If you want that close-up and personal picture of London, let’s do a walking tour. What London do you want to see? The River Thames and its magnificent bridges? Old historic alleyways that Charles Dickens knew? Royal parks and royal palaces? Foodie London? Elegant shops and Georgian squares of the West End? Modern skyscrapers next to a medieval castle in the City of London?
- ROYAL LONDON AND ST JAMES’S
St. James’s, also known as Gentlemen’s London, offers shops that have been serving the Royal Court for centuries and where we can still shop in style for cigars, suits, boots, hats, wine and cheese! Guard Change at Buckingham Palace or Horse Guards Parade is a wonderful spectacle showcasing years of tradition. The walk through St.James’s Park is not to be missed as a photo opportunity. Let me show the best spot for those memorable pictures. Pssst….Have you been watching The Crown? I can show you some of the locations where it was filmed!
- THE CITY OF LONDON – THE SQUARE MILE
This is the London of the 21st century, the global centre for currency exchange, big banking and insurance, shiny new office blocks with funny nick-names, but it’s also where London began when founded by the Romans 2,000 years ago. Join me to uncover the rich story of the evolution of the City of London: its quirky stories, colourful traditions, City Livery Companies, dark alleyways, historic pubs, hidden gardens, the magnificent St. Paul’s Cathedral, beautiful Christopher Wren churches and lost market places.
- BLOOMSBURY
This part of London shows off its universities, its medical history and its literary genius. Bloomsbury offers endless stories of elegant squares with apologetic buildings (yes that’s right!), statues of cats, students touching Lucky George the Dragon before exams and writers who wrote in circles, lived in squares and slept in triangles! We can even combine Bloomsbury with the British Museum – a perfect day!
- COVENT GARDEN
Famous for its Apple Market of antiques, a 21st century Apple Store and an old 17th century market place that sold apples and other fruits. Covent Garden is a lovely place for shopping, eating and drinking, catching a performance at the Royal Ballet or Royal Opera House, but there are hidden alleyways and funny stories for me to uncover for you that the usual tourists don’t see.
- MARITIME GREENWICH
Let’s get the River Bus from Central London to Greenwich where we can easily pack a full day visiting the elegant Cutty Sark sailing ship, look out for film locations at the Old Royal Naval College, choose our street food lunch from the old Market or eat fish and chips by the Thames at the Old Trafalgar pub. How about a walk though Greenwich Park to visit the history of time and see one of the best views of London from the hill?
- SPITALFIELDS AND THE HISTORY OF IMMIGRANT LONDON
I love to take visitors to Spitalfields market for a chance to eat at the world’s kitchen table, followed a saunter past rows of colourful market stalls of dresses, hats, leather bags and old maps of London. But walking around the area of Spitalfields is like looking through a window on the immigration history of our great city from French protestant Huguenot houses used for film locations, 19th century Jewish and Irish immigrants to today’s Bangladeshi community and its curry culture.
- THE STORY OF THE THAMES
How did London become the world’s richest trading city at the height of the British Empire? Ever wondered what is to be found east of Tower Bridge? Want to know where London’s Larder used to be? Let’s follow the story of the Thames as a working river starting at London Bridge, crossing over the magnificent Tower Bridge then tracing the line of the old docks of Wapping past old pubs that have witnessed hangings of pirates…but not anymore!
CLERKENWELL – A PLACE OF PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE LONDON
One of London’s oldest villages dating back to the 1100s offering quirky alleyways that Charles Dickens wrote about, old historic monasteries, free museums and perfect places as authentic film locations. Today a vibrant place with a huge selection of restaurants and TWO street food markets catering for the hip clientele working in the local marketing and furniture design consultancies. Clerkenwell is set to become one of the most popular parts of London with the opening of one of the UK’s busiest train stations at Farringdon in 2018 and the move of The Museum of London to the area in 2026. And yes there is a well in Clerkenwell! Come with me – I’ll show you!