Welcome to the Camden Guides newsletter of walks and events, and although it is not until October, we start with details of Camden’s contribution to this year’s Local London Guiding Day, when we offer a free walks throughout the day exploring a specific aspect of Camden:
Camden Guides for Local London Guiding Day: King’s Cross, From Grime to Sublime!
Every October, on Local London Guiding Day, guiding associations across London offer free guided walks. This year’s theme is Back to the Future – how yesterday’s London changed into the capital of tomorrow.
Camden Guides’ walks this year showcase the King’s Cross redevelopment: From Grime to Sublime!
Explore how King’s Cross has transformed from an industrial wasteland to a hub for leisure, learning and travel, aware of its past as it builds the future, on its journey from steam, coal and gas to coding, creativity and green spaces.
Meet at King’s Cross Railway Station, under the station clock tower. Each walk lasts one hour. Book online or just show up on the day.
Local London Guiding Day takes place on the 10th of October 2026, and walks run on the hours between 10:00 and 16:00.
More details and for booking (or just turn up), click here.
And now for the rest of this coming months walks:
Living on the Edge: Artists, Writers and Radicals of Fitzrovia
Fitzrovia began its life as a place on the edge — the outer reaches of the city and polite society. And that is baked into its DNA. A peripheral place that has been a draw to outsiders and misfits, artists and revolutionaries. A testing ground for radical ideas and social reform, where women’s liberation was set in bricks and mortar. Join us to discover the world-changing events that have taken place in these beautiful streets, and get to know this lovely area just a stone’s throw from the hustle and bustle of London’s West End. Finish your walk in one of London’s most beautiful pubs, where famous bohemian locals helped shape the identity of the area we know today as Fitzrovia.
This is one of my ‘evening socials’ – perfect for an after work meetup or an evening out with friends.
First and Quirky Kings Cross and St Pancras
A visit around the recently regenerated railway lands. The walk consists of some very interesting ‘firsts’, a lot are transport based, but also about the contrast in the life styles of the inhabitants. The area has recently undergone a massive transformation and is very much a ‘destination’ with so many new companies moving into the area. It is also a walk about the lives of the poor as well as the home of some iconic inventions and well-known traditions. We visit the old coal drops yard, now completely transformed and St Pancras Old Church graveyard, which includes John Soanes grave the inspiration for the telephone box
This walk takes place on the 9th of September and can be booked by clicking here.
David Bowie: The Birth of Ziggy Stardust
2026 marks 10 years since the death of musical and cultural icon David Bowie. The National Portrait Gallery commissioned me to write this tour in homage to his early career and the music that propelled him to superstardom. And now I’m free to share it with the world.
It may surprise you, but the path to success was not easy for the young man whose real name was David Robert Jones. We’ll walk the streets and see the sites and studios that moulded a wannabe suburban teenager into an intergalactic rock god — from his earliest dabbles with music, a plastic sax and skiffle bands, through his fledgling recordings that barely tickled the pop charts, to his eventual rebirth as Ziggy Stardust.
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 12th of September and can be booked by clicking here.
Dorothy L Sayers Bloomsbury
A walk through the Bloomsbury exploring where novelist Dorothy L Sayers lived, worked and took inspiration for her detective fiction.
Dorothy L Sayers, one of the “golden age” crime writers between the first and second world wars, lived and worked in Holborn and Bloomsbury – as did her alter ego, Harriet Vane and other familiar characters from the novels and short stories.
See places from which she took inspiration for her detective fiction; find out more about Sayers’ characters and about the woman who brought them all to life.
This walk takes place on the 13th of September and can be booked by clicking here.
Camden Lock: Music and Revolution by the Old Canal
Camden Town has been a hotbed of musical scenes and counter-cultures for over 50 years. But where did it get the grit and charm that has inspired so many musicians and writers? From open fields to steam and stench, industrial powerhouse to drinkers’ paradise, and from radical thinkers to musical rebellion — what is it that put this tiny area of Camden Town on the global stage and spawned cultural movements that changed the world? Join us as we look beyond the t-shirt stands and souvenir stalls to discover the places where counter cultures were born and music history was made. Find out how Camden Town became the beating heart of Rock, Punk, Britpop and beyond! The tour naturally ends in one of Camden’s fine pubs.
