SHAKESPEARE'S
LONDON This one's
the full ticket. The best this town has to offer. We start with
that wonderful boat ride - downstream and back down the centuries:
from the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre
and Elizabethan London. Ashore we explore the Bankside district -
the world of Shakespeare in Love. Home to the Globe Theatre,
old and new, and the other Elizabethan playhouses...and bear-baiting
dens and St. Saviour's, where he buried his brother Edmund, and an
ancient, swaybacked coaching inn in whose courtyard Shakespeare's
plays are still performed. And a bonus - there's also cobbled, echoing
Clink Street threading between brick cliffs of warehouses where bars
of sunlight probe the shadows...yes, this is also the London of Charles
Dickens's troubled boyhood. The London that formed him - and which
haunted him to his dying day. This walk takes place every Monday and Saturday at 10:00am. N.B. This walk does not duplicate Wednesday's and Sunday's Shakespeare and Dickens's London walk. Return to top
"SOMEWHERE
ELSE" LONDON What a wonderful goulash of a walk this is. It gets you into streets that you'd just never find off your own bat - into a neighbourhood that precious few Londoners have seen, let alone visitors. It's a thrilling discovery - the real deal. There's no better sense of place in London - and no finer architectural effect. Yellow brick, perfectly preserved, all unselfconscious self-respect, real Cockney - unaltered Dickensian London. And the miracle is that it's still there, embedded in central London - screwed in to the big city. That discovery alone makes this one of those bewitching "somewhere else" London Walks. But you've also got a dramatic river crossing, London's best loved old theatre, a real London street market (instead of a tourist trap), and buckets of character. Last but not least, there's a breathtaking bird's eye view of London (and there's a lift to it - so we won't have to walk up hundreds of steps!). This walk takes place every Tuesday at 2:00pm and every Saturday at 10:30am. Return to top
THE
OLD WEST END - Riverside Palace to Theatreland This is one of those corners of London that sets the historical pulse racing. One of those corners that has escaped the frosts of time. One of those corners where ghosts walk. And what ghosts! Because this is Nelson's London. And Liza Doolittle's. Now as to some particulars…we begin with a climax: London's grandest riverside palace - and its finest riverside terrace. Here, unmistakably, we are walking into Consequence. Here are Nelson's Stairs and the Seaman's Hall and the Great Arches and Fountain Court; let alone the King's Barge Room (housing, this this day, the old Navy Commissioner's Barge). It's almost filmic London, but it's real! And then more of the London minestrone. Because by way of contrast we'll explore some higgledy piggledy back alleys. We'll go per le fodere - "through the linings", as the Venetians say. Per le fodere to Covent Garden and the Royal Opera House. And for our finale, another climax: the Floral Hall with its stunning views across the Piazza. Guided by Tom or Richard III. Return to top
OLD
WESTMINSTER - 1,000 Years of History This is the cornerstone, the seminal London Walk. Miss it and you've missed London. For Old Westminster is London at its grandest: the place where kings and queens are crowned, where they lived, and often were buried. It's the forge of the national destiny, the place where the heart of the Empire beat, the Mecca of politicians throughout the ages. The past here is cast in stone and we take it all in: ancient Westminster Hall, the Houses of Parliament, the Jewel Tower, and Westminster Abbey. And to see it with a great guide is to have that past suddenly rise to the surface...like seeing a photographic print come up in a darkroom. It doesn't get any better than this. And embarras de richesse, we'll also explore the private face of Westminster - the London equivalent of Georgetown! Unlike the tourist hordes, we'll get to see the hidden and ever so picturesque Georgian back streets where all the political salons are! We end at the Cabinet War Rooms, the fortified bunker that housed Winston Churchill's centre of operations during the war. You'll get an extremely handsome discount on the price of admission if you want to visit the War Rooms. This walk takes
place every Tuesday and Thursday at 2:00pm; Return to top
THE
LONDON OF OSCAR WILDE London. The 1890s. Gaslit streets echoing to the rattle of hansom cabs and the tinkling laughter of stagedoor Johnnies and their chorus girls. The London of Whistler, Beardsley, Shaw, Lillie Langtry, and Gilbert & Sullivan. Above all, though, the London of Oscar Wilde. Oscar - of all writers, the best company. Oscar - at the height of his fame as dramatist and wit, amusing and outraging Victorian society by turns. Oscar - refulgent, majestic, ready to fall. And fall he did. His life came crashing down...mired in scandal and broken in three of the most celebrated trials of all time. We follow in Oscar's footsteps...tracing his triumph and tragedy in the very places where the drama unfolded, bringing to an end the Naughty Nineties. Return to top
