her "review").
The London of Oscar Wilde Walk takes place
every Saturday morning at 11 am
Meet Alan just outside Green Park Tube
(outside the north exit, on the corner).
Green Park Tube is on
the Victoria, Jubilee & Piccadilly Lines
Guided by Alan (who will be attired as Mr.Wilde himself, green carnation and all!)
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OLD CAMDEN TOWN Catacombs, Canals & Cafes11 am on Saturdays
from Camden TownTube
Camden Town is the London smorgesbord par excellence. A place where the past melts imperceptibly into the post-modern. A place of canals, cafes, cobblestones, Catacombs, craftsmen's studios, street cred, NW1 literati, Industrial Age iron and brick, leafy terraces and crescents, antiques, artists, actors, and art deco.
And that's not to mention Camden Lock, London's busiest and brightest market – and its fourth largest tourist attraction – which "at its best combines the bonhomie, excitement and buzz of Rio's Carnival"! The Lock is the centrepiece of the walk, but Judith, a local artist, also explores the sights behind the sights, unrolling the shifting scene like one of those Victorian panoramas: everything from street style and Neobeatniks to Dickens, Dingwalls, and the Vanishing Viscount by the canal; and from George Bernard Shaw and Toss the Pieman to Dylan Thomas, Bob Dylan and the Electric Ballroom. Afterward, if you like, you can take a traditional narrowboat to the Zoo or Little Venice. And now, who's for some more images? Click here for a ragout of a Camden Town photo essay. And click here for a little illustrated essay on Amy Winehouse's Camden, some of which Judith touches on in her walk.
The Old Camden Town Walk takes place
every Saturday morning at 11 am
Meet Judith just outside the exit of Camden Town Tube.
Camden Town Tube is on
the Northern Line Guided by Judith
"I thought of London spread out in the sun
Its post districts packed like squares of wheat."
Philip Larkin, The Whitsun Weddings, 1964
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THE BEATLES IN MY LIFE WALK 11.20 am on Saturdays
from MaryleboneTube
"There are places I'll remember all my life", sang the Beatles in one of their most evocative songs. Many of those places are in the "London Town" of this walk...so get back with Richard, "the Pied Piper of Beatlemania" (The Miami Herald), to the film locations for A Hard Day's Night and Help, the registry office where two of the Fabs were married, and the apartment immortalised by Ringo, John and Yoko. We'll also see the house where Paul lived with his glamorous girlfriend, actress Jane Asher. Those were the days...for it was in that house that John and Paul wrote I want to hold your hand. And to cap it all we'll go up to St. John's Wood to see the legendary Abbey Road studios and crosswalk. As the Toronto Globe and Mail said of the walk, "A splendid time is guaranteed for all."  Here's a "grab" from the walk. And here's another 'un.
The Beatles In My Life Walk takes place
every Saturday at 11.20 am
and every Tuesday at 11.20 am.
Meet Richard P. – "the Pied Piper of Beatlemania" –
just outside the exit of MaryleboneTube.
Marylebone Tube is on the Bakerloo Line Guided by Richard P.
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1.45 pm on Saturdays
from West HamTube
What's this? It's London Walks at its Gold Medal-winning best, that's what it is. It's the biggest sporting event in the world coming to London. It's a walk created by brilliant guides who are locals* and who know and love sport. It's the spiky white steel stadium. It's the glide and soar of the shiny aluminum Aquatic Centre. It's "the Pringle" (the Velodrome). It's Gold Medal-winning sports info and back stories and whys and wherefores. It's the Village. It's the neighbourhood. It's pastscapes and futurescapes. It's that astonishing panorama – like being out on a tether looking back at the London Milky Way. It's what that American said on the walk (you can hear him – and Julianne – here): "if you weren't on a London Walk you wouldn't know you could come in here". It's walking where the Olympic torch is coming. It's seeing it before 2012! Guided by Julianne or Andy. *That local knowledge kicked in from the get go: "West HamTube is definitely the best place to start it from."
The Olympics Walk takes place
every* Saturday afternoon at 1.45 pm
*N.B. In the Winter-Spring 2011-2012 London Walks programme – which kicks in on November 1st and runs through April 30th – the Olympics Walk takes place four times a week: every Monday afternoon at 1.45 pm; every Thursday afternoon at 1.45 pm; every Saturday afternoon at 1.45 pm; and every Sunday afternoon at 1.45 pm.
