O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave?

The tales’ red glare, the stories bursting in air, gave proof through the walk…

America was born in defiance of Britain.
So where better to celebrate 250 years of American independence than London?

This lively, eye-opening walk traces the roots of the American Revolution not in Boston or Philadelphia, but in the streets, squares and parks of central London. This is where loyalties were tested, arguments sharpened and the fate of a future nation debated. Along the way we meet founding fathers and key English politicians, encounter King George III lamenting that “America is lost!”, and stroll through the elegant Georgian streets and squares that formed the backdrop to the birth of a great nation.

What follows is a taste of the story, not the whole feast.

Dramatis Personae

It All Comes Down to the Guiding

Dr Ann has a gift for making big history human, vivid and memorable. She brings people and places sharply to life.

Standing his ground

We meet George Washington, founding father and first president, and uncover the curious story of why his statue in Trafalgar Square stands on soil shipped from Virginia.

Stout, balding and unexpectedly charismatic

Yes, Benjamin Franklin. Founding Father, diplomat, inventor, swimmer, enslaver turned abolitionist. We stop by his house. His only surviving house, on either side of the Atlantic. You half expect him to answer the door.

“America is lost”

King George III on horseback, facing west. Facing America. The lament lingers: “America is lost! Must we fall beneath the blow?” History, caught mid-thought.

Pastoral interlude

We stroll through St James’s Park with its Louisiana pelicans…

Soft power

And so we come to the elegant arcade where Taylor Swift, Pennsylvania’s most famous modern citizen (with apologies to founding father William Penn), buys her chocolates. Proof that Anglo-American relations now come wrapped in cellophane.

Allies, outliers and oh say can you see

Wartime friendships forged under pressure. And fiercely independent – a law unto itself – Texas striking out on its own. Native American stories too often edged out of the Revolutionary narrative.

What links Pocahontas, the state of Virginia and American independence to a hoary with age and very classy London tobacco store? And  Grosvenor Square – “Little America” – where Ronald Reagan, Eleanor Roosevelt and Dwight Eisenhower all step into view.

A reminder that American independence didn’t end an argument. It started one.

Tea without the tantrum

We finish with a tea party – a celebratory cup of tea and cake in a former church affectionately known as the American church. An American church attended by Eleanor Roosevelt and General later President Dwight Eisenhower. It’s now a thriving food hall.

No tea in the Thames.

Plenty of history underfoot.

Coda

Come and walk the American Revolution where you least expect it.

“In war and peace, in prosperity and in time of economic hardship, America has no better friend and no more dependable ally than the United Kingdom.” (Louis Susman, ex US Ambassador).

Where the walk ends

The Happy Birthday America! London Walk ends at either Grosvenor Square or in nearby New Bond Street. There are some steps. But a step-free alternative route is possible. Please let us know in advance.