This walk takes place on Saturday mornings and starts at 10.45am to beat the big crowds.
From Peter Pan to the Time Machine: A Guided Walk
How Does Time Accumulate in a Street?
A short Hampstead street and its churchyard contain an extraordinary concentration of stories spanning more than two centuries. Scientific discovery, literary imagination, social reform and architectural innovation have all left their mark here.
Participants will encounter stories connected to the discovery of hydrogen, the inspiration for Peter Pan and The Time Machine, campaigns for co-operation and social change, and the architect later associated with Battersea Power Station. Along the way we will explore a historic churchyard where the graves of well-known figures stand alongside memorials to forgotten lives.
The walk also introduces a living witness to this history: an ancient lime tree that has watched generations come and go, linking past and present in a way that even H.G. Wells might have appreciated.
This walk takes place on the 20th of September 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.
This walk takes place on the 26th of September and can be booked by clicking here.
Nooks and crannies of Covent Garden
Start the tour with an immersive sensory experience on the Outernet. Then wiggle through the quieter nooks and crannies of this bustling area. Learn about the slums of St Giles and why they’re called the rookeries. Find an inner city garden with its own ecosystem. Hunt for the hospital that was run entirely by women during the first world war. Why is a cinema called “garden”? Who was the father of modern football and what’s his connection to Covent Garden? And what’s going on with Freemasons who claim they’re “not a secret society but rather a society with secrets.” End the walk in the heart of Covent Garden with time to shop, eat or revisit the quiet oases you’ve discovered.
This walk takes place on the 29th of September and can be booked by clicking here.
Radical Bloomsbury: Hidden Histories of Community, Critique and Change
Explore radical Bloomsbury’s past in a guided walk where you find hidden stories of abolitionism, scientific critique, and social dissent.
A guided history walk that uncovers the hidden stories of the ordinary people, radicals, and reformers who shaped Bloomsbury from below. While the area is globally renowned for its elite literary heritage, this tour shifts the spotlight onto the streets, pavements, and public spaces where history was driven by independent voices and defiant acts.
Led by an urban geographer and accredited Camden tour guide, the walk decodes the layers of the built environment, tracing the forgotten echoes of past lives etched into the very stones of the borough. Together, we will explore powerful narratives embedded in the local architecture—from the courageous anti-slavery struggles of Mary Prince and the defiant satirical dissent of William Hone, to Eduardo Paolozzi’s striking monument that challenges how we view science and authority.
Perfect for local history enthusiasts and anyone curious about the intersection of community, critique, and change. Come and discover a different, more radical side of Bloomsbury.
This walk takes place on the 3rd of October and can be booked by clicking here.
The Ballad Walk of St Giles
Discover dramatic stories of historic St Giles-in-the-Fields and the trades and industries of Seven Dials. Through spoken commentary and sung ballads this walk brings first-hand experience of street life in the area during the times of Pepys and Dickens. Singer and researcher Vivien Ellis with Camden Guides will lead you through a ballad walk which provides a direct connection to the characters and stories of the past.
The ballads have been researched and gathered by Vivien with a group of volunteers and the support of the University of Cambridge Rare Books Library, British Library, Charles Dickens Museum and Camden Archives.
Approximate running time 2 hours. Audience participation encouraged!
This walk takes place on the 3rd of October and can be booked by clicking here.
A second date for this walk is available on the 4th of October.
The Ballad Walk of Charles Dickens
Enter the world of Charles Dickens: experience the sights and sounds of 19th century Bloomsbury through songs, spoken commentary and selections from his writing. Follow some of the routes of his daily walks from his home on Doughty Street (now the Charles Dickens Museum) and enjoy songs from the Museum’s William Miller collection of sheet music, inspired by his characters and stories. Singer and researcher Vivien Ellis with Camden Guide Chris Wilkins Molloy will lead you into a world of streetsweepers, abandoned children and domestic service contrasted with Victorian middle class comforts. Approximate running time 2 hours. Audience participation encouraged!
This walk takes place on the 3rd of October and can be booked by clicking here.
A second date for this walk is available on the 4th of October.
Our next newsletter will be on the first weekend of October. You can always check our website where we have a regularly updated listing of walks during the coming months.