Meet Julianne or Andy just outside West HamTube
West HamTube is on the District, Jubilee and Hammersmith & City Lines
 Guided by Julianne or Andy
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OLD KENSINGTON – London's Royal Village2 pm on Saturdays
from High Street KensingtonTube
Meet by the Perfume shop in the rotunda just beyond the ticket barrier
This one's special. It's rarely the first – or even the second or third – walk people go on, but when they do get round to taking it, they often say it's the one they liked the most. And no wonder, because Royal Kensington is London at its best – picturesque, stimulating, and full of character. Its parts are as delightful as London can provide: everything from warmly handsome old Kensington Palace (home to the late Diana, Princess of Wales) to Kensington Gardens (all meadows, shaded walks, bowers, and flower gardens, it might be the grounds of a stately home in some rural shire) to cobbled little soigne lanes and mews, girt with pretty cottages and charming old shops; and from millionaires" row and regal avenues to beautifully kept squares and a clutch of the world's greatest museums; let alone a garden in the sky (the largest and most breathtaking roof garden in Europe); the secluded town house of the greatest Londoner of the 20th-century, an American president's flat, the most astonishing small literary house in the world, acres of gentility, a secret trap-door into a hidden world, and more history and colourful characters than you can shake a stick at.
And afterward you can visit the State Apartments or take tea at the Orangery at Kensington Palace! Now who's for a visual or six? Or if you'd like another word or two, click here. Or here.
And finally, how about some audio? First, a "bite" from the walk itself: here's "the voice" – Angela – doing her stuff. Enjoy. And for a second course, well, as you've surely guessed, there's a chapter on Kensington in our book, London Walks London Stories. It's one of the five chapters that have fallen to me, David, to write. And I've done the deed. Needless to say, it draws on – and is inspired by – the walk. And transforms it. It complements it, in other words. It's a companion piece to the walk. Anyway, here's a taster – both of the book and Kensington. In short, here's how the chapter opens.
The Old Kensington Walk takes place
every Saturday at 2 pm
and every Thursday at 2 pm
Meet David or Angela or Adam by the Perfume shop in the rotunda just beyond the ticket barrier ("subway turnstile" in North American parlance) of High Street Kensington Tube.
High Street Kensington Tube is on
the Circle & District Lines
Guided on Saturdays by David or Angela
Guided on Thursdays by David or Adam
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2 pm on Saturdays
from Tower HillTube
London. 2,000 years old. Higgledy piggledy. History haunted. Secretive in the extreme. A labyrinth where the past lurks in the present. Aggressively modern when you look up. A tear in space-time when you peer round this corner or go down that alley. A city that preserves features – like so many geological strata – of its earlier selves. A city that’s not easy to figure out – you don’t reap London in one traverse. Why bother? you ask. Here’s why: 1) London’s of world historical importance and 2) depths, intricacies and secrets are always interesting. Bottom line: this is a great walk. It’s the London labyrinth and London highlights and the shaping past. You’ll see both the hoary old City and today’s London. Best of all, you’ll see into them.
The Old City walk
takes place every Saturday afternoon at 2 pm.
The meeting point is: just outside the exit of Tower HillTube.
Tower HillTube is on the Circle & District Lines.
Guided by Chris or Judy or Ann
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The Roof Garden - The English Woodland |
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OLD MARYLEBONE Psst! Read on...2 pm on Saturdays
from Bond StreetTube
(meet by the Forever 21 shop in Satratford Place opposite the station)
"London specialises in hiding the best of itself." Old Marylebone's a case in point. Here you'll lose your way and find your heart...get gratifyingly lost and get London back the way it was. The way it was at the time of the American Revolution! The way it was just after the Napoleonic Wars – for this is Regency London at its best! The way it was for Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett – we'll see the old church where they were married! What else? Well, this one's fascinating because it's so unexpected – a quirky old village in the heart of the West End; delightful because it's our greenest walk; revealing because it takes us into one of the private worlds London excels in; stimulating because it's like a series of flashbacks to every bit of old London you've ever seen; brilliant because of the private mansion we'll go into for a quick look at a couple of world famous paintings; satisfying because everything locks into place like the lines of a sonnet; and, finally, brilliant because of the sheer voltage of the finale: here is the loveliest set-piece in London, the final expression of a classical age, "a definition of western civilization in a single view".
The Old Marylebone Walk takes place
every Saturday afternoon at 2 pm
Meet Tom or Helena or Margaret
outside Bond Street Tube (meet on the north side of Oxford Street, in Stratford Place, by the Forever 21 shop).
Bond Street Tube is on
the Central & Jubilee LinesN.B. This is one of our "weather proof" walks. How so? Well, if the weather's completely foul, we spend a lot more time in the gallery!
