Lower your eyebrows O ye of little faith. A walk through Deptford? Surely not, I hear you say. Scoff not - this will prove to be one of the most fascinating walks so far, whether you walk the walk, listen to it, or follow it on Google Streetview as I know lots of you do. So, suspend your unbelief and follow me through Deptford. Or - follow Sergeant Vanstone as he walks his beat on 25th and 26th July in the year 1899. Yes - this is an actual walk and we follow much of the route he took.

Sergeant Vanstone was not alone. The beautiful manuscript notebook I am following was not written by this particular Bobby. It was written by Charles Booth, who accompanied him. Booth was engaged in surveying the streets of the East End. His maps coloured each side of the streets using a colour key intended to signify levels of affluence and deprivation. Yellow for walthy. Red for well-to-do. Shades of pink, violet and purple for Comfortable, Poor & Comfortable (Mixed) and Poor. Deep blue meant Very Poor. One category remained.

In the late 19th century, poverty was seen not as an unfortunate condition which was remediable and resolvable, but as the fault of individuals. Shockingly, the remaining black colour was reserved for what Booth describes as Semi-Criminal. A terrible indictment, you may think, and I agree. The silver lining though came from the fact these maps changed the attitude of late Victorian London. Afterwards there was more talk of social deprivation and poor wages and less of criminality.

Nevertheless, looking back at the descriptions of the neighbourhoods Booth and Vanstone passed through, and comparing what we see today is a salutary exercise and a fascinating one from both the historical and social perspective. Oh yes, and you can toss in industrial archaeology, the development of trade, and so on and so forth.

I'm not saying that Deptford is pretty, quaint, or picturesque. It's clean, peaceful, and most definitely up-and-coming, at least where the old houses remain. True, many of the old streets have disappeared and been replaced by fairly low-rise housing estates, most looking quite reasonable. The second world war determined the wholesale clearance, not housing policy. The neighbourhoods, like much of London, are pleasingly multi-ethnic and multi-faith. Lots of Chinese and South-East Asia shops in the High Street add to the cultural mix and providing wonderful food and shopping.

Take this walk on a Wednesday, Friday or Saturday if you love mooching round the Markets. The market area is just near the railway station. This is the start and end of the walk. From Central London, you can take a train from Cannon St (walk out of the District & Circle Underground, and turn right and right again to enter the mainline railway terminus) or London Bridge (from the Underground platforms, follow 'British Rail' signs). Trains are frequent. You alight after one or two stops. You can use your Travelcard or Oyster, but remember to touch the Reader as you leave Deptford station.

Thanks and appreciation go to the London School of Economics who have put Booth's work online for us to read. Look for Booth B368 from the LSE pages if you want to see the original notebook scanned.

I'm glad I thought of this walk. We start at Warwick Avenue Underground Station (Zone 2 on the Bakerloo Line - just one stop north of Paddington) and finish on the Circle & District Line platform of Baker Street, the worl'd first underground railway opened in 1863. Baker Street is also on the Metropolitan, Bakerloo, Jubilee and Hammersmith & City lines.

The walking is easy. There are lovely houses and interesting places to see. Most of the route is free of the noisiest traffic. Like the walk to Campden Lock, we start by the cab shelter by St Saviour's Church where there is also a Boris Bikes stand, and walk down Warwick Avenue to the Grand Union Canal at Little Venice. I describe the history of Maida Vale and St John's Wood as we walk beside the canal towards a tunnel under Aberdeen Place.

Where the Campden Lock walk continues along the towpath towards London Zoo, this time we turn left and walk up Lisson grove to Lord's Cricket Ground. Here a guided tour of the home of cricket is recommended. For details of availability, click here. Continuing up Grove End Road brings us to Abbey Road with its famous EMI recording studios and the pedestrian crossing made famous by the Beatles on their 1969 album cover. The EMI studio was the first custom designed recording studio complex built anywhere in the world. Artists associated with the studios include Edward Elgar (Land of Hope & Glory 1931), Yehudi Menhuin, Thomas Beecham, Janet Baker, Glen Miller, Cliff Richard, Max Bygraves, George Formby as well as the Beatles themselves. In recent times, the Abbey Road studios were responsible for recording music used in the films Raiders of the Lost Ark, Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter.

