Deutsch Central London Areas
BELGRAVIA – SQUARES, STUCCO AND….SCANDAL!
A walk round one of the most expensive and exclusive areas of London , spiced up with a bit of gossip and scandal.
BLOOMSBURY – ‘LIFE IN SQUARES’
Georgian squares, and home of the British Museum – where walk ends. Stories of the Bloomsbury Group, Dickens, TS Eliot, George Orwell and life of bohemian London of late 19. and early 20c.
CHARLES DICKENS’ LONDON
A walk about Dickens life and times, conjuring up the London he knew and depicted, passing places featured in his novels. For those who want to make a day of it, visit Dickens House and Museum in the afternoon (entry charge).
COVENT GARDEN – ‘SEX IN THE CITY!’
The area which was an 18c. red-light district for the upper classes! In 19c. declined into poverty and now is regenerated as a vibrant area of street performers and entertainment. Not for the prudish!
FITZROVIA – The Famous and Infamous
The area around Charlotte St., named Fitzrovia after one of the pubs frequented by the literary, artistic, eccentric, and frankly raffish, became the bohemian centre of late 19c. and 20c. London. An area full of atmosphere, and full of good stories.
FOUNDLINGS AND FINE ART – Tour of the Foundling Museum, preceded by short child-poverty themed walk
London’s first home for abandoned children, raised its money through art and music, now immortalised in the play ‘Coram Boy’. Works by Hogarth, Gainsborough and Reynolds are still displayed in the original Rococo surroundings. There is also a small foundling museum including amongst other exhibits the heart-rending mothers’ tokens left with the babies. The tour is preceded by a short walk concentrating on the darker aspects of 18c and 19c London – the plight of ‘foundlings’ i.e abandoned children (entry charge).
KINGS CROSS REGENERATION – IT’S STILL ALL CHANGE
One of Britain’s largest regeneration projects, the once seedy area of Kings Cross has been transformed into a new mixed use development, including the new home to the University of the Arts, an Agha Khan centre, flats, shops and restaurants, (plenty of options for a post walk lunch!) and imaginative redevelopment of old industrial buildings e.g a shopping precinct designed by Thomas Heatherwick. Gardens by Dan Pearson, and other leading landscape designers.
LEGAL LONDON – THE INNS OF COURT (Weekdays only)
A walk through the quiet squares of the Inns of Court where the barristers reside where I will outline the history of our legal system. The 2 hr walk includes tour of the Middle Temple Hall– a rare survival from Elizabethan London (mornings and legal term times only). Full day walk can incorporate a tour of the Temple church (when open) and visit to the Royal Courts of Justice, to sit in on a trial,. Walk can also be combined with lunch in the Tudor splendour of Middle Temple Hall (legal term times only).
LONDON FOR FIRST –TIME VISITORS
I can put together a day encompassing the highlights of London, e.g Westminster Abbey, Changing the Guard, St Pauls, the Tower. (not recommended all on one day!). Being a Blue Badge guide I am qualified to take people inside any of the main sights. My tours will be on foot and using public transport. (tube, bus, or even riverboat).
MARYLEBONE AND MAYFAIR – along the course of the River Tyburn
The Tyburn River rises in Hampstead flows (now through the sewers) under Marylebone, Mayfair, and into the Thames at Pimlico.. We will follow part of the river’s course, strictly above ground through 2 of London’s most elegant and fascinating areas. The layout of those areas, their history and their land-ownership are directly related to the course of the river. (2 ½+ hrs.).
HOW MAYFAIR TURNED THE MONOPOLY BOARD BLUE
For over 300 years the playground for the aristocracy and the rich. Elegant facades, shady squares (in more ways than one!), Mayfair ‘madams’, posh shops, true blue money and blue stories.
REGENTS PARK – THE EVOLUTION OF ENGLISH GARDEN DESIGN (+ world famous rose garden…)
The park has some of the best planted gardens in London. Different elements of English garden design are found in the park, e.g. an early physic garden, the aptly named English Garden (an example of natural landscaping), herbaceous borders, Italianate formal plantings much loved by the Victorians, and 21c wild flower drifts. The walk also visits a secret garden attached to one of the grand villas and the world famous Queen Mary Rose Garden (best June/July).
REMEMBRANCE – A FIRST WORLD WAR WALK
From Hyde Park Corner through the parks to Whitehall passing buildings, memorials and sites associated with the war itself, characters involved and events leading up to it. We take a closer look at the many memorials in and around the central London parks. The walk ends by the Cenotaph site of the annual ceremony of remembrance (Walk is 2 ½ hrs).
SOHO – FROM HUNTING PINK TO RED LIGHT AREA
Soho, with its street cafes, restaurants and its seamier side – learn the history of the area and look more closely at its elegant 17+18c. houses, and hear stories of the bohemian crowd of the 50s and 60s.
SOUTH KENSINGTON – ALBERTOPOLIS + THE GREAT EXHIBITION
A walk through ‘Albertopolis’ with its museums and colleges. Start in the ‘Great Exhibition Gallery’ in the V&A. Then up to take a close look at Albert Memorial and the Albert Hall.
SOUTHWARK AND BANKSIDE – A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE
The red-light district of Elizabethan London – with theatres, taverns, cock-fighting, bull and bear-baiting, a notorious prison, and the ‘oldest profession’ plying their trade…it’s an area rich with stories. Afterwards shop/eat in Borough market (Thurs-Sat). To entertain children and adults alike.
SOUTHWARK + BANKSIDE – THE EVOLUTION OF ELIZABETHAN THEATRE – From Gladiators to the Globe
A walk weaving through narrow streets tracing the history and evolution of the theatre from Roman times to the great flowering of Elizabethan theatre in the playhouses of Bankside. This was also the red light district of Tudor London, so the walk is not as erudite as it may sound! (Particularly successful when done as a precursor to a performance at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre).
ST JAMES – HIGH AND LOW LIFE IN REGENCY LONDON
St James’s – the heart of royal and aristocratic London, – St James’s Palace, Buckingham Palace, the Mall, Pall Mall. – elegant Regency buildings, exclusive shops + stories of dissolute Georgian London and the secretive world of the Gentlemen’s Club.
BIOGRAPHIES IN BRONZE AND STORIES IN STONE – London’s Statues and Memorials
A walk mostly off-road from Westminster Embankment, via Horseguards and the parks ending at Hyde Park Corner to appreciate not only the great artistry of the area’s many statues and memorials, but also the lives and events commemorated. Some heroic, some poignant, and some bizarre.
WESTBOURNE RIVER WALK – THROUGH HYDE PARK, KNIGHTSBRIDGE AND CHELSEA (Bayswater Rd. to Chelsea Embankment – approx 4m (3 ½ hrs)
A half day walk from Bayswater to Chelsea following the course of the hidden River Westbourne. Rising on Hampstead Heath it flows (underground) from Bayswater into Hyde Park where the row of marshy ponds were converted into the Serpentine. The route then weaves through Knightsbridge and the elegant streets of Chelsea to end on Chelsea Bridge where, if the tide is low, you can see its outlet into the Thames.