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The Top Ten London walks.

Thursday, December 3rd, 2009

We get many requests from people asking which of the London Walking Tours we offer is the best. Obviously this is a difficult question to answer since those who explore London on our Walks nearly always go away raving about what they’ve seen and heard.

Much has to do with your interests. Some people love Jack the Ripper Walks around the East End of London, whilst others find the London Ghost Walks that we offer are more to their liking. Indeed we often get questions about these two walks as to which one we would suggest as a must do.

Well, in truth, they’re both great walks albeit both are very different.

The Jack the Ripper Tour tells the full story of the Whitechapel Murders that rocked London in 1888. It is a story that is as much about social history as it is about crime and murder. You are taken through the very streets where the murders occurred and shown the places where the victims of Jack the Ripper lived and which were known to them.

The Haunted London walks on the other hand are a little more light hearted. They combine fascinating history with tales of ghosts and cover the places where ghosts have been seen.  There are two ghost walks that we conduct on a regular basis. On Fridays we offer the Ghosts, Ghouls and Graveyards Tour and on Saturdays we offer the Alleyways and Shadows old City London Ghots Walk.

So these three regular walks are up there on our list of top ten London walks.

So, in closing, here is that list in full.

1. The Jack the Ripper Tour.

2. Alleyways and Shadows: - The Old City Ghost Walks.

3. Ghosts, Ghouls and Graveywards.

4. The London of Dickens and Shakespeare.

5.  The Secret City:- A Walk Back in Time.

6. A Journey Through Dickens London.

7.  The Inns and Taverns of Old London.

8. Clerkenwell:- London’s Secret Village.

9. The London Story.

10. Pirates and Pressgangs:- A Docklands Pub Tour.

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Walking London With Kids

Monday, November 23rd, 2009

On Saturday an intriguing question was raised by a couple who joined Richard on one of his London walks through the haunted City. They wanted to know what they could do in London, that wouldn’t cost a fortune, with their, children.

This was exactly why Richard wrote his  Harry Potter London walk and treasure hunt last year (still available by sending an email to harry-potter-pdf@discovery-walks.com).

But discussing the things that families can do in London  that aren’t going to cost an arm and a leg Richard came up with a list of  suggestions.

The Bank of England Museum, located a short walk from Bank Underground Station is a great start. Not only can you get to lift a solid gold bar (great fun in its own right) but for children the Bank Museum also provides a quiz sheet of bits of information that they must seek out as they go round.

The Guildhall Art Gallery is another suggestion.  Although they charge and entrance fee, it isn’t that much and they also provide a quiz sheet to keep the kids occupied. 

Next door is Guildhall itself, built between 1411 and 1440 and London’s medieval palace. You can get the children looking for the two fierce giants that guard it.

A little walk away is the wonderful Museum of London, which tells the fascinating story of this great city from pre-Roman times to the present day. Again they provide a great quiz sheet for the kids, admission is free and you can lose yoursefl for a good half day inside.

So, within a short walk of each other you have a whole days entertainment in London that will keep the kids occupied and, if you include Guildhall Art Gallery will cost under £10! Can’t be bad eh?

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London Ghosts and Walks.

Saturday, October 31st, 2009

Of all our London walks none is more popular than the Jack the Ripper Tour.

It being Halloween today for our haunted blog we thought we’d take a look at a ghost story that was linked to the Jack the Ripper murders.

At the time the following story was related at the inquest into the murder of Elizabeth Stride, the third victim of Jack the Ripper who was murdered in Berner Street, Commercial Road, in the early hours of 30th September 1888.

In the wake of Elizabeth Stride’s murder a lady by the name of Mary Malcolm contacted the police to say that she was convinced the murdered woman was in fact her sister Elizabeth Watts.

 Having veiwed the body at the mortuary twice she identified the deceased as her sister from a black mark on her leg which, she said, was the result of an adder bite she had received when they were children.

Mrs Malcolm duly appeared at the subsequent inquest and in the course of her testimony the Cotoner asked her about a “SPECIAL PRESENTIMENT” that she had received.

In hushed tones Mary Malcolm launched into a tale of the supernatural by informing the Coroners Court how she had been lying in bed at around 1.20am on the previous Sunday when she suddenly felt a pressure on her breast and heard three distinct kisses.

This made her, she said, sense that something had happened to her sister, Elizabeth Watts.

Consequently when she heard of the murder in Berner Street she contacted the police to tell them of her fears.

On our London walks about this subject we tell how The East London Advertiser on 6th October 1888 informed its readers that the time when Mary Malcolm heard the kisses was around the time that the Berner Street victim was meeting her death.

“Since” the article continued “it is probable that her killer betrayed his victim Judas like with a kiss” this would account for the three kisses that Mrs Malcolm heard.

