All the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t put Humpty together again.
But 75 London Walks guides have done – are doing – what all the king’s men and all the king’s horses couldn’t do.
London Walks was Humpty. And it had a great fall a few years ago. Had a great fall along with most of the rest of the world. The fall was of course the pandemic. Thanks to the pandemic London Walks – aka in this instance Humpty Dumpty – was in pieces.
But these wonderful, brilliant guides have been, getting on for two years now, putting the pieces back together.
And then some. The then some is the new walks they’ve been introducing to the London Walks programme.
One of those guides is art historian Molly. She’s got her eye on two new walks for 2025.
Namely, Marble Hill House – Sacred Flame on the Thames
And a Natural History Museum Tour. It’s still in swaddling clothes; she hasn’t decided on a name for it yet. But its subtitle might well be something along the lines of The Origins of Us!
And the Wallace Collection Tour Molly and Sue have created is so new you could just about get away with putting it into the New Walks for 2025 Cornucopia.
And that’s not forgetting how this started: putting Humpty back together again. Several of the many pieces we broke into when we had our great fall were Molly ‘specials’ that will now be put back where they rightfully belong – in the London Walks programme. And you know something, they’re going to seem almost brand new because – thanks to the wretched pandemic – they’ve been on a several years leave of absence.
Those walks include Molly’s Chiswick House Tour, her Leighton House Tour, her Chelsea Arts and Crafts Tour, and her East End Melting Pot Special called The Greatest Multi-Cultural Walk.
Welcome back to the fold, strays. You were sorely missed.
Same by the way goes for Alison. Great guide who was swept away by the tsunami, the pandemic. But she made her way back earlier this year. During her absence she kept her little flock together and she’s got them all safely back to London Walks. And has been reintroducing them to the Specials programme this year, 2024. And of course being Alison they’ve gone down a treat with her walkers. Rave review after rave review. The Alison Specials are Charming Chiswick, Unexpected London, and Eccentric London. And she’s created a new one for us: Bankside, Brothels & the Bard.
If it’s a job all the king’s men and all the king’s horses aren’t equal to, send for a couple of lady London Walks guides. They’ll take care of it.