OLD
CAMDEN TOWN - Catacombs, Canals and Cafes Camden Town is the London smorgesbord par excellence. A place where the past melts imperceptibly into the post-modern. A place of canals, cafes, cobblestones, Catacombs, craftsmen's studios, street cred, NW1 literati, Industrial Age iron and brick, leafy terraces and crescents, antiques, artists, actors, and art deco. And that's not to mention Camden Lock, London's busiest and brightest market - and its fourth largest tourist attraction, which "at its best combines the bonhomie, excitement and buzz of Rio's Carnival"! The Lock is the centrepiece of the walk, but Judith, a local artist, also explores the sights behind the sights, unrolling the shifting scene like one of those Victorian panoramas: everything from street style and Neobeatniks to Dickens, Dingwalls, and the Vanishing Viscount by the canal; and from George Bernard Shaw and Toss the Pieman to Dylan Thomas, Bob Dylan and the Electric Ballroom. Afterward, if you like, you can take a traditional narrowboat to the Zoo or Little Venice. Return to top
"I thought
of London spread out in the sun
THE
BEATLES "IN MY LIFE" WALK "There are places I'll remember all my life", sang the Beatles in one of their most evocative songs. Many of those places are in the "London Town" of this walk...so get back with Richard, "the Pied Piper of Beatlemania" (The Miami Herald), to the film locations for A Hard Day's Night and Help, the registry office where two of the Fabs were married, and the apartment immortalised by Ringo, John and Yoko. We'll also see the house where Paul lived with his glamorous girlfriend, actress Jane Asher. Those were the days...for it was in that house that John and Paul wrote I want to hold your hand. And to cap it all we'll go up to St. John's Wood to see the legendary Abbey Road studios and crosswalk. As the Toronto Globe and Mail said of the walk, "A splendid time is guaranteed for all." This walk takes place every Tuesday and Saturday at 11:20am. Return to top
OLD
KENSINGTON - London's Royal Village Meet by the forecourt fountain in the shopping arcade just beyond the ticket barrier This one's special. It's rarely the first - or even the second or third walk people go on, but when they do get round to taking it, they often say it's the one they liked the most. And no wonder, because Royal Kensington is London at its best - picturesque, stimulating, and full of character. Its parts are as delightful as London can provide: everything from warmly handsome old Kensington Palace, home to Princess Margaret and the late Princess Diana, to Kensington Gardens (all meadows, shaded walks, bowers, and flower gardens, it might be the grounds of a stately home in some rural shire) to cobbled little soigne lanes and mews, girt with pretty cottages and charming old shops; and from millionaires' row and regal avenues to beautifully kept squares and a clutch of the world's greatest museums; let alone Europe's largest - and most breathtaking - roof garden, the secluded town house of the greatest Londoner of the 20th-century, an American president's flat, the most astonishing small literary house in the world, acres of gentility, and more history and colourful characters than you can shake a stick at. Afterward you can visit the State Apartments or take tea at the Orangery at Kensington Palace. This walk takes place every Thursday and every Saturday at 2:00pm. Return to top
UNEXPECTED
LONDON - and the Millennium Dome! You've heard about it, so now come and see for yourself. See a London that will make you gasp. A London of strong flavours. A London so unusual, so extravagant, so exciting it's as if you've mainlined on adrenaline. A London that is, surely, the Stonehenge of our era. We begin with the most astonishing urban rail journey in Europe. From the vantage point of our elevated train it's Hello Third Millennium as the whole panorama of Docklands and its sinuous rim, the Thames, unfurls before us. And we're not just idly looking...we're understanding because Judy or Chris use the Docklands Light Railway's public address system to guide right on the train itself. Enroute, we hop on and off for mini-walks that explore up close the hidden nooks and crannies that take us back centuries and give the area such pungency - e.g., Blood Alley, "Homes for Heroes", the shipyard where the ill-fated Great Eastern was built and launched, the pub where dockers were "called on". And, always, the piece de resistance...shimmering across the river, mirage-like, is Greenwich. N.B., begin your journey by getting a two-zone travel card, which will cover all your tube and train fares. Return to top
"I think
it on the whole the best point of view in the world."
