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Dickens Walks In London

Saturday, April 17th, 2010

Charles Dickens loved London and walks that follow in his footsteps and in the footsteps of his numerous immortal characters can be great fun.

As part of our commitment to bringing you some great London Walking Tours that are absolutely free we will soon be adding the ultimate Dickensian London walk.

Following on  with the format of our Harry Potter London Tour, the Journey through Dickens London will take you through one od the capital’s most magical quarters, an area that Dickens knew very well indeed and about which he wrote many times.

We’ve now created the PDF for this particular tour and it will be available as a free download very shortly.

The Walk will feature some of the many locations that have changed little since Dickens knew them. Chief amongst them will be a wander amongst the quiet and cloisterly courtyards of the Inns of Court of which Dicken wrote “you can read on the gates who enters here leaves noise behind.” This description is still as true today as it did in his day.

We’ve got some great innovations for our new tours which we’ll roll out as the new tours begin to go live in May.

In the meantime don’t forget that it is possible to sample one of our free London walks by taking our Harry Potter London Tour. To get this free pdf you just have to send an email to harry-potter-pdf@discovery-walks.com and our automated system will ping it back to you within moments.

So keep a keen eye on our blog as we’ll be announcing the order in which the new walking tours will be rolled out in the months ahead.

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Walks in Dickens London

Saturday, November 28th, 2009

There are so many parts of London that feature in the life and the works of Charles Dickens. Although he was born in Portsmouth in 1812, Dickens spent many of his formative years in London and  in later life it came to both inspire and haunt him.

if you take a walk along Strand you come across several buildings associated with Charles Dickens. Heading on one of our London walks from Fleet Street you pass by Temple Bar, which marks the boundaries of the Cities of London and Westminster. Just past Temple Bar (the one that Dickens knew is over by St Paul’s Cathedral) on the left is Child’s Bank. This was Tellson’s Bank in A Tale of Two Cities.

Continuing a little further along Strand you can turn  into Surrey Street and, a little way along, take a stroll along Surrey Steps. Tucked away in this little, shaded back alley you will encounter the Roman Bath, now owned by the National Trust. Nobody knows quite how old this little slice of London History is but Charles Dickens certainly knew and has David Copperfield take cold plunges in it in the novel of that name.

Bank up on Strand our Charles Dickens London Walking tours bring you to the lovely little church of St Mary Le Strand. It was here that Dickens parents John and Elizabeth Dickens were married. They married here because, at the time, John Dickens was working as a clerk in the Navy Pay Office, which was then based at Somerset House a little further along Strand on the left.

This is one of the great things about exploring the City on our London walks . You not only get to see all these wonderful old slices of history but you also get to learn about them, to uncover their story and, in so doing, really gain an appreciation for what is a great and fascinating City.

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Now that’s what I call a London walk!

Friday, November 27th, 2009

Have you ever found yourself spoilt for choice wondering which London Walking Tour is the one for you? It might sound a strange question but we do often get phone calls from people who find themselves spoilt for choice over exactly which one of our multitude of tours they should take.

Of course it very much depends on your interests. A good starter tour is perhaps our popular Secret City London walk which shows you some of the wonderful places at the heart of the old city of London. This really shows you how this great City really does hide its treasures from prying eyes and makes it all the more wonderful to discover the hidden places that lie tucked away behind the busy main roads.

Your interests may be more towards the literary? No problem you can explore the streets of Charles Dickens London on the several different Dickens walks that we offer. Or you can explore the district of Southwark on the south side of the River Thames, across the river from St Paul’s Cathedral, on one of our Shakespeare’s London walks.

If you interests are more towards the sinister aspects of London’s history then fear not (or should that be start to fear!) as we offer a regular Jack the Ripper Tour of London that departs seven chilling nights a week at 7pm. This is what we really call a London walk. It involves walking old, historic streets that have changed little since 1888 when Jack the Ripper stalked their shadows. It includes a cracking murder murder mystery that will keep you guessing with each twist and turn of both the narrative and the streets. But it also provides a glimpse of the fascinating social history of one of London’s most multi cultural districts.  All in all it is the perfect tour of London.

