Old Westminster Walking Tour

(95 customer reviews)

St. James's Park Tube, Broadway/Westminster Abbey exit

Guided by Ann or David or David T. or Isobel or Judy or Karen or Oliver or Shaughan or Simon

Walk Times

Day Walk Type Start Time End Time
Tuesday Weekly 2 pm 4 pm Winter Summer Reserve Online
Thursday Weekly 2 pm 4 pm Winter Summer Reserve Online
Saturday Weekly 11 am 1 pm Winter Summer Reserve Online

NB The meeting point is at the Exit of the Tube station opposite the Conrad Hotel

The seminal London Walk. Miss it and you’ve missed London ( NB this walk is all outside it does not go inside any buildings).

Long read: 1,000 Years of History…


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, Westminster Abbey, etc.

IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THE GUIDING

Don’t just take it from us…

And to see it with a great guide (Karen, for example, winner of the Guide of the Year Award, Travel & Leisure’s “World’s Greatest Guide,” Presenter of Discovery TV’s London Next Stop) 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. Embarras de richesse, we’ll also explore the private face of Westminster – the London equivalent of Georgetown.

Unlike the tourist hordes who never find them, we get to see the hidden and ever so picturesque Georgian back streets where all the political salons are! We end very near the Cabinet War Rooms, the fortified bunker that housed Winston Churchill’s centre of operations during the war. N.B. So, yes, the walk ends very near Parliament Square, just a stone’s throw from Westminster Tube.  Want a preview of the walk? Click here to watch the video.

OLD WESTMINSTER – THE PRACTICALS

Old Westminster takes place Tuesday at 2 pm, Thursday at 2 pm, and Saturday at 11 am.

The meeting point is just outside  St James’ Park tube Station, the Broadway/Westminster Abbey opposite the Conrad Hotel

The Tuesday at 2 pm walk is guided by actor Oliver (the David Niven of London Walks) or Guide of the Year Award-winning Judy or Isobel (Isobel’s another award-winning Blue Badge guide).  It’s Shaughan or David at the helm on the Thursdays at 2 pm walk. The Saturdays at 11 am walk is guided by Karen, recently crowned by Travel & Leisure as “the world’s greatest guide.

THE WEATHER – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

“In four decades of guiding I’ve never once taken an umbrella;* it doesn’t rain on my walks” – David, the Seigneur of this favoured realm [London Walks].

London Weather Facts: Jerusalem, Gibraltar, Rome, Rhodes, etc. all get more rainfall than London. Precipitation-wise, London is one of the driest cities on earth.

You want a European city that does get (just slightly) less rain than London, Sevilla’s your ciudad. The line on Sevilla and rain is: “rainfall in Sevilla isn’t abundant and it’s concentrated;” by the same token the line on London and the wet stuff should be “rainfall in London isn’t abundant and it isn’t concentrated.” 

Bottom line: Don’t let the rain bogeyman call the shots. Send him packing. He’s all hat and no cattle, as they say in Texas.

Ok, we get the occasional mizzle but it’s easily seen off. A brolly – which I (David) refuse to carry – does the trick every time. And as long as you’re at it, always allow for the lost in translation factor: on the other side of the Atlantic the word ‘rain’ = rain; over here the word ‘rain’ = damp; or a mizzle.**

For a deep draught of the subject, try this richly satisfying (and eye-opening) podcast – https://www.walks.com/podcast/london-weather/

Cue tag team London Walks moment: “I divorced weather forecasts five years ago. It’s like being unchained from a lunatic. You might as well look at a horoscope as pay any heed to UK weather forecasts” (London Walks guide, Adam, Visit England Superstar Finalist 2022).

*Historically, the British public regarded the idea of not getting soaked when it’s pissing it down as ‘too French’, with accounts saying we called people a ‘mincing Frenchman’ if they were caught using an umbrella.

