The little Old St Pancras church lies to the north of Kings Cross station. Lovely though the church may be it seems an unlikely location for a royal wedding, and indeed it is, but in 1826 a royal wedding of sorts took place there – between Louisa Constance Bouchier Smith and Charles Edward Stuart, Count Roehenstart – pretender to the British throne.

The last of the Stuart monarchs, Queen Anne, died childless in 1714, and the 1701 Act of Settlement prevented Catholics from the throne. This ...

In these strange times we have more time to look more closely at some of the familiar spots in our own locality. So, I had time to stop and study this over-the-top shop frontage in the historic market place of Kingston-upon-Thames – normally full of shoppers but it was very quiet as most shops were still closed. 

At first sight this Grade II listed building might be thought to be Medieval or Tudor but the two dates 1909 and 1929 give away the fact that it is just over 100 years old and built...

In the most South-Western corner of Greater London is the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames. Many people think of this area as just the suburbs, but there is a lot of historic interest here.

This shouldn’t really be too surprising. It is one of only three Royal boroughs in London – the other two being Kensington and Chelsea, and Greenwich. Just think of the name – it means King’s manor/estate. It was first mentioned in royal records in 838. In the tenth century it was the place of ...

By the nature of their work London tour guides are big into CPD (Continuing Professional Development). As part of our CPD, all London guides who work with us are encouraged not only to go on other local London walks led by fellow London Guided Walks guides but to also to attend tours by other tour guides. 

In January I had booked my place for a local London walking tour for February.  I had done this over their website (after having submitting more information than I really though necessary a...

Cartwright Gardens is a graceful crescent of brick buildings with stuccoed ground floors. The first floors facing the street have finely wrought iron balconies and the top, fourth floor is marked off from the lower levels by a heavy white lintel. Otherwise, the facades are plain with recessed sash windows picked out in white.

The effect is of restrained classical elegance. It lies just south of Euston Road in Bloomsbury, and features in our King’s Cross Walk. The buildings a...

350 years ago the Great Fire of London tore through the medieval streets of London, destroying 80% of the city in four days. 373 acres of the City - from the Tower in the East to Fleet Street and Fetter Lane in the West - and burning around 13,200 houses, 84 churches and 44 company halls.

Learn more about this major event, how the royals and the regulars dealt with this disaster as well as other historical events on our Heretics and Horrors walking tour.

London has a lot of many wondrous things such as pubs and theatres but what London seems to have more of is ghosts.

We have some fab Halloween themed walks available 27th, 29th & 31st October. Join us on this night walk and hear tales which will give you a chilling thrill! 

Tues 27th Oct, 7pm Baker Street  - Haunted Marylebone & Mayfair Book now

Thurs 29th Oct 7pm Baker Street  - Haunted Marylebone & Mayfair Book now

Sat 31st Oct, 3pm London Bridge - City of London Dragons Book now

Sat 31st Oct, 7...

St John Street, Islington, was originally a lane linking the village of Islington to the City of London.

When you look up St John Street (as in the pic above) you can see a slight incline. That's been made up of gravels from the ice age. Underneath that is London clay. Where the gravel and London clay meet there is a line of fresh water springs. 

Those springs are still evident in place names such as Sadler's Wells and Clerk's Wells, more commonly known as Clerkenwell today.

The geology has had ...

Many of Dickens’ contemporary critics and reading public feared that novels could be too realistic, and that naïve readers (often female readers) wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between fiction and reality. Especially for a novel like Oliver Twist, which is about “dangerous” subjects like poverty, crime, and the relationship between the two.

"Please sir, I want some more"

London is repeatedly described as a labyrinth or a maze – once you get into it, it’s hard to get back o...

11th Jan, we experience London through the eyes of Oliver Twist. Join us: http://t.co/SRHeeYS77q@footprintsldn pic.twitter.com/MbQ8GHoVSQ

— London Guided Walks (@Guided_Walks) January 4, 2015

London has a lot of many wondrous things such as pubs and theatres. What London seems to have even more of is ghosts. 

There are a number of different types of paranormal activity:

Demonic hauntings - a haunting by a nonhuman entity. They often start off with subtle and relatively simple paranormal activity before quickly increasing to strong, potentially scary activity. Demonic hauntings can be very dramatic, yes, even violent.

Cold Spots – a small, defined area of intense cold, at least 10 d...

Home to kings and queens since William the Conqueror, Windsor is dominated by its castle, which, as benefiting a monarch, is the largest in the kingdom.

 The trail starting in Egham takes you first to the calming waters of the Thames, where you can explore Runnymede, the site at which medieval barons forced a King John to sign the Magna Carta in 1215 which  lasted less than three months. Read more about the situation surrounding the Magna Carta.

"And still when mob or monarch lays,

Too rude a ha...

“London is a city that needs, that demands, to be explored on foot.”Geoff Nicholson, The Lost Art of Walking

The pace of London and its people moves so fast that the ability of being able to observe and absorb one’s surroundings certainly requires the speed of travel be slowed down. And what better speed to decrease down to than that of walking? It is a way of actually shifting a state of consciousness.

There are many nooks and crannies of London that cannot be seen and/or appreciated at ...

History of Mason's Yard, Mayfair

Ormond Yard was laid out as a 200 feet square plot of land originally designed to be a stable yard and by 1740 the yard was already being called Mason's Yard, probably due to the owner of the two houses fronting both the yard and Duke street was a Mr Henry Mason. It would make sense for him to have rented some stables in Mason's Yard.