T. S. Eliot – The Waste Land Tour
Blackfriars underground station, London
Guided by Rick Jones
Adult: £20 · Students & Seniors: £15 · Children: £5
Walk Times
| Day | Walk Type | Start Time | End Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday | Weekly | 11.30 am | 1.30 pm | Winter Summer | Reserve Online |
| 4 July 2024 | Special | 2.30 pm | 4.30 pm | Summer |
N.B. this walk will not take place on the following dates:
02-04-2025 20-08-2025By walk’s end you’ll get it about this portrait, understand why it’s so “right.” Just as you’ll understand the poem and the times.
“Inexplicable splendour of Ionian white and gold…”
And a world-class guide to boot.
T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land. The most influential poetic work of the 20th century. Because its centenary was just now “on the clock”
Rick Jones, a poet and musician* himself, has put together this tour of locations in the poem. Up Queen Victoria Street to where St Mary Woolnoth kept the hours, down King William Street to St Magnus the Martyr. And of course London Bridge and “a public bar in Lower Thames Street.”
“This walk has everything I want in a walking tour: a brilliant guide, an inspired route, lots of alleyways and hidden passageways, a secret garden, no end of surprises, fantastic A-List attractions, three stunning interiors, a pub, three rivers (two of them visible),
a heady mix of past and present London, London life surging and eddying all around us, gobsmacking “well I never” tiny details, and brilliant delivery of wondrous content (Rick doesn’t read those great lines, he’s memorised the whole poem – all of it anchored in the places he takes us to and what he shows us.) The walk’s a joy. And a revelation. I’ve come to the walk late – it’s been going six months now – so all I’m doing here is seconding what everybody who goes on it says. See the deluge of rave reviews it’s generated.” David Tucker
*”a poet and musician” hardly goes far enough. Rick guides his virtual tours in blank verse, he was the chief music critic for the Evening Standard for a decade, and he’s a top-flight Blue Badge guide.
The above photo was taken at the Athenaeum Club. It hangs outside the gentlemen’s lavatory.
And here’s Rick in action. Photo by walker Stephen Durham.
WHAT WILL I SEE?
Rick Jones’s T. S. Eliot The Waste Land walk has wonderful visuals.
A Selection from The Waste Land Portfolio
Here’s the grand finale (bears repeating, this one) – the view we get at walk’s end.
And here we are mid-walk. One of three superb interiors.
No words needed.
Single file into a secret garden.
Down the Thames at walk’s end, across the Thames at walk’s beginning
Not forgetting London Bridge Gatehouse.
Hurry up, please, it’s time…
“This way for The Waste Land walk, folks” (it’s London, stuff happens).
Want more walks like this? Check out our other literary tours of London.
Neil Gilkes –
Many thanks Rick for your fantastic interpretation and marvellous recitation and song.
If you are drawn to T S Eliot, don’t miss this walk.
Gordon Blackstock –
5 Stars to Rick and thanks for an excellent walk this morning
Jacky –
Rick Jones is a great guide – really enjoyed his recitations of The Wasteland, together with the odd song thrown in for good measure. Learned so much about both the City of London & T.S. Eliot’s life. Highly recommend.
stephen durham –
Simply brilliant. Rick was more than effective at bringing The Waste Land and TS Eliot to life through verbal eloquence, song, and humor. I was not well informed regarding the insights of the poem nor the life of TS Eliot. I left fully educated and extremely appreciative of this great work. Highly recommended
Janet Jenkins –
Two of the most enjoyable and educational hours I have spent in London. Thank you Rick.
Elizabeth Smith –
Rick showed an extraordinary breadth of knowledge about the poem, T S Eliot and his London. Really exciting walk
Karen LaBonté –
This walk made me so happy. T. S. Eliot, The Wasteland, and London all at once? Amazing. And, to be led by a man as knowledgeable about the subject as Rick Jones… it simply doesn’t get much better. We squeezed our group into whatever space Rick motioned us to fit. No matter how busy or noisy the spot, he spoke Eliot’s words is though from a stage, and sang with delight and a sparkle in his eye. This is the third London Walk I’ve taken and it’s my favorite. Highly recommend.
Hallie Krechevsky –
This tour was a joy. Rick Jones is the best guide we encountered during our trip to London. He is dapper, brilliant, personable and filled with all kinds of interesting facts. But it is his passion for the subject matter that makes Rick such a great guide/host. Thank you Mr. Jones for sharing your love for T. S. Eliot with the rest of the world.
Kathryn Pullen –
I have done many of your walks all good this was exceptional. Erudite and accessible – not the easiest of combinations Rick guided us through Eliot’s poetry, life and London -fascinating. So professional and on a blazing morning we were able to sit in shade while he talked.
If Rick gave classes I would sign up so many interesting points to pursue .
Thank you
Susan –
What an exceptional experience. It is not often one is treated to a superb recitation and analysis of a great poem on the sites that (at least in part) inspired it. Rick’s knowledge of Eliot’s life and work gave us new insight into this complex and in places, abstruse, poem, and revealed the city itself through Eliot’s eyes. We felt immersed in the mood and atmosphere of the poem’s creation. Thank you for a memorable walk!