Perhaps you have been living in London for ages but – like me – have never really ventured out to explore new areas. Like so many others I usually stick to where I live and work, old favourites or perhaps where my friends are based, but I seldomly decide to have a look at uncharted territory. That said, I actually know surprisingly little about the areas I usually hang out at.
If you would like to explore London and (re-)discover the city, then walking tour company London Walks is a perfect way of learning about its history and exploring the city by foot. As Peter Ackroyd writes in his biography of the city, “London is made for walking. It is a city of small streets and sudden vistas, of unexpected alleys and hidden courtyards.It cannot be seen from a bus or car…”.
With a huge range of walks, from Foodies Walks, which give you a fascinating insight into the high tables of the great and good, Beatles walks – Abbey Road Studios included of course – to ghost and Jack the Ripper tours, there will be the perfect walk for everyone. Art lovers will appreciate tours of the V&A, while those into history will be interested in archaeology walks. If literature is your thing, follow Shakespeare’s traces or perhaps in the footsteps of Harry Potter?
Even to us Londoners the city is bound to look - and smell and sound – different on foot, and the tours are a great way of perceiving the habitual differently by slowing down our daily journeys and rushhour commutes.
For those who would rather travel a bit further, the company also offers Explorer Days to Oxford, Bath and other places in Southern England.
A London Walk – and there is at least one each day of the year - lasts about two hours, and the walks and Explorer Days always take place, rain or shine. Each walk ends at or near a London Tube Stop for an easy journey home. Each walk costs £7 – or £5 for Super Adults (65+), full-time students, and Discount Walkabout Card holders. Children under 15 go free if accompanied by their parent(s). Walks cannot be booked in advance, you just turn up.
The Explorer Days to Oxford & The Cotswolds, Stonehenge & Salisbury, Richmond & Hampton Court Palace, Bath, Cambridge, etc. cost just £12 (or £10 for Super Adults and students) plus your tariffs.