Guided by Tom, Helena, or Margaret,
"I think it [London] on the whole the best point of view in the world."
Henry James, Letter to Charles Eliot Norton, 13 November 1880
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HARRY POTTER ON LOCATION IN LONDONTOWN 2 pm on Saturdays
from WestminsterTube, exit 4
Ah, film locations! Where the empheral image on the screen turns into reality! Underfoot and right before our very eyes. And what's right before our very eyes on this one is the Westminster locations that rivetted you in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, The Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and even the brand new 'un: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It's a walk – a quest even – for fans of all ages. And there's a bonus. Well, lots of bonuses. Because the weave also includes lots of great sights – and sites – and the sights behind the sites – for those who are just along for the ride, along to keep a fan company. And of course it's guided by, who else? London Walks' resident Harry Potter expert (let alone mega fan), Kontiki Richard. And yet another bonus – an actor, he knows about set-ups and shoots, etc. so there are very tasty bits of "location inside info"! But let's hear it from the man himself. Here's Richard talking about the walk. And if you want to see Richard in action – see a little bit of a Harry Potter Film Locations walk – click here. Said click will shimmer you away to the tasty little film trailer we've made of one of our HP walks.
The Harry Potter on Location in Londontown walk takes place
every Saturday afternoon at 2 pm
Meet Richard just outside exit 4 of Westminster Tube.
Westminster Tube is on the Jubilee, Circle & District Lines
Guided by Richard
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2 pm on Saturdays
from Warwick AvenueTube
If you fancy something completely different, this is the walk for you. Little Venice is the prettiest and most romantic spot in town. A unique combination of white stucco, greenery, and water, it boasts the finest early Victorian domestic architecture in London; a Who's Who of famous residents (Robert Browning, Edward Fox, Joan Collins, Annie Lennox, and Sigmund Freud to name but a few); and a jewel of a "village" street. And that's not to mention its canals. One of them – Regent's Canal – is known as the "loveliest inland waterway in England". Part of the walk is along the canal towpath - which to this day is studded with fragments of evidence that bring the Age of Canals to life. And afterwards you can have tea – or a bite to eat – at a stylish canal-side cafe. And why not lend an ear? Which is by way of saying, here's a bit of audio from this walk. It's Shaughan in all his full-throated – let alone multi-charactered – glory! And you'd like some more? How about this? This one encapsulates a lot about Shaughan and his walks – just how much fun they are, how talented he is, why people like him so much and the kind of experience he turns a London Walk into. Enjoy. 
Cue Shaughan, who guides the walk: "Walking this one is always a revelation – behind the elegant facade is the other story; the maids, butlers, cooks & grooms – the downstairs-backstairs people who made it work. I talk about the rise, decline and resurgence of wealth in the area – these days there are quite enough "Celebs" to turn Maida Vale into "Media Vale". I drop more mames on this one than you can fit in your basket. And running through this stucco wedding cake – the artery that supplied goods from the Heart of England to its Brain – The Grand Union Canal. Look at London from both sides for an afternoon, and finish with chocolate cake and a boat ride."
The Little Venice Walk takes place
every Saturday at 2 pm;
every Sunday at 2 pm;
and every Wednesday at 11 am
Meet Shaughan just outside the exit
of Warwick AvenueTube.
Warwick AvenueTube is on
theBakerloo Line
Guided on Saturdays and Sundays by Shaughan
Guided on Wednesdays by Peter or Richard III
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2 pm on Saturdays
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 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.
Photo by Jon Block
One of the unsung joys of the British Museum tour is the short walk to the Museum. It takes you through London's most intricately tpretty, doll's-house-tiny street. And the British Museum itself - as a building, its exteriors - is stunning. And that gets briefly guided as well. It's a wonderful bit of added value. A bonus.
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. |
And on that note methinks it's time to garnish the words, words, words with a little photo essay. Open sesame by clicking here.
The British Museum Tour takes place
every Saturday at 2 pm
every Monday at 2.15 pm
and every Wednesday at 2 pm
Meet your guide just outside the main exit of
Guided on Saturdays by Karen
Guided on Mondays by Tom or Chris or Hilary
Guided on Wednesday by Molly
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"The spy is as old as history..."
"Espionage is the world's second oldest profession
and just as honorable as the first."