THE
BRITISH MUSEUM WALK The British Museum is an incomparably rich treasure-chest, brimming with things of world historical importance. The Rosetta Stone, the Egyptian antiquities and mummies, the Elgin Marbles, the Black Obelisk, the Magna Carta, the 2,000-year-old Lindow Bog Man, the Sutton Hoo treasure...here is civilisation, manifest. The snag is that you can't see for looking...both because of the embarrassment of riches and the sheer size of the place (the building covers 13.5 acres - set off in the wrong direction and you have to walk three times too far). Indeed, how you see it is almost as important as what you see. "The best commentary on the revolution of Greek art and the quality of its achievement is...simply to come direct to the Elgin room from the Egyptian and Assyrian ones, as if into an explosion of life, even, as in the frieze, of gaiety." In short, the secret is to use your time at the British Museum well. This walk takes place every Wednesday and Saturday at 2:00pm, and every Monday at 11:00am. N.B., This walk will not take place on January 1st. Return to top
LITTLE
VENICE 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 (Robert Browning, Edward Fox, Joan Collins, Annie Lennox, and Sigmund Freud 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 known as 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. Afterwards you can take tea at a stylish canal-side café. This walk takes place every Wednesday at 11:00am and every Saturday and Sunday at 2:00pm. Return to top
FROM
THE REPERTORY
* A 5-Zone Travel Card will cover your fares to and from Harrow on the Hill Return to top
SPIES'
& SPYCATCHERS' LONDON Meet by the Clydesdale Bank (Spymaster Alan is the man with the dark hat & green carnation) Spies' London is peopled with Ian Fleming's James Bond and John Le Carre's George Smiley. But it's also the London of the genuine article. The London where for over 40 years Burgess, Maclean, Philby, Blunt and the mysterious fifth man infiltrated the British and American security services and spied for the Soviet Union. This walk takes us into that hole and corner, cloak and dagger London - into the secret places of that murky nether-world. Here we venture into the covert London of MI5, MI6, and the American O.S.S., progenitor of the CIA. Here we close in on the American Soviet agent who finally confessed and unveiled the "Cambridge Ring". Here we pinpoint the "dead letter box" and unmask the fifth man. Here, in Spies' London, fact really is stranger than fiction. Return to top
JACK
THE RIPPER'S LONDON He came silently out of the midnight shadows of August 31, 1888. Striking terror at the hearts - and throats - of raddled, drink-sodden East End prostitutes. Leaving a trail of blood that led...nowhere. Jack the Ripper! We evoke that autumn of gaslight and fog, of menacing shadows and stealthy footsteps as we inspect the murder sites, sift through the evidence - in all its gory detail - and get to grips, so to speak, with the main suspects. Enroute we'll steady our nerves in "The Ten Bells", the pub where the victims - perhaps under the steely gaze of the Ripper himself - tried to forget the waking nightmare. N.B. There is no pub stop on this Ripper walk Return to top
CLASSIC
MURDERS & CRIMES Strong stuff this. Tonight we tread the paths of infamy...walk in the footsteps of the wicked. Murder at the Savoy, death at the Café Royale, a body found in a trunk at a left luggage office, a killer identified by a blindman, a woman found holding a smoking pistol over the body of her lover, the "silk stocking murders", the Krays and a world champion boxer's "suicide"...welcome to the nightmare factory...welcome to the dark side of "the most civilised city" on earth. Good night Ladies. Good night Gentlemen. Sweet dreams! Return to top
THE
