We (2 active seniors) will be in London for 8 days late September and are looking at London Walks offerings.
There are so many that interest us, some fit our schedule as it is, some do not- but could if highly recommended.
Just wondering if those with first hand experience can share which walks they especially enjoyed?
Thanks
Loved the Westminster Abbey tour, would never have gotten that info on our own!
I recommend the Old Marylebone one if you're looking for a walk that's mostly on quieter streets away from the main thoroughfares.
I have been on five walking tours in London, and here is a brief recap:
London Walks - Old Westminster by Gaslight; evening tour around Parliament, Westminster Abbey, St. James's Park and selected back streets. Loaded with interesting tidbits about history, architecture, politics, fashion and yes, the gaslights in the area, some of which are original and still working. Rating: A+
Insider London - Underground and Tube Tour; learned about the history of the London Underground from its inception to station architecture to the distinctive logo and system map by visiting multiple stations. Even got a glimpse of an abandoned station! Need to reserve in advance via their website. Cost is 20 pounds.
London Walks - The Beatles "In My Life" Tour; loved seeing where the Beatles played their impromptu concert on the rooftop, where John met Yoko, where Sir Paul's office is located and more. The tour culminates with a visit to Abbey Road Studios and a photo op reenacting the famous Abbey Road album cover.
London Walks - Jack the Ripper; considered a classic walking tour, it weaves the gory tale of Jack the Ripper and his victims with historical information about life in 19th century London.
Ghosts, Gaslights and Guinness; long, boring tales of haunted sites and ghosts. Found myself waiting for the punchline on most of them. Didn't help that the guide's affected story telling was difficult to understand and I wasn't dressed properly for the cold, damp evening. Friends went on the Ghosts of the Old City walk and raved about it.
When I was trying to sort through all of the tours, I found that some might have different names and schedules, but basically cover the same area/information. For example, there are multiple Jack the Ripper tours, multiple tours of the Westminster area, multiple Old London tours, multiple ghost tours, multiple Beatles tours, etc. Also, I was able to eliminate site-related tours (British Museum, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's Cathedral, etc.) as I used other methods such as site-supplied audio guides. In addition to London Walks, I recommend you check out the offerings at Insider London.
I hope this helps. Remember to dress appropriately for the weather, be prepared to walk/stand for about 2 hours (standing was the hardest part for me), and have some spare pounds handy to tip the guide.
Have a great trip!
I've taken 4 and enjoyed them all:
Hampstead Village and Heath, with David
Shakespeare and Dickens in the City, with Steven
The Blitz, with Fiona
Belgravia, with Stephanie
If going on a second walk, pick a different neighborhood for the second one--two walks in the same neighborhood will cover the same basic information besides the theme. I see that as a good thing, because the person taking just one walk will get both a general overview and the specific theme.
Enjoy your visit!
Edit: I did not see anyone tip the London Walks guides and the guides did not seem to expect any tip. From what I understand it's essentially a guides' cooperative, so the £10 they charge is what they expect to get.
My favorites are Old Mayfair, Famous Square Mile, and Hampstead.
Thank you all for the excellent feedback.
At this stage we have slotted in Old Mayfair, Portobello & Notting HIll, Hampstead Village and will likely do the Hidden Pubs tour.
Well, looks like you have settled on some but I will add that my favorite has been Westminster at War. I found that fascinating.
I am hoping to do the Blitz one in October when I am there along with the V&A. I always get so confused in that museum. I am not sure what it is but I can never find what I think I am looking for, lol. I thought maybe a guided tour would help me get oriented.
I did the RS Best of England a couple of years ago and my guide, Tom, also did some London walks in his spare time. Not sure if he is still doing them as I think the RS tours keep him pretty busy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=km1uRxK4Tyk
I am also contemplating doing the day trip to Cambridge with them.
I agree about the guides not being tipped. I tried to tip one of mine and she would not take it. I was getting the senior concession price and tried to give her the extra between that and the regular price.