Michael J. Barrett, assistant general counsel of the CIA,
Journal of Defence and Diplomacy, February 1984
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SPIES' & SPYCATCHERS' LONDON 2.30 pm on Saturdays
from Piccadilly CircusTube
(meet by the Clydesdale Bank, outside the subway 3 exit)
"Espionage was the hot end of the cold war"
Spies' London is peopled with Ian Fleming's James Bond and John Le Carre's George Smiley. But it's also the London of the genuine article. The London where for over 40 years Burgess, Maclean, Philby, Blunt and the mysterious fifth man infiltrated the British and American security services and spied for the Soviet Union. This walk takes us into that hole and corner, cloak and dagger London - into the secret places of that murky nether-world. Here we venture into the covert London of MI5, MI6, and the American O.S.S., progenitor of the CIA. Here we close in on the American Soviet agent who finally confessed and unveiled the "Cambridge Ring". Here we pinpoint the "dead letter box" and unmask the fifth man. Here, in Spies' London, fact really is stranger than fiction.
And on that note, here's some audio for you. D-Day first. Then a bearing on a nerve centre. Then some Cold War.
The Spies' & Spycatchers' London Walk
takes place every Saturday afternoon at 2.30 pm
Look for Spymaster Alan.
He'll be topped off with a black hat...and a green carnation.
He'll be just outside the subway 3 exit of Piccadilly CircusTube
by the Clydesdale Bank.
Piccadilly CircusTube is on
theBakerloo & Piccadilly Lines
Guided by Alan
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FROM THE REPERTORY - The 2.30 pm Saturday Tour du Jour!2.30 pm on Saturdays
The walk in this time slot changes weekly.
For details see the following list.
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BLOOD CURDLING LONDON Welcome to the Nightmare Factory6.30 pm on Saturdays
from EmbankmentTube
Okay you've done Jack the Ripper – now let's get serious. Heinousness in high places. Slaughter at the Savoy. A stiff in a left luggage office. Reg, Ronnie and a champion boxer's "suicide" – A smoking pistol. Silk stocking murders. The pub where a 16-notches serial killer met his prey. The Hangman and his clients – oh dear, he got it wrong from time to time. Welcome to London's Chamber of Horrors...welcome to the dark side of "the most civilised city on earth". Good night Ladies. Good night Gentlemen. Sweet dreams!
The Blood Curdling London Walk takes place
every Saturday evening at 6.30 pm
Meet Alan just outside the Villiers Street exit
of Embankment Tube.
Embankment Tube is on
the Circle, Bakerloo, District & Northern LinesGuided by Alan
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THE OLD HAMPSTEAD VILLAGE PUB WALK |
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The Other Saturday Night Pub Walk
7.15 pm on Saturdays
The walk in this Saturday evening time slot changes weekly.
For details see the following list.
| DATE |
WALK |
STATION |
| Jan. 28 |
The Islington Pub Walk Roman Camp to “diuers diuine exorcises at torchlight” |
AngelTube |
| Feb. 4 |
The Old West End Conspiracy, Scandal & Skullduggery |
Marble ArchTube exit 1 |
| Feb. 11 |
Back From the Abyss The Classic Old Georgian Spitalfields Pub Walk |
Liverpool StreetTube Bishopsgate exit |
| Feb. 18 |
In the Shadows of the Past Lost Lanes & Old Pubs off Regent Street |
Piccadilly CircusTube exit 2 |
| Feb. 25 |
The Notting Hill Gate & Old Holland Park Village Pub Walk |
Notting Hill GateTube north exit |
| Mar. 3 |
Bohemian Fitzrovia The Old Latin Quarter Pub Walk |
Goodge StreetTube |
| Mar. 10 |
West of the Bars Hidden in Plain View – The Strand’s Lost Lanes, Alleyways & Secret Treasures |
TempleTube |
| Mar. 17 |
Publish & Be Damned The Street of Shame’s Inky Secrets (Journalist guided!) |
TempleTube |
| Mar. 24 |
Between the King’s Sheets – The Pub Walk Frisky, Risky, Risqué Royals |
EmbankmentTube |
| Mar. 31 |
“Bond, James Bond” 007 & Ian Fleming’s London The “shaken not stirred” Pub Walk |
Marble ArchTube exit 2 |
| Apr. 7 |
Reds, Revolutionaries & Real Ale |
AngelTube |
| Apr. 14 |
The Secret Village Pub Walk |
St. Paul’sTube exit 2 |
| Apr. 21 |
Rock ‘n’ Roll London The Pub Walk |
Tottenham Court RoadTube exit 3 |
| Apr. 28 |
Backstairs Belgravia Byways, Hidden Haunts & Classic Pubs |
Hyde Park CornerTube exit 3 |
| May 5 |
“The best address in London” The Old Mayfair Pub Walk |
Green ParkTube north exit, on the corner |
| May 12 |
The Hidden West End Gin City, the Seven Deadly Dials, the Slum of Slums |
Tottenham Court RoadTube exit 3 |
| May 19 |
The London by Gaslight Pub Walk |
EmbankmentTube |
| May 26 |
Bohemian Fitzrovia The Old Latin Quarter Pub Walk |
Goodge StreetTube |
| June 2 |
Rock 'n' Roll London The Pub Walk |
Tottenham Court RoadTube exit 3 |
| June 9 |
TBA |
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| June 16 |
Bloomsday in Old Bloomsbury The Write Stuff Pub Walk
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HolbornTube |
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GHOSTS OF THE OLD CITY Shadows of the Unveiled Invisible
7.30 pm on Saturdays
from St. Paul'sTube, exit 2
At night the ancient City is deserted – and eerie. Exploring its shadowy back streets and dimly lit alleys we might be in a medieval citadel, in overpowering stone. The very street names – Aldersgate, Cloth Fair, Charterhouse, Threadneedle – take us far back. We're alone...or are we? For this is the hour when the She Wolf of France glides through the churchyard, the hour when the dark figure on Newgate wall rattles his chains, the hour when the Black Nun keeps her lonely vigil, and something inexpressibly evil lurks behind a tiny window. We're on their trail – or are they shadowing us?
