ONE DAY ONLY
BOOK EARLY! TOURS SOLD OUT QUICKLY IN 2024
In September 1666 the Great Fire of London swept through the City. Man-about-town Samuel Pepys, witnessed and recorded the events of that extraordinary week. The fire started at 1.00am on September 2nd and by mid-morning Pepys was writing about it in his diary. The fire was put out on the Friday of that week, and we are marking this as Pepys Day in the City of London.
There is much more to Samuel Pepys and his Diary than that one fateful week in September. His diary covers just over nine years and our four tours will include much about him, his life and exploits and the times in which he lived as well as key moments from the Great Fire.
Following the sell out success of the first Pepys Day last year, we have added new tours for this year's event. There are four different walk routes:
Two routes in the morning start from the Monument on Fish Street Hill, and both end inside the Royal Exchange where your ticket includes a £5.00 discount in Engel on food and drink.
Two routes in the afternoon both of which set off from from Engel inside the Royal Exchange and your ticket will give you a £5.00 discount in their bar/cafe/restaurant.
MORNING TOURS FROM THE GREAT FIRE OF LONDON MONUMENT will leave at 5 minute intervals starting at 10.00 with the last departure at 10.22.
Walk 1: 'And So to Bed' goes eastwards and takes in the area where Pepys and his wife Elizabeth lived. Departs at 10.00. 10.05, 10.10, 10.15 and 10.20
Walk 2: 'I to Church' goes northwards taking in many of the places, people and incidents from Pepys' life. Departs at 10.02, 10.07, 10.12, 10.17 and 10.22
AFTERNOON TOURS FROM ROYAL EXCHANGE will leave at 5 minute intervals starting at 13.30 with the last departure at 13.52.
Walk 3: 'Up and by Water' begins by going down to the River Thames where Pepys spent a lot of his time. Departs at 13.30, 13.35, 13.40, 13.45 and 13.50
Walk 4: 'From the 'Change' goes westwards via Pepys' experiences of Guildhall and Cheapside and onwards to The Old Bailey and Pepys' place of baptism "The Wedding Cake" church in Fleet Street. Departs at 13.32, 13.37, 13.42, 13.47 and 13.52
Proceeds will go to the Lord Mayor's Appeal which supports charity partners focused on mental health and tackling homelessness: https://www.thelordmayorsappeal.org/
We aim to make our tours inclusive, but please note there are a few steps (these can be avoided apart from Walk 3 which includes steps up and down from a road bridge), some of the streets have uneven surfaces and dropped kerbs are not always available.
Tickets: £20 plus booking fee.
Booking is essential: http://PepysDay2025
Engel is on the mezzanine in the Royal Exchange and celebrates the style and flamboyance of 1920s Berlin. We feel Pepys would have welcomed this addition to the 'Change he knew and frequented! www.engelbar.co.uk
Following the success of the first Pepys Day, we're doing it again on Friday 5 September and booking is now open! For one day only there are four guided tours, each on a different route but all focusing on the life and times of man about town Samuel Pepys, as revealed through his famous diary. Proceeds go to the Lord Mayor's Appeal Details and booking.
Our daily walks run from the City Information Centre, just south of St Paul's. You need to book via Eventbrite to secure you place. Note: the cut-off time for booking our daily walks is 21:00hrs the night before. If we don't have any bookings then the walk will not take place. Read our policy on Refunds. Our weekly walks have individual booking pages and earlier cut-off times, please see the individual listing or download our Daily walks in the City of London leaflet.
If you'd like to organise your own walk, lecture or a virtual tour, then please use our Find a Guide section. If you're a member of an Arts Society or a U3A, a school or another group we'd love to take you on a tour of the City. Or if you're a company based in the City who'd like to organise a social event for your work colleagues, then contact one of our qualified guides, who can put together an evening walk for you.
90mins
£20.00
