English.
Architecture, Crime and punishment, Religion, Romans, Samuel Pepys, Livery companies, Evening walks, Christopher Wren's London, City churches, General city tour, Lectures and talks, Financial Institutions, Great Fire of London, River Thames.
My Father, who passed away in 2016, worked in Lombard Street in the City in the 1970s. He was something of an amateur guide and would take friends and colleagues on Walks around the City.
In 2019 I found Dad's tour notes and, with a couple of friends, began following the routes of his Walks. We bumbled around and often got somewhat lost - this was at a time when I didn't even know where to find the Bank of England!
A friend then asked if I'd organise a Walk as part of her birthday celebrations. I planned the route, walked it to and fro and did my research. On the day itself I had a tour party of ten people. They seemed to enjoy it - I loved it and thought "this is the thing for me".
Accordingly I started to devise my own walks and take people around the City and Docklands.
In 2022 I was delighted to qualify as an official City Guide.
The rest, as they say, is history!
While you are here, please look at this charity event being held in the City in 2023: 42up.org.uk
Institute of Tourist Guiding Green Badge
Few of my walks follow any particular theme. They encompass different areas of the City and aim to bring you a gamut of its rich and sometimes peculiar history.
All walks start and end near an underground or railway station. Several also just happen to finish somewhere handy for a traditional City pub!
A few times each year I also offer a longer tour, not in the City but in the London Docklands. This takes around 3 hours plus a lunch break of 60-90 minutes.
There are several scheduled walks each month, details and booking via Eventbrite.
I can also offer private tours for your family, friends or colleagues - details on my website.
All Walks last around 2 hours unless otherwise stated
BARTS & BAILEY – City Thameslink station to St Bartholomew the Great(Barbican/Farringdon stations)
Early education; the fate of the Friars, crime and punishment; ghoulish goings on; City’s oldest hospital and maybe its oldest Church.
BILLINGSGATE - starts and ends at The Monument
Alleys, back-streets and the banks of the river in the south east of the City.
BLACKFRIARS - starts and ends at Blackfriars station
The plight of child actors, a king's wardrobe, river Thames, City bridges, green spaces.
CITY ESSENTIALS - Monument to Cornhill (Bank underground)
Old churches, new towers, fire and plague, dragons and devils, livery companies, slave trade, Loch Ness monster(!), prominent City characters plus how a sewage worker got rich.
CORNHILL CIRCLE – Cannon Street station to Walbrook (Bank and Cannon Street underground)
Postal service, a Welsh connection, coffee houses, Wren church, a mysterious stone and more.
(a short walk lasting about an hour)
DOCKLANDS NORTH BANK – Docklands Museum to Tower Hill station
Isle of Dogs, Limehouse, demise of the Docks, Captain Kidd, River Police, St Katherine's Dock.
Longer than the City Walks taking around 4 hours with a lunch stop at a riverside pub.
FAKE FACTS, FOLKLORE & FRAUD - Monument to Postmans’ Park(St Paul’s tube, City Thameslink)
A foray into some of the City’s folklore, fictions, fake facts and fraud plus a medley of misconceptions, misinformation and myth.
GARLICK HILL – begins and ends at Cannon Street station
Discover the story of Swan Upping, maybe meet a disgruntled ghost, hear the true tale of Dick Whittington and also the connection between aero engines and the medieval City.
(a short walk lasting about an hour)
GREAT FIRE – from The Monument to Paternoster Square
Treading the embers of the Great Fire – and discovering some less fiery features along the way.
LUDGATE HILL – from St Pauls tube to New Change (near to St Pauls tube)
More than one Great Fire, bird of prey, clairvoyant cat, a reflective look at the cathedral plus a big nail.
(a short walk lasting about an hour)
For dates and bookings please visit Eventbrite
SECTS in the CITY - Liverpool Street station to Blackfriars station
Examining various religious places and organisations.
This is a longer walk than usual, around 150 minutes but with a coffee and snack stop along the way
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