The pressure on her breast, it explained, was consistent with where the murder would have placed his hand to steady himself as he leant over to slit her throat.

The newspaper went on to tell its readers how there were numerous records of people contacting their loved ones telepathically at times of great stress and this is what appeared to have happened in this case.

Mrs Malcolm went on to paint her sister in a very unflateering light accusing her late sibling of,among other things,adultery, bearing an illegitimate child by a police officer and even hinted that she was a prostitute.

She stcuk to her story even though the police and the Coroner made it quite clear that they didn’t believe it and that they thought the woman wasn’t her sister.

Her story was finally disporoved when her sister actually hobbled in to court very much alive and denounced Mary Malcolm for giving her such a bad character.

What Mary Malcolm’s motive was for persisting with her elaborate yarn is difficult to ascertain but her story of the dream certainly caught the public imagination.

To hear more about this fascinating tale why not join our Jack the Ripper London walks?

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Haunted Britain - a break from London.

Sunday, October 18th, 2009

As promised yesterday our haunted London walks, will over the next few weeks be telling you about the haunted places in London that you can visit to enjoy Halloween.

Richard Jones, who is widely acknowledged as London’s best Ghost Walk Guide, is currently hard at work on his new book Haunted Britain, which is due for publication on Halloween 2010.

This will be Richard’s 17th book on the Ghosts of Britain and he has travelled the length and breadth of this spectred Isle researching and collecting ghost stories.

Anyway, the new book is going to be collection of brand new true ghost stories and venues, some of which have never found their way into print before.

Each of the chapters of the new book on Haunted Britain will open with a particularly atmospheric poem to set the mood.

Halloween Poems.

Poetry is a great inclusion in a ghost story telling session and it really can enhance the spookiness of Halloween.

Richard’s first book on Haunted Britain and Ireland opened with a poem he often uses to begin his Haunted London walks with.

He wrote this poem whilst sitting on the windswept ramparts of an old haunted castle in 1999. It is entitled hauntings.

Hauntings.

By Richard Jones.

1

In screaming woods and empty rooms.

Or gloomy vaults and sunken tombs.

Where monks and nuns in dust decay.

And shadows dance at close of day.

2

Where the bat dips on the wing.

And spectral choirs on breezes sing.

Where swords of ancient battles clash.

And shimmering shades for freedom dash.

3

Where silver webs of spiders weave.

And blighted lovers take their leave.

Where curses lay the spirits low.

And mortal footsteps fear to go.

4

Where death holds life in grim embrace.

It’s lines etched on the sinner’s face.

Where e’er the march of time is flaunted.

Voices cry “This place is haunted.”

Copyright 199 - 2009. Richard Jones.

We’ll bring you a few more ghostly poems in the run up to Halloween, but in the meantime why not check out all the different London walks and ghost walks that we offer?


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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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LONDON GHOST WALKS

Friday, September 25th, 2009

Today’s blog is a little different to the normal blogs we have been posting about our London walks.

Following on from this morning’s blog we thought it might be an idea if you could actually watch a segment of the London Ghost Walk conducted by paranormal expert Richard Jones.

To that end please find below a snippet of Richard on one of his Haunted London walks telling the tale of the Cripplegate Ghost as featured on our Haunted London walk.


Richard knows how to tell a ghost story and how to hold his audience as the tale unfolds before them. Notice the surprises that he inflicts on members of his group!

But also notice the faces of all those present as they follow the story and react to each drop in voice tone each, carefully crafted phrase, each glimpse over their shoulders that suggests someone, or something, might be lurking behind them.

This is how a ghost story should be told. It should be dramatic and hold your attention throughout and Richard Jones is a masterful storyteller who has the ability to hold his audience, lull them into a false sense of security and then spring the surprise with impeccable timing.

Richard is the premier ghost walk guide in London, and has written many books on Haunted Britain and Haunted London. These include Walking Haunted London, Haunted London, and History and Mystery Walks of London. He has appeared on international television being interviewed and presenting on the ghosts of London.

So why not join Richard on his haunted London walk and enjoy almost two hours of spooky fun?

Click here to join Richard’s Haunted London walks.

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A Walking Tour of London

Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009

London walks make a great way to and experience the streets, buildings and hidden places of England’s capital.

There is so much to see and do in London and walks make the ideal way to really get beneath the skin of this fascinating city.

Walks around London can include the ever popular night time Jack the Ripper Tour. This takes place seven chilling nights a week and is both a fascinating and atmospheric tour of London.

Perhaps your interest is more towards the literary aspects of the City? Don’t worry we have several walks that you might find of interest. Although our Literary London walks are currently only for pre-booked groups of 20 plus they make a great way to experience and explore the streets of London following in the footsteps of some of England’s greatest author.

