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Wednesday 19 November

TEMPLE AT TWILIGHT AND IN GASLIGHT (Legal London Theme)

A walk through the tranquil, elegant squares of the Inns of Court.  The Temple and Lincoln’s Inn are particularly atmospheric at twilight as dusk falls.   Hear about the evolution of England’s two tier legal system and why the Temple is so called.  See where 2 of Shakespeare’s plays had their opening performances, and hear why those with surnames Temple, Lincoln or Grey may have a surprising ancestry.  We will pass the Crusader Church of the Temple and the Royal Courts of Justice, both enhanced by floodlighting.  Many connections with famous people from John Donne and Dickens to famous legal names such as Lord Denning to Tony and Cherie Blair. End  the walk with glass of mulled wine/Cider in Chancery Lane pub….if not too crowded!

STARTS 4.15pm – Temple Tube

Ends near Chancery Lane

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Sunday 23 November

KINGS CROSS UPDATE – SO MUCH HAS CHANGED!

If you haven’t been to Kings Cross recently you will be amazed at how much has changed.  Come on this walk and see how London’s once  seediest area has been totally transformed and has becoming one of London’s most vibrant areas, with new restaurants and attractions opening all the time.  With the converted Granary home to UAL (University of the Arts Central St Martins) at its heart, the area now sports not only the Victorian gas holders converted into both a park and apartments but also the new Heatherwick-designed shopping street in the old coal drop yard is now open and busy! Throughout the area are beautifully informal gardens, and open spaces, mostly designed by Dan Pearson. A new more formal Islamic-inspired garden has also now opened.  South of the canal the new Google UK ‘super headquarters are taking shape’.

STARTS 1.30pm – Kings Cross Mainline Station.  Meet Customer Information Desk in concourse

Ends Granary Square in Kings Cross

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Sunday 30 November

COVENT GARDEN AND SEVEN DIALS – The red-light district of Georgian London (adult themes!!)

Situated between the dual centres of medieval London – the City and Westminster – the area was originally the ‘convent garden’ producing fruit and vegetables for Westminster Abbey.  It is an area with a roller-coaster history of rags to riches, back to rags, and now to riches again. The most fashionable place to live in 17c. London, it became the aristocracy’s red-light district during the18c., then a slum in the 19c, saved in the 20c from the post war concrete revolution by its residents to finally become the vibrant area we know today.  Whilst the walk will cover the whole history of the area, there will be an emphasis on the most entertaining period in its history….the 18c where the antics of the aristocracy would make tabloid headlines even today.  Discover what ‘le Vice Anglais’ was, what went on in a ‘Molly House’, or why ‘Harris’s List’ proved so popular.  Not for the prudish! A morning walk to avoid the crowds. Can end with lunch  @ 12.45 in Maison le Bab (*Cost £25 if lunch required)

STARTS 10.30am – Embankment Tube – Villiers Street exit

Ends near Covent Garden Tube

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Thursday 4 December

CHARLES DICKENS’ LONDON

A walk through the Christmas streets of London that Dickens both frequented and immortalised in his novels.  I will both tell you more about Dickens life and times, conjuring up the London he knew and depicted, and take you past places featured in his novels.  The word ‘Dickensian’ conjures up both abject poverty and Victorian family Christmases by roaring log fires.  An advocate of Victorian family values learn how Dickens’ own life was hardly a role model for the values he depicted in his novels and writings.  We will start a little later than normal to enjoy London at dusk and to have time to stop for a festive mulled wine in Covent Garden.

STARTS 3.00pm – Embankment Tube – Villiers Street exit

Ends near Chancery Lane

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Sunday 7 December

HOW MAYFAIR TURNED THE MONOPOLY BOARD BLUE!

The most expensive square on the Monopoly Board at £400!  In today’s money £9m – £14m +  buys you a 5 bedroom house.  An area, unlike any other in London, that has never lost its cachet. Come on this walk and you will learn that it all started with a local fair in a buttercup field, a child bride and disgruntled neighbours.  Elegant facades, shady squares (in more ways than one!), transatlantic connections, Mayfair madams, posh shops …true blue money and blue stories.  A rich area in both senses of the word.  Particularly atmospheric at this time of the year for, as dusk falls, one can peer into lighted windows, and Bond St where the walk ends will have their Christmas decorations up!!  Being Mayfair – always tasteful!  Although Bond St. will be busy with Christmas shoppers the rest of the walk will be along quiet residential streets.  Includes short stop for festive mulled wine…

STARTS 3.30pm –  Green Park Tube

Ends 6.00pm on Piccadilly

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Tuesday 9 December

CHARLES DICKENS’ LONDON

A walk through the Christmas streets of London that Dickens both frequented and immortalised in his novels.  I will both tell you more about Dickens life and times, conjuring up the London he knew and depicted, and take you past places featured in his novels.  The word ‘Dickensian’ conjures up both abject poverty and Victorian family Christmases by roaring log fires.  An advocate of Victorian family values learn how Dickens’ own life was hardly a role model for the values he depicted in his novels and writings.  We will start a little later than normal to enjoy London at dusk and to have time to stop for a festive mulled wine in Covent Garden.

