From Boswell`s life of Johnson.
Take a walk through the beautiful St.James` Park, once a favoured playground of King Charles 2nd, it was through this that his Father, Charles 1st walked to his execution in 1649. Happily we now live in less turbulenttimes, with a royal wedding this year and the Queen`s Diamond Jubilee in 2012 this walk has a contemporary relevance. You`ll see royal residences:
Buckingham Palace, Clarence House, St.James`s Palace and hear stories about their past residents. We`ll take in a little window shopping at some of the exclusive emporiums which for centuries have serviced the needs of London`s high society. Depending on the time of day you`ll also catch the spectacular ceremony of Changing the Guard.
Having served in the Guards myself, I have taken part in many ceremonial events: Changing of the Guard, Trooping The Colour, The Queen`s Golden Jubilee, and state visits by overseas heads of state. This gives me a personal perspective on London`s ceremonial, I`ll even bring my bearskin hat if requested!
Almost 2000 years ago London was founded by the Romans as a trading post and that what it`s been doing ever since. Many of it`s most famous financial institutions began in the age of exploration and discovery when merchants and and venture capitalists founded the first joint stock companies in the City`s coffee houses. Our walk, which follows the modern city`s medieval street pattern takes in some very modern architecture, Sir Richard Roger`s Lloyd`s Insurance building, Lord Foster`s Swiss Re building (gherkin) not to mention an amazing Victorian market, used as a location in `Harry Potter and the Philosopher`s Stone`. You`ll hear about the past and present of these cathedral`s of capitalism,and learn about future developments as the City strives to reinvent itself for the 21st Century.
BEATLES WALK:
On this walking tour you will also require a zone 1 and 2 travel card. See the Abbey Road Studio where the Beatles made 90% of their recordings and that famous zebra crossing! We then track the `Fab 4`across London, taking in film locations, former homes and Apple offices, the registry office where Paul married Linda and the night club where John met Yoko. Takes approximately 3 hours.
SOUTH BANK WALK:
For centuries London`s south bank was a place of unbridled pleasure, well provided with inns, brothels (many regulated by the church) bearpits and theatres. In the 21st Century the area is once again an entertainment centre with the Tate Modern Art Gallery, the South Bank Centre and the new Globe Theatre at it`s heart. Our walk beside the River Thames and through winding alley ways, takes in the site of the original Globe, the infamous Clink Prison, the remains of a medieval bishop`s palace, one of London`s oldest markets and much more. we finish at the George Inn, London`s last surviving galleried coaching inn.
Once a Roman refuse tip, then a medieval livestock market, this patch of real estate just outside the City of London has played host to jousts, gruesome executions, not to mention the anarchy of St Bartholomew`s Fair. We`ll walk through the splendour of central London`s last wholesale meat market, see it`s oldest hospital, where apparently Sherlock Holmes met Dr Watson, an ancient church which has appeared in blockbuster films and the site of a 14th Century plague pit. Don`t get lost in this warren of lanes and alleys, there`s sure to be a ghost!
JACK THE RIPPER WALK:
Surely one of the most notorious series of murders ever committed, yet perpetrated by person or persons unknown. The best way to come to grips with the story is to walk the same mean streets, pass murder sites, hear the evidence and learn about some of those suspected at the time. This walk covers a fascinating district to the east of Central London and I`ll tell you something of it`s history, there`s even an opportunity to steady frayed nerves at a hostelry once frequented by the Ripper and his victims!
MEDICAL LONDON
Until the 19th Century London`s mortality rate exceeded it's birth rate yet by the same period it had become the World`s largest city. Medicine has always been a part of London`s story, how could it not be in a great metropolis reliant on the movement of goods and people from the four corners of the Globe? A city of which Jane Austen said `Nobody is healthy in London, nobody can be`. Hear about London`s plagues and contagions, it's medical innovators, it's quacks and criminals and how medical developments and institutions have helped shape the Capital. This walk traces London`s medical history back to the medieval period, sometimes revelatory, sometimes macabre but always fascinating.
Bethnal Green is a fascinating area at the heart of London`s East End. Long synonymous with crime, poverty and political extremism it has of late benefitted from urban regeneration and the process of gentrification. The spirit of old Bethnal Green still haunts every street corner. Hear about a colourful cast of characters connected with the neighbourhood from `Jack the Ripper` to Stalin, via Dr Barnardo, the `Elephant Man` and the Kray brothers.