OLD HAMPSTEAD VILLAGE PUB WALK Shhh! It's a secret. Hampstead is the best place to be in London on a Saturday night. It's the roof of London. We'll look down and see the lights of the greatest city on earth spread out before us. On a clear night we'll even nip into the Old Observatory for a look through the telescope at the starry heavens above. What else? Well, it's London at its most picturesque- a perfectly preserved Georgian village. There's a superb cast of characters - ranging from the highwayman Dick Turpin to the painter Constable to the poet Keats; from Freud and D.H. Lawrence to George Michael and Boy George; from Elizabeth Taylor and Rex Harrison to Peter O'Toole and Jeremy Irons. There's London's most villagey atmosphere, great restaurants, magnificent Hampstead Heath, and well-hidden, cozy old pubs you'll fall in love with. In short, this is a great walk...they just don't come any better. N.B., This walk takes place every Saturday night at 7:00pm (January 1st excepted) Return to top
THE
other SATURDAY NIGHT PUB WALK
Return to top
GHOSTS
OF THE OLD CITY At night the ancient City is deserted...and eerie. Exploring its shadowy back streets and dimly lit alleys we might be in a medieval citadel, in overpowering stone. The very street names - Aldersgate, Cloth Fair, Charterhouse, Threadneedle - take us far back. We're alone...or are we? For this is the hour when the She Wolf of France glides through the churchyard, the hour when the dark figure on Newgate wall rattles his chains, the hour when the Black Nun keeps her lonely vigil, and something inexpressibly evil lurks behind a tiny window. We're on their trail...or are they shadowing us? This walk takes
place every Tuesday and Saturday at 7:30pm.
JACK THE RIPPER HAUNTS 7:30 pm Tower Hill Underground Please tread carefully and keep away from the shadows - you are about to enter the abyss... He came silently out of the midnight shadows of August 31, 1888. Striking terror at the hearts - and throats - of raddled, drink-sodden East End prostitutes. Leaving a trail of blood that led...nowhere. Jack the Ripper! We evoke that autumn of gaslight and fog, of menacing shadows and stealthy footsteps as we inspect the murder sites, sift through the evidence - in all its gory detail - and get to grips, so to speak, with the main suspects. Enroute we'll steady our nerves in "The Ten Bells", the pub where the victims - perhaps under the steely gaze of the Ripper himself - tried to forget the waking nightmare. This walk takes place every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at 7:30pm. This walk will not take place on December 24 or 25. N.B., Let's call a spade a spade. Going on Donald Rumbelow's walk is as close as you're going to get to nailing the Ripper. Donald is the author of the best-selling The Complete Jack the Ripper, the definitive book on the subject. In the words of The Jack to Ripper A to Z (the bible of Ripperology studies): "Donald Rumbelow is internationally recognised as the leading authority on the subject". The former Curator of the City of London Police Crime Museum and a two-time Chairman of the Crime Writers' Association, Donald is Britain's most distinguished crime historian. And I hasten add, he's not some dry-as-dust academic. He spent 25 years on the City of London Police Force - which in effect means you'll be taken over some of the most famous crime scenes in the world by a law enforcement professional. Oh and I almost forgot - he's also a professionally qualified Blue Badge Guide! But a word of warning: never part with your money or set off with anyone until you're absolutely certain you're with Donald or - if it's another night - one of his London Walks colleagues. Donald (and co.) will be holding up copies of the distinctive white London Walks leaflet. And remember, Donald and his colleagues never ever start the Jack the Ripper walk before 7:30pm. In short, don't let anyone mislead you. |
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