So when you are looking at our London walks and trying to figure out which one you should take, just read our detailed descriptions and see for yourself why the old saying “when a man is tired of London he is tired of life” still holds true today.

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City of London walks

Wednesday, October 28th, 2009

The City of London features on our Walks in many different guises.

We, for example, include it on several of our secret London walks. These are the tours that delve into the old alleyways and hidden courtyards that snake their way through the centre of the one square mile.

Included on these London walks are places that seem untouched by time. These are the places that really do give you the thrill of uncovering parts of London that you would never dream still existed.

Then there are our ever popualr haunted London walks. We have several of these that take in some truly atmospheric and very spooky parts of the City.

For example, our Ghosts, Ghouls and Graveyards walk takes in the spot where William Wallace, Braveheart, was executed.

Our Alleyways and Shadows Old City London Ghost Walks take in the wonderful medieval palace of the City, Guildhalll, the walls of which have stood proud and defiant against fire and bombing for nigh on 600 years.

If you are a lover of literature then why not take one of our Charles Dickens London walks. Dickesn features London in virtually all his novels and it is great to explore the streets that he wrote about and see them through his eyes, or to be more precise through the yes of his characters.

So there really is a great deal to discover and experience on our London walks that explore the one square mile. So why not have a look around our site and choose a tour that appeals to you?

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The Nod Factor

Thursday, October 22nd, 2009

What is the Nod Factor?

Our City of London walks are packed with great little snippets of information that make a tour with us both delightful and inspiring. You will learn a great deal about the City on our tours and will learn lots of fascinating facts, as well as anecdotes to dine out on.

There are certain stories that we tell on our London walks that really do grip people’s imagination, and this is where the nod factor comes in to play.

On our walks around the heart of the old City we tell the story of where the word TIPS came from. This is one of our nod factor stories.

When we tell this story there is that moment when it registers with our audience and several people in the group will turn to the person next to them and nod at them as if to say “isn’t that interesting” or “I’m really glad I learnt that.

So the Nod factor is that moment of appreciation when participants on our London walks learn a little piece of information that really registers with them and which they truly appreciate our guides imarting to them.

Of course with such a wide variety of tours to choose from there are lots of nod factor moments on our London walks. They occur on our Jack the Ripper Tour when we tell people where the name Jack the Ripper came from. They happen on our Dickens Tours when we tell our group how Charles Dickens childhood workmate was a man by the name of Bob Fagin.

Indeed on every one of our Walks of London from Shakespeare to the ghosts of the old City there are at least four or five nod factor moments.

So now you know what the nod factor is, why not keep an eye open the next time you join us for a London walk?

Just watch for the moment when your guide imparts a fact and members of the group turn to each other and nod in appreciation.

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Our Popular London walks.

Wednesday, October 7th, 2009

Our London walks really have got London covered. We include many places that are off the beaten track, but we also include some of London’s most popular attractions, such as St. Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey and the Tower of London.

The most popular of our London walks is, without doubt, the Jack the Ripper Tour. This takes place seven nights a week and explores the old alleyways, and cobbled passageways of Whitechapel in the East End.

One of the things that makes our walk in the footsteps of Jack the Ripper so popular is the fact that we are the only London walks group that limit the number on our tours to a sensible and manageable number.

Next in the pecking order comes our ever popular London Ghost Walks.

These take place on Friday and Saturday nights and explore the old streets at the heart of the City of London.

The Walks through Haunted London are a great way to see the City whilst at the same time enjoying a night out that is different, slightly chilling and, above all else, thoroughly entertaining.

Our Friday night Walk is entitled Ghosts, Ghouls and Graveyards and it explores some of the old burial grounds and Roman ruins of London.

