Discover visionary cultural and political thinkers of the 1920s in East Bloomsbury, such as Winifred Holtby, Dorothy L Sayers and the economist Eileen Power. We associate Bloomsbury women with Virginia Woolf, but there were many other influencers who came here, attracted by low rents, and cultural connectivity. Women in particular could live here independently, and […]
Primrose Hill is now one of London’s most desirable areas and home to Paddington Bear, but it was born with the noisy gritty railway. The neighbourhood shows industrial solutions by brilliant Victorian engineers and the hard labour of rough tough navvies who built them. Those workers were the first to live here, and a few […]
A historic walk winding either side of the border between Camden and Islington boroughs – also the route of the now-buried River Fleet. We will see signs of the river course, traces of wells and tributaries, seek out border markers and explore varied architecture from pretty Georgian houses to old warehouses and religious orders.
Join me for an exciting walking tour through Highgate Village, dedicated to celebrating the remarkable women who have left their mark on this historic neighbourhood. On Sunday, November 12, 2023, at 2:00 pm, we will gather at Pond Square, London, N6 6BS to explore how Highgate shaped its women as well as how it's women […]
A historic walk winding either side of the border between Camden and Islington boroughs – also the route of the now-buried River Fleet. We will see signs of the river course, traces of wells and tributaries, seek out border markers and explore varied architecture from pretty Georgian houses to old warehouses and religious orders.
When the Puritan Protectorate ended in 1660, London's sex industry grew wildly public and was linked to both theatres and the underworld. Charles II lifted the ban on theatre-going, and by 1700 London was sex-capital of Europe. This walk starts with the stage at a time when all actresses were assumed to be prostitutes and […]
Join Elena Paolini for a historic but fun Christmas walk in charming Hampstead Village. Did you know that the first Christmas card was designed by a Hampstead resident almost 200 years ago? And that the Victorian cookery writer who gave us the first recipe for a "Christmas pudding" is buried in Hampstead? You will hear […]
Step back in time and stroll through the enchanting streets of Bloomsbury with our accredited guides Elena and Ellika. We will bring to life the forgotten stories of a bygone era as we explore the eclectic array of shops and factories that once populated this historic district. From quaint corner stores to opulent emporiums, discover […]
You will probably know lots of bits of the St Giles’ area: Tottenham Court Rd tube, Centrepoint, Shaftesbury Ave, Seven Dials…but you probably don’t know how the area came to be as it is. A fascinating story of ancient roadways meeting, a medieval leper colony, a failed posh residential district, a notorious Victorian slum and […]
London was the destination for communists and anarchists to meet and argue over the form that the coming revolution would take. German anarchists had lived in London since 1848 and came to police attention after assassination attempts on the Tsar of Russia. Lenin knew London well, and the final split between the Bolsheviks and Mensheviks […]
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 […]
Join Elena on a tour of a secret urban cemetery. Step into the historic and atmospheric St. George's Gardens in Bloomsbury, the first Anglican burial ground to be created away from a church in London. Thanks to the efforts of Victorian philanthropists it was transformed into an "outdoor sitting room for the poor" in the […]