Richard Jones is the author of the acclaimed book Walking Dickensian London, so who better to guide you on a series of Dickens London walks.

Our Blue Badge Guides also lead a series of highly popular tours that can make a great addition to your day in London. How about a Royal London Walk around the old streets of the village St James? Why not let them lead you on your very own private tour around Westminster Abbey or the Tower of London. The cost of one of these great London walks in the company of a fully qualified Blue Badge Guide  is just £165 plus VAT per group plus admissions.

Richard Jones is the also the author of the international best seller Walking Haunted London. He leads  regular Haunted London walks on Friday and Saturday nights which takes in the more sinister sights and aspects of the City. A great way to spend two hours whilst also enjoying a night out that is both spooky and slightly different.

So when you’re looking for a way of exploring London then walks are far and away the best way to really get to know a city that has spent an amazing 2,000 years preparing for your visit.

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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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A London walk for 50p.

Saturday, August 29th, 2009

We’ve well and truly moved with the times and are really excited about our new and innovative London walks service.

Imagine having your own personal guide who can lead you all over London showing you the sites that interest you and all for just 50p. How’s that for an inexpensive tour of London?

How can this be?

Well, Roger Grant, Mark Ubsdell and Richard Jones have teamed up to take London Walking Tours to their next level.

Being true London tour innovators, talented film makers and with fingers on the pulse of modern tourism they have come up with The Electric Tourist, a new website that enables people to actually download London walks on subjects as diverse as Beatles London, Dickens London, Haunted London and Jack the Ripper London walks.

Within moments you can have a tour guide pop up on your mobile phone screen and have them tell you all about the location you are standing at.

Take Dickens London walks for example. Picture the scene. You’re standing in the very alley where Charles Dickens sited Scroodge’s Counting House in a Christmas Carol.

It’s atmospheric, it’s cobwebbed by time and you are really soaking in the atmosphere. But, now you can quickly download a tour guide onto your mobile phone who will tell you what you’re looking at.

Furthermore, you can also watch a sequence of dramatic reconstructions that spirit you back to how that very spot looked in Charles Dickens day.

Suddenly you are watching Victorian Londoners going about their daily business in the fog bathed streets of the City. You see Charles Dickens standing at the location pondering the creation of Scrooge.

You can listen to the very words Dickens wrote complete with background noises. How absolutely cool would that be?

And now its possible. The most innovative group of names on the London walks scene have put their creative skills together and have made this possible.

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Richard’s New Book - Haunted Britain

Monday, July 27th, 2009

Richard Jones has written many books of London walks. They include Walking Dickensian London, Memorable Walks in London (now into its 6th edition), Walking Haunted London (the 4th edition of which comes out in September), History and Mystery Walks of London, not to mention his free Harry Potter PDF which has now been requested over 2,000 times.

In addition to his books of London walks Richard is also a prolific writer on Britain’s more mystical and paranormal heritage. His books range from Mystical Britain and Ireland to the international best seller Haunted Britain and Ireland.

Richard has travelled all over Britain and Ireland collecting ghost stories for his seventeen published books on Britain’s more ethereal history. He is also widely acknowledged as the best ghost walk guide in London.

Walks that take in everything from haunted plaque pits to haunted pubs are Richard’s stock in trade and with 28 years of doing ghost tours in London he is, as the Evening Standard  memorably put it “pretty much ahead of the pack.”

In May this year Richard was appraoched by a major international publisher asking if he would write a new book on Haunted Britain for them.

Since it has been over a year since he wrote his last book History and Mystery Walks of Edinburgh, and almost six years since he wrote his last major work on Britain’s spectral landscape, Richard was happy to accept.

Thus the new book is now in the planning stages and, in September, Richard wset off for the higlands of Scotland to begin another of his jaunts around Britain.

The book will feature mostly new locations and, as with all Richard’s books on the subject, each one of them will be open to or accessible by the public.

Needless to say Richard will be cutting back on his regualr London walks whilst he is off jaunting around the haunted landscapes of Britain, but he still plans to do his Friday and Saturday night London ghost walk.

One of the new aspect of the up and coming book is that Richard will post a reguular blog here on his travels from whichever location he happens to be in on that particular day. You will be able to follow his progress around the country and, as it were, eavesdrop on his  conversations and discoveries. Indeed, it is hoped that you might feel moved to help out with the research for the book by letting Richard know of any haunted locations near you that you think should be included in the new book. As long as they are open to the public Richard will be delighted to visit and consider them.

In the meantime why not join Richard on one of his haunted London walks and see gor yourself why his is widely considered to be the most in depth and best presented ghost walk in London?

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