This walk begins 200 years ago in St John’s Wood, where family arrangements routinely diverged from Victorian rules of respectability. What did it mean to be a Kept Woman? Was it only disreputable or an act of shameful immorality? Some mistresses were movers and shakers, like Harriet Howard who financed the return of Louis Napoleon […]
The neighbourhood radiates brilliant industrial solutions of Victorian engineers, but who built it? This walk puts hard-living navvies at the centre of the story and tells how the area developed in the face of the railway's soot and smoke. The walk follows a beautiful stretch of the Regent's Canal, and from the top of the […]
Join Elena to discover the fascinating history of St. Giles. 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 […]
This FREE walk is aimed at anyone who is interested in learning about becoming a qualified Camden Tour Guide, offering an opportunity to meet existing Camden Guides, go with them on a tour around the King's Cross area and have a chance to talk to them about the course and what it's like to be […]
00 years ago King's Cross was a rather desolate place, marked by brick kilns, rubbish heaps and slums. The arrival of the railways changed the area forever: join Elena's walk to discover the traces of King's Cross past - pioneering stations, model dwellings, splendid hotels and many historic building and structures which have been beautifully […]
Discover the life of Stella Gibbons, who published over 20 novels as well as Cold Comfort Farm, her first novel, which achieved widespread success and is a satiric classic. She lived on the Holly Lodge Estate, Highgate, which had been built on land once owned by Angela Burdett-Coutt. John Betjeman and J.B. Priestley lived nearby, […]
This walk traces the route of the now-subterranean River Fleet, which also marks the border between today's Camden and Islington boroughs. ‘Beating the Bounds’ around the borders between parishes, land ownerships and similar is an ancient tradition, where the boundary was literally paced out and marked with stones each year. Our route also explores nearby […]
This FREE walk is aimed at anyone who is interested in learning about becoming a qualified Camden Tour Guide, offering an opportunity to meet existing Camden Guides, go with them on a tour around the King's Cross area and have a chance to talk to them about the course and what it's like to be […]
High Holborn was originally a westward path up from a crossing over the River Fleet, leading through green fields and connecting the mediaeval City to Westminster. The areas to either side featured bishop’s palaces, the first church of the Knights Templar, legal inns and ancient markets. Later, smart residential enclaves developed, then coaching inns, industry, […]
London was at the centre of the suffragette protests just before the First World War, when the capital was rocked by arson attempts, hunger strikes and massive demonstrations. The walk will visit the church where Emily Wilding Davison’s funeral cortège began, and the headquarters of the Women's Social and Political Union, and the site of […]
Discover the history and architecture of Highgate, one of London’s most attractive neighbourhoods. From the tranquillity of Tudor Lauderdale House and the architectural variety of its historic high street dating from the late 1600s, to the grandeur of its 18th Century mansions, the elegance of its churches and the heritage of its historic pubs, Highgate […]
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 […]