Little Venice – the pursuit of pleasure

(25 customer reviews)

Warwick Avenue underground station, London

Guided by Claire or Peter G. or Richard III or Shaughan

Walk Times

Day Walk Type Start Time End Time
Sunday Weekly 2 pm 4 pm Winter Summer Reserve Online
Wednesday Weekly 11 am 1 pm Winter Summer Reserve Online

Short read: Little Venice – the pursuit of pleasure

Short listens: Shaughan’s done three delightful podcasts about the Little Venice Walk. If you listen to one or more of them you’ll get to know him – he’s a very special guy – and get a very good feel for (learn a great deal about) the Little Venice Walk.

Short listen 1: Here’s Act I of Shaughan’s Little Venice podcast series.

Short listen 2: Here’s Act II of Shaughan’s Little Venice podcast series.

Short listen 3: Here’s Act III of Shaughan’s Little Venice podcast series.

Long read: If you fancy something completely different this is the walk for you. Little Venice is the prettiest and most romantic spot in town. A unique combination of white stucco, greenery, and water, it boasts the finest early Victorian domestic architecture in London; a Who’s Who of famous residents (Freud, Browning, Edward Fox, David Ben-Gurion, Ruth Rendell, Mark Bolan, Joan Collins, and Annie Lennox to name but a few); and a jewel of a “village” street. And that’s not to mention its canals. One of them – Regent’s Canal – is “the loveliest inland waterway in England.” Part of the walk is along the canal towpath – which to this day is studded with fragments of evidence that bring the Age of Canals to life. And afterwards you can have tea – or a bite to eat – at a stylish canal-side cafe. N.B. the walk ends back at Warwick Avenue Tube Stop.

IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THE GUIDING

Don’t just take it from us..

LITTLE VENICE – THE PRACTICALS

Little Venice takes place every Sunday at 2 pm and every Wednesday at 11 am.

On Sundays it’s guided by Shaughan. On Wednesdays it’s guided by Peter or Richard III. The meeting point is just outside the exit of Warwick Avenue Tube.  N.B. the Little Venice Walk ends back at Warwick Avenue Tube. 

In California? Or Bangkok? But fancy an hour’s retreat to Little Venice? Here’s the Little Venice Virtual Tour.

LONDON WALKS REVIEWS

“Even jaded Londoners find these London Walks a source of astonishing gems of information about the city in which they live.” Daily Mail, Top London Treats

“What can I say that hasn’t been said already? I’ve just come back from London having been on the Old Jewish Quarter and Little Venice walks and they were both excellent. Little Venice was a completely different experience but equally enjoyable. Shaughan was something else with his jokes and songs and obvious knowledge of the area. When you consider Warwick Avenue is only one stop on from Paddington on the tube you’d think you were in a different country.”  Walt R., Somerset UK

“Went along with 3 friends & joined the group gathering at Warwick Road tube ~ we numbered about 25 ~ nice & manageable. Very knowledgeable guide walked us around this very beautiful area steeped in history & tales …. Name dropping through the neighbourhood full of celebs & musicians ~ blue plaques galore denoting its cultural history. The canal itself is very picturesque ~ brightly painted canal boats ….. It has old-fashioned pubs a plenty ~ a magnificent garden centre ~ boutique shops …. It’s a gem ~ beauty in a calm oasis of green, hanging baskets lining the wide avenues colour the roads ~ we had an exceptionally valued afternoon tea at the Colonnade ~ and then a few glasses of chilled white in a local hostelry ~ a fab day in a very beautiful spot!”  ETO5  Chelmsford, United Kingdom

“Our favourites were the tours of Little Venice, led by the musical Shaughan; A Village in Piccadilly, kudos to the entertaining Simon; and Hidden London, courtesy of excellent guide Ann.

“Our guide was Shaughan. He was very knowledgeable about the area, both the history and the famous people who have lived there. He included some poems and songs relevant to our route. It was fun and interesting.”  Patricia Broxbourne  Herford, United Kingdom

LONDON WALKS PRIVATE WALKS

If you can’t make any of the regularly scheduled, just-turn-up, public Little Venice walks do think about booking one as a private tour. If you go private you can have the Little Venice Walk – or any other London Walk – on a day and at a time that suits your convenience. We’ll tailor it to your requirements. And – always with private tours and walks – we go to great lengths to make sure the guide-walker(s) “fit” is well-nigh perfect. Ring Fiona or Peter or Niamh 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 walk makes an ideal group or educational or birthday party or office (team-building) or club outing. Or indeed a fab present – be it a birthday or anniversary or get-to-know-your-new neighbourhood gift or Christmas present or whatever. Merchandise schmerchandise (gift wrapped or not) – but giving someone an experience, now that’s special. Memories make us rich.

MIND THE GAP

It’s not even close

25 reviews for Little Venice – the pursuit of pleasure

  1. Martin Singleton

    Excellent Little Venice walk with Claire. Very entertaining and knowledgeable and we all really enjoyed it. Good recommendations for post walk pubs too!

  2. Bruce Hislop

    What can I say yet another marvelous tour with Claire keeping the humour and facts flowing in equal measure. A small but fascinating area of London

  3. Jerry Fryer

    Visited on Wednesday with Richard the Third…
    I know my rhyming slang & they say there are some things you just can’t polish.
    Richard doesn’t need polishing he’s already an accomplished guide. Great company, knowledgable & informative. We learnt a few pearls of wisdom & facts that we’d otherwise have been completely ignorant of.
    Always good to visit parts of London you’d otherwise probably never visit let alone understand much of the history. A wonderful tour that we’d highly recommend!!!

  4. Irene Gawne – LCA Trustee.

    A couple of hours of delight – information, poetry, anecdotes, musical theatre. Thank you Shaughan for an entertaining and fun tour last Wednesday. Many of our members were totally unaware of this area – a highly recommended walk.

  5. Helen Woolf

    The walking tour of Little Venice with Richard III was wonderful. This is such a pretty part of London and Richard was incredibly informative and helpful with suggestions post walk both for lunch and further places to go.

  6. Del Borra

    Absolutely enjoyable . Very informative. I did not know the area at all. Richard 111 was brilliant . Gave us lots of information.
    Great sense of humour.
    We enjoyed our lunch at the local garden centre afterwards.

  7. Cathja Maas

    Our Little Venice walk with Richard III, was wonderful. Now i know where to get a really cheap egg roll and a nice cuppa, without having to put the kettle on myself. And i know a bit more about the importance of facades for houses and men. St. Mary’s church is lovely and i finally understand a bit about tromps d’oeil. And alas. Owning my own houseboat at Union canal as my pied a terre will probably always stay a dream, personal finances and bureaucracy stand in the way.

  8. Monica Richards

    Little Venice walking tour yesterday was wonderful. Richard 111 was such a droll and informative guide. Would thoroughly recommend

  9. Anthony Brown

    This was a really interesting and enjoyable walk! Very educational, and Richard III was very knowledgeable. We learned a lot about Little Venice – previously this was a part of London we knew little about. Richard had a good sense of humour and explained everything clearly. We will come back for another walk soon!

  10. Andrew

    Entertaining couple of hours walk through Little Venice with Richard aka Richard the Third. Really knowledgeable guide, relaxed and informal but full of information and story about the area and the people who lived and worked there. Highly recommended.

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