The Inns of Court
Holborn underground station, London (main exit, debouches onto Kingsway)
Guided by
Karen or Molly or Shaughan
Walk Times
| Day |
Walk Type |
Start Time |
End Time |
|
|
| Monday |
Weekly |
2 pm |
4 pm |
Winter Summer |
Reserve Online
|
| Wednesday |
Weekly |
11 am |
1 pm |
Winter Summer |
Reserve Online
|
N.B. this walk will not take place on the following dates:
25-12-2024
N.B. See also our Friday VIP Lawyer-guided Inns of Court Walk (May 10th, May 24th and every Friday from June 14th through September). Full disclosure, it’s more expensive and has to be booked and pre-paid. That’s the downside. The upside is, yes, it’s always lawyer-guided and it’s a small, exclusive group (limited numbers). Ergo the VIP appellation.
Short read: Magic casement into olde worlde…
Shaughan read: “My favourite walk of all. Quiet gardens, a truly eclectic architectural rattle-bag and a glorious roll-call of British eccentrics: the Wits, the Windbags and Wayward Wigs. The cream of English intellect as it battles over Wives, Writs, Wills, Widows and Wrecks. Find out what happened when Tony met Cherie! Meet Rumpole! And as these are private grounds – a privilege to be able to show you round m’lud. And hear the verdict at the end in the High Court.” Thus spake Guide Shaughan.
And Guide Shaughan spake (speaks) here as well: Legal London Podcast 1. And here: Legal London Podcast 2.
Long read: The Inns of Court – habitat of the wigged and gowned English barrister – could pass for a collection of Oxford and Cambridge colleges right in the heart of London. They’re a warren of cloisters, courtyards, and passageways set amongst some of the best gardens in London.
So: ancient rites and customs, high drama, colourful characters, and matters of life and death amid delightful surroundings. It’s a rich confection, making this the prettiest and most historical of our central London walks. Welcome to London’s legal enclave.
INNS OF COURT TOUR – THE PRACTICALS
Legal & Illegal London – the Inns of Court takes place at 2 pm every Monday and at 11 am every Wednesday.
The meeting point is just outside the main exit of Holborn Tube.
Here’s a photo of the meeting point when you get to the top of the escalator at Holborn Tube. The ticket barrier is straight ahead of you. Ten yards beyond the ticket barrier you can see a blue-green information kiosk and a red kiosk advertising a publication called The Week. And between them – just visible in the photograph – is a (soon to be extinct) pay telephone booth. Right there, between those two kiosks, is the meeting point.
The main exit is on Kingsway. Holborn Tube, which is on the corner of Kingsway and High Holborn, has two exits. The side exit goes out onto High Holborn. The main exit – the one you want – goes out onto Kingsway. The guide will be standing just outside the main exit, the Kingsway exit, holding up copies of the distinctive white London Walks leaflet. If you take the Tube to Holborn Tube Station go up the escalator, go through the ticket barrier and go straight ahead. You’ll come out onto Kingsway, right where you need to be to meet the guide.
On Mondays the walk is guided by Shaughan. On Wednesdays it’s guided by Karen or Molly.
The walk ends at or just over the way from the Royal Courts of Justice in the Strand, near Temple Tube.
IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THE GUIDING
Don’t just take it from us…
INNS OF COURT VIRTUAL TOURS
We do two very different ones. Click here to read about Jackie’s. And click here to hear her guiding a bit of it.
And click here to read about Richard III’s. And click here to hear Richard guiding his.
LONDON WALKS VIDEO
Want a preview of the Inns of Court walk? Watch this little handheld video. It’ll give you a pretty good idea of the “like nowhere else” territory the walk explores – where it goes, the doors it opens, the secret little passageways and courtyards it threads its way through.
LONDON WALKS REVIEWS
“Best Tourism Experience in London” Gold Medal Winner, Visit London
“We selected the ‘Legal and Illegal’ walk to discover the four Inns of Court where Barristers have their chambers. Our guide was Angela, an actress. Her knowledge of the Inns of Court and their history was encyclopaedic. She made the tour utterly fascinating and she brought her theatrical training to bear. She needed no microphone as her delivery was clear, bright and concise and not without a good deal of humour. She was an absolute delight. The two hours tour flew past. I have in the past lived in London and worked not too far from where the walk was centred but never imagined such places existed and so close to the main thoroughfares that cross the City. I will certainly be trying more of these walks in the future, but for the sheer joy of Angela’s wonderful tour you really must do this one.” Silverdale15 Stockport, United Kingdom
“Did this walk with Angela on Friday. So interesting and got to see a most beautiful part of London you would otherwise miss. Angela was great and told us so much. We certainly got to know what she thought of the present government (not much!). But that’s good. Better than being dull. Will certainly do another walk sometime and would highly recommend this walk. Joan T. Wigg Bingley, United Kingdom 24 Feb. 2020
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LONDON WALKS PRIVATE WALKS
If you can’t make one of the regularly scheduled, just-turn-up, The Inns of Court it can always be booked as a private tour. If you go private you can have the The Inns of Court 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
Hank C. –
Richard led us on a delightful smart, funny and informative tour that covered not only the physical spaces of the Inns of Court, but also the many historical, social and legal nuances of the English legal system.
Sarah –
Brilliant tour with Simon through all four Inns of court. He managed to pack so much information into the tour whilst being entertaining. As an erstwhile long term resident of London it made me realise how very little I know about it so will definitely come back again.
Gabriele Tischler –
Who would have thought that Law can be so interesting and entertaining! Did this walk with Brian today and highly recommend it!
Lisa Krupicka –
We were led by the illustrious Richard III on our Inns of Court walk. He was very knowledgeable and funny and quite a character. His recounting of the history and traditions of the British legal profession was of great interest to me, an American lawyer, but I think my non-lawyer husband enjoyed it just as well. I would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in British history. I came home and immediately re-read one of my Rumpole of the Bailey books by John Mortimer with renewed appreciation.
Juliet Mitchell –
Karen led us on a well paced walk through the Inns of court, sprinkling the tour with both legal and other information. She is a natural raconteur, full of enthusiasm and fun so that even those with no legal connections thoroughly enjoyed the themselves.
Fiona Martin –
We thoroughly enjoyed our walk through the Inns of Court with Molly. She was very informative and entertaining. We learnt a lot about the English legal system and saw wonderful buildings and gardens.
Pat, Michael and Arlene Flatley –
We attended the Inns of Court tour on Monday. We really enjoyed it. It was extremely informative but in an utterly entertaining way.
We were very impressed and will definitely be using you again and recommending you to others.
Thank you for a memorable afternoon.
Melanie Cross –
Simon stood in for Molly yesterday and took us on a very interesting tour around the Inns of Court. He was full of facts and information and made the walk fun. The time went very quickly and we would certainly take more tours with him again.
John G Corcoran –
I took this walk with Simon Law today, and it was a tour de force. The whole area of the Inns of Court was covered, and there was an abundance of good information, historical context, and some very interesting detailed stories and insights. It was an enriching experience in every respect. Simon Law, is enthusiastic and his enthusiasm, as any good educator will tell you, is a huge motivator, maintaining interest and curiosity. This gentleman Mr Law is a 5 star practitioner of this difficult role, I would happily recommend tours conducted by him to anyone.
Lynda –
We did this walk on Wednesday with Simon who was both extremely knowledgeable and entertaining. He took us to parts of London we would never have found on our own as well as providing a great insight into the legal system. Can highly recommend this tour.