Our Saturday night Haunted London walk is entitled the Alleyways and Shadows Old City Ghost Walk and it explores some of the wonderful old alleyways off Cornhill. These places have changed very little since Charles Dickens knew them, and it was in this area that he opened his most ghostly of ghostly tales, A Christmas Carol.

The other popular one of our London walks is the free Harry Potter Tour which is available as a 30 page PDF, which you download yourself and then follow the step by step directions setting your own pace.

So there you have a quick synopsis of our most popular London walks which really will help you to see so much more of a City that spent 2,000 years preparing for your visit.

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Exploring Paternoster Square - London walks

Tuesday, September 29th, 2009

Standing in the middle of Paternoster Square and looking up at the mighty and glorious dome of St Paul’s Cathedral, you can’t help but draw breath in wonder and the splendid vision that unfolds around you.

Paternoster Square, which we cover on several of our London walks, is a lovely mix of old and new London.

On one side of the square is an arched gateway which is Temple Bar. It is the only one of London’s City gates to survive and gives you an idea of what London would have looked like when it was a walled and gated City.

Temple Bar used to stand at the junction of Strand and Fleet Street, a little to the west of its current location. For over two hundred years the daily life of London moved in and out through this gate.

It was built in 1672 and designed by Sir Christopher Wren, the same man who designed St Paul’s Cathedral, which towers over you as you stand in Paternoster Square.

It was the gate that separated the City’s of London and Westminster and the statues that you see on it are of James 1st and Anne of Denmark, plus Charles 1st and Charles 11.

From 1684 it was put to a somewhat gruesome use with parts of the bodies (usually the heads) of traitors being displayed on spikes above its arch. One enterprising tradesman actually set up a stall alongside Temple Bar and rented out telescopes for half a penny to enable people to get a closer look at their favourite or most infamous traitor!

In 1805, for the funeral of Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson,  Temple Bar was covered in black velvet as a tribute to the great Naval hero. Nelson, incidentally, is buried in St. Paul’s Cathedral.

But, by the 1870’s, London’s traffic was increasing and Temple bar was something of a hindrance to the smooth passage of the horse drawn. vehicles. Charles Dickens in his novel Bleak House refers to it as “that leaden headed old obstruction” and he pretty much reflected the attitude of London as a whole. Thus is 1878 it was taken down and moved to Theobald’s Park in Hertfordshire, the mansion of the brewing magnate Sir Henry Meux.

Over the next hundred years it was vandalised and allowed to fall into ruin. But, in 2003 when Pater Noster Square was being rebuilt, The Temple Bar Trust brought it back to central London and it was erected close to St Paul’s Cathedral, Sir Christopher Wren’s greatest legacy to the City of London.

The room over the gate can even be hired for private dinners by approaching the Chapter House of St. Paul’s Cathedral, which will be the subject of a later blog and which features, along with Temple Bar on our Historic City of London walks.

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London Ghost Walks

Friday, September 4th, 2009

Our haunted London walks offer you the opportunity to explore the hidden courtyards and secret places at the heart of the old City of London.

At night the City streets begin to empty of their daytime population and gradually the alleyways and courtyards at the heart of the city become deserted.

This sets the perfect backcloth against which to explore the historic streets and discover the old buildings where ghosts are known to walk.

Our haunted London walks take place on Friday nights and Saturday nights.

Our Friday night tour is the Ghosts, Ghouls and Graveyards of London and it sets of from outside the Lord Raglan Pub on St Martin Le Grand. It explores the graveyards and old burial grounds that still survive amongst the modern buildings of the City of London. It also features visits to two execution grounds where we tell tales the of the dark deeds that occurred there centuries ago.

Our Saturday night haunted London walk  is the Alleyways and Shadows ghost walk which explores atmospjeric old places such as the location where Charles Dickens set Scrooge’s counting house in the opening pages of that most ghostly of ghostly tales  A Chrsitmas Carol.

It also features some of the City’s more chilling historical tales and gives you the opportunity to discover London when the streets are at their emptiest and most chilling.