**A mizzle does not pleasure and pain make, let alone a downpour [‘pleasure and pain’ is Cockney rhyming slang for ‘rain’]

LONDON WALKS REVIEWS

“Best Tourism Experience in London”  Gold Medal Winner, Visit London

“The best walks are conducted by London Walks”   Toronto Globe & Mail

“The best walking tours are organized by London Walks”   USA Today

“London Walks was acknowledged as the premier walking tour company in the entire world  American Tour Guides Convention

“The original and best – there are several companies offering walking tours of London but London Walks (London’s oldest) is easily the pick of the bunch”   London, Cadogan Guide

Want to find out more about wonderful Westminster? Check out our other Westminster tours.

LONDON WALKS PRIVATE WALKS

If you can’t make one of the regularly scheduled, just-turn-up, Old Westminster Walking Tour it can always be booked as a private tour. If you go private you can have the Old Westminster Walking Tour walk – or any other London Walk – on a day and at a time that suits your convenience. We’ll tailor it to your requirements. Ring Fiona or Mary on 020 7624 3978 or email us at [email protected] and we’ll set it up and make it happen for you. A private London Walk – they’re good value for an individual or couple and sensational value for a group – makes an ideal group or educational or birthday party or office (team-building) or club outing.

GIVE THE GIFT OF LONDON WALKS

A private London Walk makes a fab gift – be it a birthday or anniversary or Christmas present or whatever. Merchandise schmerchandise (gift wrapped or not) – but giving someone an experience, now that’s special. Memories make us rich.

LONDON WALKS – STREETS AHEAD!

Don’t just take it from us.

OTHER TOURS YOU MAY LIKE

95 reviews for Old Westminster Walking Tour

  1. Tom Geismar

    Today my wife and I took the Old Westminster tour with David. It was a wonderful walk through an intriguing part of London and through history. What makes or breaks any tour is the guide. This was the third walk we have taken with David. He is wonderful. His knowledge about the tour snd his engaging style make for a very special and memorable tour. David brings unique, “David only” insights and artifacts that enhance our enjoyment of the tour and our learning. London Walks are London treasures. They are convenient, accommodating , enjoyable, and informative. When in London, London Walks are a MUST! Thank you David for more great memories!

  2. Barbara Kemp

    Excellent Old Westminster tour with Simon. He was knowledgeable with excellent stories and great sense of humour. A fascinating two hours.

  3. Deborah

    Very interesting walk. We explored places I had never seen and probably wouldn’t have seen on my own. Thank you!!!!

  4. Caroline Jerram

    A big thank you to David for a fascinating Westminter walk on the 22 February. My goodness did it rain! We soldiered on despite that and were introduced to a whole new part of London we had never seen. It was brilliant and we highly recommend this tour.

  5. Zach Z and Cheryl Z

    We did our walk with Ann. She was a wealth of knowledge and the best guide I have experienced on a London Walk. She took us to places that I had no idea still existed in this fabulous city. We will take another walk next time we are in London!!

  6. Angie

    Fantastic tour this 3rd of February, Oliver is very knowledgeable and guided us through spots I would have never noticed myself. Would highly recommend!

  7. Seth Katz

    Oliver Beamish is a fabulous guide and a lovely person! My students got a lot out of his tour of Old Westminster, and I would recommend him to anyone and everyone!

  8. Pauline

    We did this walk yesterday – A rare cold and rainy London day which no one noticed because Ann kept pointing out really interesting parts of Westminster and sharing all sorts of snippets we had never heard before – she certainly knows her stuff! highly recommend.

  9. Janine

    Absolutely fabulous tour by Simon – thoroughly enjoyed it. Will definitely rebook!!

  10. Annabelle

    Fabulous walk around Westminster with the wonderful Simon. So knowledgeable and what a character. Highly recommend.

  11. Mark Fox

    I have lived in London for over 30 years and always felt that I knew it pretty well. However, I had the pleasure of going on David’s Westminster walk last week and realised how much more there was – both hidden and in plain sight (if you knew where to look), David was a mine of information but put across in a relaxed and charming way – history, stories, anecdotes that made the whole area come alive. Thank you London Walks, and in particular David, for giving me such a memorable afternoon. Highly recommended.

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