We've made a short film of this walk. Watch the Duke of Darkness in action and you'll see what we're on about when we cite that old English saying: "London Walks guides do it best". It's here.
And here's a "grab" – a bit of audio from the walk. It's Shaughan. His timing – let alone his range (he does three different voices in this brief extract) and his responsiveness to his audience – is a thing of wonder.
In Shaughan's words: "The first walk I ever did, and the oldest. 2,000 years of life and death in one place. The City. Soaked in Souls – the Spirit of London. Tales of faith and Devilry – Murder and possession. Not just Folk tales, documented visitations from the Undiscovered Country.
Everything is older than it looks.
I too, am possessed from time to time – the Spirits come to me to tell their own tale......."
The Ghosts of the Old City Walk takes place
every Saturday at 7.30 pm
and every Tuesday at 7.30 pm
Meet Shaughan or Angela or Adam just outside
exit 2 of St. Paul'sTube.
St. Paul'sTube is on
theCentral Line
Guided on Saturdays by Shaughan or Angela
With his deathly pallor and swirling black cape Shaughan is "deliciously spooky!" As the San Francisco Chronicle put it.
Guided on Tuesdays by Adam (yes, that Adam – the Shadow Walker. He of the spectral face like a lantern hanging down a dark alley).
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7.30 pm every night
from Tower HillTube
Please tread carefully and
keep away from the shadows -
you are about to enter the abyss...
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. And for a pictorial or two, click here. And that's not to mention a very special little video trailer of the London Walks Jack the Ripper walk. To see it, click here.
And this is pretty neat: Adam's made a handy little video to help out anybody who's arrived late for the walk. It's called The Jack the Ripper Catch Up Film. If you arrive late and the walk's moved off, well, just get your cell phone out, bring up this page and click here and hey presto you'll be able to catch us up.
The Jack the Ripper Tour takes place
every single night* at 7.30 pm.
*Except December 24th and December 25th
Meet the guides just outside Tower HillTube.
N.B., on Saturdays there's also a Ripper "matinee".
It goes every* Saturday afternoon at 3 pm.
*Except when Saturday falls on December 24th or December 25th.
Tower HillTube is on the
Circle & District Lines
Guided by Steve on Saturday evenings
Guided by Donald on Sundays
Guided by Donald or Molly on Mondays
Guided by Donald or Molly on Tuesdays
Guided by Steve on Wednesdays
Guided by Shaughan and Adam on Thursdays
Guided by Donald or Shaughan on Fridays
Guided by Fiona or Peter on Saturday afternoons
N.B., Let's call a spade a spade. Going on Donald Rumbelow's Jack the Ripper Tour 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. Oh and I almost forgot – he's also a 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 Tour before 7.30 pm. In short, don't let anyone pull a fast one on you.
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| --found murdered Saturday, 8 September 1888 |
Another most horrible murder has been perpetrated in Whitechapel. At an early hour on Saturday morning, the body of a woman was found lying in the corner of a yard in Hanbury-street, a low thoroughfare, not far from Buck's-row, the scene of a similar tragedy ten days ago.
from the Daily Telegraph, Monday, 10 September 1888 |
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ADDITIONAL LONDON WALKS ON SELECTED SATURDAYS |
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