So if you are looking to find a night out in London that is totally different then why not join us on one of our Haunted London walks?

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Walk With Dickens in London

Sunday, August 30th, 2009

Why not get Charles Dickens on your mobile phone?

Well, to be more to precise why not download a Charles Dickens London walk for just 50p and follow it step by step around the streets that Dickens knew.

We’re trailing our new innovative London walks at the moment as per our exciting new concept of tours that you can follow and watch on your mobile phone.

Mark Ubsdell has been ploughing away at developing these mobile tours for more years than he’d care to think about.  America has seen three changes of President since Mark first hit upon the idea of mobile tours that you could download onto your phone.

But, the technology was always a bit ifey. Download times could take for ever (America might see two changes of President before one 4 minute tour had downloaded!); internet connections were cumbersome, slow and jumpy. Stop start, stop start.

But times have changes. Mobile phone load times are now speedy. The coming of Broadband has made stop start films a thing of the past.

Now you can turn on surf, click and away you go. And thus the Eletric Tourist has come of age.

The concept is very simply yet, at the same time, surprisingly innovative.

You make your way to a London Underground Station, dowload a walk and, as if by magic, your very own personal guide pops up on your phone screen and takes you step by step around the streets of London following a particular theme such as Haunted London, Dickens London, or even The Beatles London.

Walks like this are a real advance. No longer do you have to schedule your day to fit in with the departure times of a particular company’s Guided Walks of London.

You can turn up at that underground Station at any time of the day or night (wow just think about it, you could do a ghost walk at 2am!!!), download the mobile guide and away you go.

Step by step directions will appear on your screen. A guide wil be standing alongside you (well at least on the screen of your phone) telling you what to look at and giving you some of its history. And, and this is the really cool bit, dramatic reconstructions can spirit you back to the actual ages that you are hearing about.

No other London walks can offer you this level of technological innovation. We have well and truly taken the Walking tour market into the 21st Century and left the competition behind. We’re not just streets ahead, we’re years ahead!

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More About Dickens Walks In London.

Thursday, August 27th, 2009

Not far from the ultra swish new St Pancras station is St Pancras Old Church, which is well worth including on any London walks you do, particularly to admire its 6th-century altar stone, which legend holds belonged to St Augustine.

In Old St Pancras burial ground close by you will find  the ‘Hardy Tree’, which  was planted by Thomas Hardy (1840–1928) when, prior to becoming a novelist, he was studying architecture in London.

Hardy was given the task of clearing the graves from Old St Pancras Churchyard during the construction of the Midland Railway in the 1860s.

This ash tree that he planted on a domed mound of tombstones has now grown to maturity, and memorials cluster around its trunk or protrude from its roots – a bizarre, though curious sight.

A few years before Hardy came here Charles Dickens had made use of Old St Pancras Churchyard as the burial place of the Old Bailey spy, Roger Cly in A Tale of Two Cities (1859).

It was also here that Jerry Cruncher and his son came ‘fishing’ in the same novel; although they were armed with a spade rather than a rod, for they were in fact body snatching.

There is also a crumbling gravestone in the old burial ground on which a weathered inscription commemorates Mr William Jones, ‘for many years master of a respectable school in this parish’ who died in 1836.

The school in question was the Wellington House Academy, which stood on nearby Hampstead Road, and where Charles Dickens became a day pupil, following his father’s release from the Marshalsea Prison.

Dickens was somewhat disparaging of Mr Jones, later remembering him as ‘by far the most ignorant man I have ever had the pleasure to know, [he was] one of the worst-tempered men perhaps that ever lived, whose business was to make as much out of us and to put as little into us as possible… ’ Mr Creakle, the ferocious headmaster of Salem House in David Copperfield was based on William Jones.

Very few people pay a visit to this old tombstone but it just goes to show that if you are intrepid enough to do your own London walks around the places known to and associated with Charles Dickend then you can really find some notable places.

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