Would like to add their Along the Thames Pub Walk with the highest recommendation. David Tucker leads this tour Friday Nights, which meets at the Blackfriars tube stop (near St. Paul's Cathedral).
Old Westminster by Gaslight. Great tour! And probably my favorite, Ghosts of the Old City with Shaughan Seymour. He is the BEST!
Oh dear- so many choices, not enough time!
Matt- we had the Thames Pub walk in our plans originally but have a pretty long day planned that day and worried we'd never last thru 9:30 PM- thus the reason we chose the Hidden Pubs on Tues instead.
I guess the good thing is we don't have to commit in advance to any of the walking tours- I can take a few diff plans and we decide as we go taking weather and stamina into account.
Anyhow- still fiddling- will post my itinerary ideas soon for feedback.
I was delighted with the Marylebone tour last summer. We literally made a right turn and left crowed Oxford Street and a gazillion tourists. I will revisit the locations of this tour again.
Have taken two. Inns of Court walk was excellent and would strongly recommend. Jack the Ripper walk was OK.
Am both nostalgic for London Walks I've done and jealous a teeny bit for you, CH. All your choices are terrific, I wager. I remember fondly and had absolute blast on Classic Westminster; Tower of London; Plague, Fire, Hellfire; and day trip to Bath on the Walks I've done in March 2013 and September 2016. The guides! The locations and surroundings! The history and stories and context galore! Took great pleasure in being part of very diverse group and one of only a handful of other Americans; really felt immersed in someone else's culture by a neighborly local. And so reasonable a cost with top-notch delivery and extensive information provided. Enjoy yourselves!!
I'm sure I'm forgetting a few:
Tower of London. Well worth it, I think it was about 26 GBP which included the 2 hour tour from a blue badge guide as well as group admission discount to the Tower. The guide covered the entire history of the grounds, she explained each of the towers, but we didn't go into any of them. After the tour, I spent another 2 hours touring inside the various towers and seeing the crown jewels.
Rock and Roll London Pub Walk. Quite fun as well, the guide carried a guitar and played a set in a pub underneath where the Rolling Stones recorded their first album. The pub had a special on for 2 GBP beers. It mainly focused on the history of rock music in London with some information on Jazz.
Rock and Roll London. This tour I took a year before the above mentioned pub walk. it was somewhat similar although it also went into details into the 1970s punk scene. I'm not much of a punk music fan, but I appreciated the guide's love for those times and he expressed reverence for the numerous music clubs (that are now closed and re-purposed) that we visited along the way.
A Soho Saunter. A very interesting tour, but not for everyone. Why's that? Well, there was a dose of local politics as the tour focused on Soho, but also how the area is rapidly gentrifying and sights are disappearing. There's also a focus on the LGBT community's presence in the area. For me, I loved it.
The Beatles: In My Life. This tour is great, but it involved the most walking of any tour I've been on. The Beatles sights are spread out and it requires tube ride at the end to get to Abbey Road. I'm a huge Beatles fan, so i loved that aspect. But, I also loved the Marylebone area where most of the tour is focused. Million pound and way up houses all over the place, beautiful European cars that I'd never heard of and was looking up on my phone, so this tour is fine for if you've got a non-Beatles fan with you but they want to see a side of affluent London.
Old Westminster. I'm also a political junkie and I follow British politics. This is a really unique tour, half of it shows the usual Westminster sights from the outside, Parliament and Westminster Abbey. The second half is where the magic happens as you get to see the residential areas nearby, filled with political types that live there. We saw a government minister out and about while we were on the tour (this wasn't part of the scheduled tour and I'm being deliberately vague to protect their identity) It also goes by the former home of Sir John Gielgud and points out some World War II signs still visible.
I know I've forgotten some and I'm sure the tours get modified. To be honest, for 10 GBP, I'd go on any London Walk. They're that wonderful.
I enjoyed the 3 I took. The one I enjoyed most was because it was the subject I was most interested in.
I am following along with this thread! We have several London Walks penciled in to our itinerary.
Pam, when will you be in London???