STARTS 3.00pm – Embankment Tube – Villiers Street exit

Ends near Chancery Lane

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Thursday 11 December

KINGS CROSS UPDATE – SO MUCH HAS CHANGED!

If you haven’t been to Kings Cross recently you will be amazed at how much has changed.  Come on this walk and see how London’s once  seediest area has been totally transformed and has becoming one of London’s most vibrant areas, with new restaurants and attractions opening all the time.  With the converted Granary home to UAL (University of the Arts Central St Martins) at its heart, the area now sports not only the Victorian gas holders converted into both a park and apartments but also the new Heatherwick-designed shopping street in the old coal drop yard is now open and busy! Throughout the area are beautifully informal gardens, and open spaces, mostly designed by Dan Pearson. A new more formal Islamic-inspired garden has also now opened.  South of the canal the new Google UK ‘super headquarters are taking shape’.

STARTS 10.30am (prov) – Kings Cross Mainline Station.  Meet Customer Information Desk in concourse

Ends Granary Square in Kings Cross 

joining a group of 4 so start time to be confirmed but will be morning

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Friday 12 December

ILLUMINATED RIVER AND CITY – ST PAUL’S TO TOWER OF LONDON

St. Paul’s -> Bankside via Millenium Bridge -> Xmas market to Tower Bridge -> cross back to the Tower

A way of seeing familiar buildings in an unfamiliar light…literally, and it’s also an opportunity for keen  photographers.  Floodlighting enhances aspects of buildings you never notice in daylight, and great buildings like St. Paul’s seem to float above the City, and the Tower of London takes on an eerie quality when not crowded with tourists.  We will cross the Millennium Bridge, then walk along the river, looking up at the skyscrapers of the City and looking down at the reflections of the newly-floodlit  bridges in the dark waters of the Thames.  We will cross back over Tower Bridge, stopping to see an unparalleled view of the floodlit Tower and City, ending by Tower Hill tube. Ends with optional 7.15 supper at Natural Kitchen www.naturalkitchen.co.uk (*Cost £25 if staying for supper)

STARTS 5.00pm – West Front St. Paul’s Cathedral

Ends approx 7.00pm Tower Hill Tube
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Wednesday 17 December

HOW MAYFAIR TURNED THE MONOPOLY BOARD BLUE!

The most expensive square on the Monopoly Board at £400!  In today’s money £9m – £14m +  buys you a 5 bedroom house.  An area, unlike any other in London, that has never lost its cachet. Come on this walk and you will learn that it all started with a local fair in a buttercup field, a child bride and disgruntled neighbours.  Elegant facades, shady squares (in more ways than one!), transatlantic connections, Mayfair madams, posh shops …true blue money and blue stories.  A rich area in both senses of the word.  Particularly atmospheric at this time of the year for, as dusk falls, one can peer into lighted windows, and Bond St where the walk ends will have their Christmas decorations up!!  Being Mayfair – always tasteful!  Although Bond St. will be busy with Christmas shoppers the rest of the walk will be along quiet residential streets.  Includes short stop for festive mulled wine…

STARTS 3.30pm –  Green Park Tube

Ends 6.00pm on Piccadilly

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Friday 2 January

RIVERSIDE VISTAS – BLACKFRIARS – ROTHERHITE 4m via Southward + Bermondsey

As a start to 2026 programme, a 4 mile winter walk along the Thames to recover from festive over- indulgence and blow away ‘the January blues’. To avoid us getting cold I will keep the stops short as the idea of this walk is to enjoy the dramatic views you get from the riverside, upriver back to the City and downriver towards Docklands. We start at Blackfriars and walk briefly along the north bank, with views across the river to Southwark.  Once having crossed the river we will stop for a quick coffee in Southwark Cathedral Café.  We then go along the redeveloped Potters Fields, and the canyon-like streets of Shad Thames between the towering Victorian dock warehouses.  The rest of the walk passes through Bermondsey, where we will briefly detour inland to see a surprising 1920s social housing experiment.  We will end with a brief walk round the old sailor town of Rotherhithe with its early 18C. church, and almost villagey feel, to end with a late lunch for those who want. @ Mayflower Riverside gastro pub (www.mayflowerpub.co.uk) (*Cost £30. £25 if not staying for lunch)

STARTS 10.15am –  Blackfriars Tube

Ends near Rotherhithe Overground/bus to Jubilee Line @ Bermondsey/London Bridge

*Extra £5 where a group lunch is organized to cover my extra time and cost of my meal.

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