Welcome to the April listing of walks by Camden Guides for April 2026, where we start with:
Secrets of St. Giles and Seven Dials: a walk through London’s dark past
Join Elena to discover a fascinating neighbourhood that not many people know.
We will delve into the darker chapters of London’s past as we uncover the secrets of this infamous neighbourhood.
We will wander through the alleys where tales of poverty and crime once echoed (Dickens will get a mention or two, of course…) and discover the remnants of centuries-old buildings that bear witness to St Giles’ tumultuous history.
As we wind our way from the ancient church built on the site of a leper colony to the site of the infamous rookeries and gallows, now replaced by some of the most striking modern architecture in London, we’ll talk music, pubs, executions and developers’ greed. There is something for everyone!
This walk takes place on the 24th of April and can be booked by clicking here.
Nooks and Crannies of Covent Garden
The hidden parts of St Giles and Covent Garden. Explore the history of the area from leper colony via plague pits, executions, slums to the vibrant centre we see today. What lies beneath the surface? Why has it been on a rollercoaster of ups and downs? Meet the mixed bag of characters who have lived in these streets-the original muffin man, pioneering women doctors, music makers and freemasons. Amid the noise and bustle, sit in a quiet oasis of a communal garden. The walk lasts 2 hours, starts at Tottenham Court Road station and ends near Covent Garden tube.
This walk takes place on the 28th of April and can be booked by clicking here.
Women Who Broke the Rules: Bloomsbury Walking Tour
A guided walk led by Elena Paolini, Camden and City of London guide, to celebrate women’s history
Bloomsbury, a hotbed of radical ideas, has always attracted women who refused to conform. This Women’s History Month, we will walk in the footsteps of suffragists who demanded the vote, women doctors who fought to practise medicine, artists who defied expectations, reformers and pioneers who transformed women’s education. As home to the 200 year old University of London, the first secular university in Britain to admit women in 1878, Bloomsbury nurtured thinkers who challenged conventions and changed the world. From political rebels to medical mavericks, this walking tour celebrates bold women who refused to think – or live – inside the box.
This walk takes place on the 8th of May and can be booked by clicking here.
Historic Homes of Hampstead Village
Since its development from a village to an 18th Century spa town and then a Victorian suburb, Hampstead has retained its unspoilt Georgian charm with many listed townhouses and terraces. In the 19th and 20th Centuries this made it very popular with artists, intellectuals and creatives of all kinds and there are many stories of influential figures who are former residents who left their mark on the area. Join our knowledgeable guide on this walking tour to learn more about the people and buildings that have shaped Hampstead, where you will be introduced to a selection of the area’s finest historic homes.
This walk takes place on the 9th of May and can be booked by clicking here.
First and Quirky Fitzrovia
A very popular walk passing the homes of the famous both past and present. Film sets, street art and ending at an iconic tavern.
This is about Bohemian London and both the wealthy and not so wealthy parts of the community. We pass the homes of some celebrities past and present and the workhouse that inspired Dickens to write Oliver Twist. We pass Dickens first London home, and some very ‘quirky firsts’. We walk along Colville Place a hidden gem. As this walk is on a Wednesday we are able to visit the amazing Fitzrovia Chapel which is a real rare treat. This is the location where King Charles in 2024 chose to give his annual Christmas speech to the public.
As with all of my walks we end in an iconic tavern (this one I promise is amazing – its one of those places that it is easier to state who hasn’t drank there than who has!)
This walk takes place on the 13th of May and can be booked by clicking here.
Abolition! Anti-Slavery Campaigners Against the Aristocracy of Skin
Runaway slaves, free blacks and white women and men campaigned for a century to abolish slavery and slave-trading, against fierce opposition
This walk reveals where many key London events took place in British campaigns against slavery – based on a theory of race and ‘aristocracy of skin’ – between the mid-1700s and mid-1800s. Fugitive and former slaves, white lawyers, activists and orators — women as well as men — along with black activists, authors and musicians come alive in a walk from Chancery Lane to Fleet Street, Lincoln’s Inn and Covent Garden, ending at Embankment Gardens.
The capture in London of escaped slaves led to legal cases that campaigners loudly supported. Slaves were given as gifts by West Indies planters to wealthy Londoners who used them as fashion-accessories. There were small communities of free blacks, many working as servants. Blacks made free by fighting on the British side during wars thronged to London, some becoming beggars but others getting by and even moving up in social class. On the walk you meet Olaudah Equiano, Mary Prince, James Somerset, Granville Sharp, Sarah Parker Remond, Thomas Clarkson, Ottobah Cuguano, Elizabeth Heyrick, Billy Waters, Samuel Johnson, Francis Barber, Hannah More, the Fisk Jubilee Singers, CLR James and more names now often forgotten.
This walk takes place on the 16th of May and can be booked by clicking here.
Historic Highlights of Highgate Village
Explore the history and architecture of Highgate on a guided walking tour. Discover the area’s famous residents, see historic buildings and enjoy views of the city. Learn about Highgate Cemetery where figures such as Karl Marx and George Eliot are buried. See the historic Highgate School and St Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church and admire the architectural variety of the high street dating from the 1600s.
Enter the dates of your walk (Format day, date and month, example Saurday 245th March): Public Tours; 30 May, 27 June, 25 July, 29 August, 26 September
Also available to book all year round at weekends for private groups, please enquire directly to Heritage Guides.
This walk takes place on the 30th of May and can be booked by clicking here.
Our next newsletter will be on the first weekend of May, and the listing of walks is updated on our website during the month, click here for the list.