The Changing of the Guard Tour
Piccadilly Circus Tube, meet by the Eros statue
Guided by Rick Jones
Adult: £20 · Students & Seniors: £15 · Children: £5
Walk Times
| Day | Walk Type | Start Time | End Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Weekly | 10 am | 12 pm | Winter Summer | Reserve Online |
N.B. this walk will not take place on the following dates:
02-11-2026 09-11-2026 16-11-2026
Blue Badge guide and music writer Rick Jones leads a tour to March in time with the military band and account for the long history of the manoeuvre with special emphasis on the 1790s when militarism was in the air and Austrian composer Joseph Haydn was tripping the light fantastic here in London
HERE’S HOW TO FIND RICK
“I have a Blue Badge on my lapel. I may well wear an 18th-century wig. I have a vuvuzela with the words Property of Joseph Haydn on the side which I blow to announce the start. I have a drum roll for the Drumroll Symphony. Either way, I will draw attention to myself.”
IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THE GUIDING
THE CHANGING OF THE GUARD
The tour incorporates the Changing of the Guard which Haydn also witnessed and which partly inspired his 100th Symphony The Military.
He blest the City with a dozen symphonic masterpieces, half of which were popular enough to acquire nicknames – The Clock, The Miracle, The Surprise, The Drumroll and the London itself, No104, the last he composed. The tour not only tells the story of these works but also meets the composer’s English girlfriend and the German Musicianer who was here before him….
Tom –
A pleasant, well-paced walk, which includes many nuggets of information relating to Haydn’s time in London, and the regal, Hanoverian age in which he was much feted in England. The walk was further embellished by viewing the entertaining spectacle of the Changing of the Guard. Recommended for all who are interested in the London and its artistic scene of that period.
Tom –
A pleasant, well-paced walk, which includes many nuggets of information relating to Haydn’s time in London, and the regal, Hanoverian age in which he was much feted in England. The walk was further embellished by viewing the entertaining spectacle of the Changing of the Guard. Recommended for all who are interested in the London and its artistic scene of that period .