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by London WalksForget about guide books and maps. Listen to my description as you walk through London.
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Dockands
22/09/2007
How can you possibly beat a walk along the Thames on a fine day? Shadwell (the name probably came from Shite-well or Shit-well) might be an unauspicious start, but in a few paces from the Docklands Light Railway or East London Line Zone 2 you come across the fabulous Nicholas Hawksmoor church of St George's with its 160 ft (49m) tower. Dickens described its 'Romish' practices in the mid 19th century as 'miserable fancy dressing pantomime posturing.'
Dickens features again and again on this wonderful walk. The Mystery of Edwin Drood with its opium dens, The Uncommercial Traveller, and Our Mutual Friend are all references on this walk.
Tobacco Dock is sadly no longer the vibrant retail development it was, but you can still walk through it and see the statue to the Bengal tiger and the young boy rescued from its jaws. You can see the two full size pirate ships, and admire the fantastic brick built construction (Grade 2 listed by English Heritage).
After strolling through an area where there was a notorious workhouse, we arrive at Wapping station. From this point, the walk continues along the Thames Path affording unrivalled views of the Thames and Canary Wharf in the distance.
Joined by one of our listeners, Kim from New Jersey, on this walk, we take a break in the Prospect of Whitby public house with its full length pewter-topped bar, wood posts made from the masts of ships, hangman's noose dangling over the river, and several fine draught ales I tell the tale of the Hanging Judge Jeffreys as we quaff our beer on a bench in the open air beside the river near the old parish boundary wall. Wonderful.
There are more pubs along the way after crossing Limehouse Basin including The Grapes as well as a fine restaurant bar The Narrow (chef proprieter Gordon Ramsay). FInally we leave the Thames-side to admire another Nicholas Hawksmoor church of St Anne's with its high clock faces and strange pyramid in the graveyard originally intended to top the tower.
The walk ends at the DLR station of Limehouse (Zone 2) from where it is only a few minutes ride back to Bank or Monument (Central, Northern, District & Circle Lines Zone 1).
Marylebone
27/08/2007
Marylebone is the area north of Oxford Street. It was originally the closest village to central London until developed in the 18th and 19th centuries for housing by two landlords. Now Marylebone is a mixture of housing, offices and retail.
The Marylebone walk starts at Marble Arch Underground station (Central Line Zone 1) and finishes at Baker Street (Metropolitan, Hammersmith & City, Circle, Bakerloo, Jubilee lines Zone 1).
We walk through a number of squares and along Upper Berkeley Street to the Wallace Collection. We then pass near the Wigmore Hall, one of London's best small concert venues and down the gem of a shopping and eating street called St Christopher's Place before emerging briefly into Oxford Street, the busiest but by no means the best shopping street in the West End. Turning up Vere Street past Maroush V, a good lunch stop, we come to the home of the LICC at St Peter's Church, built in 1724. We then walk along New Cavendish Street through the medical area before turning up Marylebone High Street. This is a 'must see' when visiting London - not only for the shops, restaurants and general atmosphere, but also because Charles Wesley (1707 - 1788) writer of more than 150 hymns and leader of the Methodist movement is buried near St Marylebone's Church. The final part takes us along the busy Marylebone Road past Madame Tussauds to the Tube at its junction with Baker Street.Bayswater (East)
10/08/2007
This is the second part of our Bayswater walk. The first part to the west started at Notting Hill Gate Underground (Central, Circle & District Lines Zone 1/2) and finished at Lancaster Gate (Central Line Zone 1). We now continue from Lancaster Gate, and finish at Marble Arch (Central Line Zone 1).
Our first port of call is the lovely church of St James the Less in Sussex Gardens. The list of Vicars of Paddington posted on the wall goes back to the 14th Century, and our stroll through Bayswater starts inside the church which has been extensively refurbished.
Bayswater is a series of interlocking squares. We continue through Sussex Square through a small charming mews into Gloucester Square. from here we can see the church of St John the Evangelist in Hyde Park Square. We meet the clergy as we enter this church, and hear about Horseman's Sunday when the Vicar annually greets his congregation from horseback, and more than 100 other steeds follow his lead around the roads locally.
In Albion Street we pass a house once owned by the last Rajah of Sarawak, and then the home of William Makepeace Thackeray. After passing along Connaught Street - in Edwardian and Victorian times a fashionable shopping destination - we finish at the site of the Tyburn Gallows and enter the Tyburn Convent where sisters still pray for the souls of the 105 Catholic martyrs who lost their lives. The site of the Tyburn tree now stands on a roundabout by Marble Arch. It is named after the river Tyburn which now flows underground.
From here it will be possible to continue this walk through Marylebone, ending at Baker Street, Madame Tussauds and the literary site of Sherlock Holmes' appartment.
Campden Hill
22/07/2007
This is a circular walk through Campden Hill in Kensington starting at Notting Hill Gate Underground (Circle, District and Central Lines Zones 1 and 2). Leave the Underground through exit A and go straight ahead until you turn left into Campden Hill Square. The walk takes us up one side of the square, across the top and down the other side to Holland Park Avenue. This is a lovely sloping square developed over many years around private communal gardens. There were a number of interesting residents including Siegfried Sassoon. We look at their houses and hear a little of their history.
The walk continues along the edge of Holland Park away from traffic, and crosses beside the Open Air Theatre before emerging into Melbury Road. This is a fascinating part of town best known as an artists' colony. The land was acquired from Lady Holland on a 99-year lease when debts forced her to sell. Huge houses were erected with large north-facing windows where artists and sculpters painted and modelled the rich and famous, becoming even more rich and famous themselves in the process. Holman Hunt was one of the most notable residents. His wife continued to visit St Paul's Cathedral after he died to gaze at The Light of the World. Lord Leighton's house is open as a museum.
We then walk by the southernmost gate of Holland Park into Kensington High Street and into the Phillimore Estate. Linley Sambourne House can be visited - a perfectly Victorian town house. Open March - December. Visiting times click here. From here we swalk up and down several streets in Campden Hill, stopping at places of interest, some literary, some musical.
The walk finishes in Kensington Church St by a house where Musio Clementi once lived. From this point it is a short stroll back to Notting Hill Gate and the Underground.
A review of London Walks
11/07/2007
There are now around 35 episodes of the free London Walks podcast for your iPod or MP3 player. They cover much of the centre of London as well as further afield. There are also episodes showing you how to use London's public transport, as well as getting to and from the airports.
We have many listeners around the world. Something like 200,000 separate downloads so far. Not only by tourists and those planning to visit the capital, but also schools using the podcast with their students for teaching English or history, and those who through age or disability can no longer travel. Many people appreciate the soundscape. It makes them feel like they are walking alongside me.
On the less favourable side, we have been threatened with legal action by a company offering personally guded walks, even though what we do is free and we do not personally guide anyone.
Secondly there has been little financial support or sponsorship to pay for the costs of bandwidth and other costs. Thank you nevertheless to those who have made contributions.
Thirdly, and most important, the technology is time consuming and not always reliable. Up to now, we have been relying on second hand minidisc recorders, but even though these are cheap and make good quality recordings, they have to be imported in real time as the file format is incompatible.
What of the future? Well, I have many more ideas, but am faced with the expense of buying a new MP3 recorder which will only be useful for podcasting and costs up to $500. This is a greater expense than I can justify for what is purely a service to others.
If you would like to see these walks continue, and are prepared to make a contribution towards this expense, please use the PayPal button to give whatever you feel is right. Thank you.