At Abbey Road we pause to look at the graffiti left by Beatles fans from all over the world on the walls and gates of the studios.

There is an opportunity for some snacks, coffee, or drinks in St John's Wood High Street. The shops are elegant and upmarket. This shopping street is an unexpected and welcome haven of calm after the frenetic northbound A41. After some refreshment here, we enter the old burial ground of St John's Wood Church, now a park, but originally the final resting place of more than 50,000 souls. Some of the ancient headstones remain in a wildlife garden. Leaving the church, we cross the busy roundabout and enter Regent's Park beside the London Central Mosque. From Hanover Gate, we walk alonside the boating lakes, past the fantastic Nash terraces including the London Business School and exit into Baker Street by way of Clarence Gate.

Where else but 221B Baker Street would one look for the fictional rooms where Holmes and Dr Watson lived. Nowadays the shop is a museum. Tat for the tourists, of course, but fans of Conan Doyle will not want to miss it.

The platforms of Baker Street Circle & District Line are the end point of the walk. Here one can see the brass plate recording the first steam trains running from Paddington undersround, and see the original brick vents where smoke escaped. The railway with its open trucks must have been a wonder to behold, as well as very unpleasant to ride in.

A fascinating and lovely walk. Lots to see. Lots to do. A pleasant stroll of some 3 miles. I hope you enjoy it.

Londoners call the Transport for London Barclays Cycle Hire scheme Boris Bikes after Mayor Boris Johnson.

Started in July 2010, Londoners could rent sturdy bicycles from around 400 docking stations scattered around the central zone. Once registered, you paid £3 for a plastic dongle which would release bicycles from their stands and automatically charge an access fee of £1 for the 24 hour period. Payment could alternatively be for 7 days (£5) or the whole year (£45).

Now in 2011 casual use of Boris Bikes is possible using your credit card, either online or at the terminal beside each docking station. The price is the same (except that you do not have to pay for a dongle) and once your have chosen the appropriate access fee you are issued with a 5-digit number to release your bicycle.

After cycling to your destination, dock your bicycle firmly and await the green light which indicates your bicycle has been properly docked and the charging period has finished.

The secret is to cycle for no more than 29 minutes. if your journey is longer, simply dock your bicycle and take another one from a nearby docking station. For this, you put the same credit card in ther terminal and receive another 5-digit number which will release another bicycle.

Alternatively, have a coffee or wait 10 minutes before taking a bicycle from the same docking station and continuing on your way.

Check out the interactive maps of docking stations which shows in real time the number of bikes available and empty spaces in which to dock.

Voila. Simple. The first 30 minutes is free, so stay multiple times within half-an-hour and you will not have to pay more than £1 a day.

So much is free in London, from cycling the sights, visiting museums, and watching the world go by, why not ditch the Underground, get fit, and go from place to place at your own pace. remember to cycle on the left, and use as many of the cycle lanes, bike paths especially in the parks, and contraflow lanes as you can.

It's perfectly possible to cycle for miles without ever having to dice with taxi drivers around Hyde Park Corner, or join the melee along Kensington High Street. London is becoming more and more cycle friendly, so why not join the rest of us on two wheels - all for less than £1 a day?

We pick up the London Wall walk again at the Museum of London.

If you are continuing the route from Part 1 you will be at this point. If you are just doing this part of the walk, then you should start from St Paul's Underground station (Central Line, zone 1) and take Exit 2 then walk up St Martin's Le Grand to the Museum.

This concluding part of the London Wall walk starts with a visit to the Roman Londinium galleries in the museum, where you can see houses, shops, pavements and other reconstructions of life at the time the Roman wall was built. At the east end of the gallery is a long, inclined glass wall which overlooks the city wall. From here you can look down over the bastion which we saw from ground level in Part 1.

The remainder of the walk is about an hour in total, so much shorter than the walk so far. There is a long section of the wall nearby in Noble Street with its own observation walkway, glass panels, and descriptive boards. Noble Street leads down to the junction with Gresham Street and the church of St Anne and St Agnes. Crossing St Martins Le Grand once again, we enter Postmans Park where the wall by G F Watts commemorating ordinary people who sacrificed their lives to save others provides a poignant and fascinating record of individual bravery.

The site of Newgate which was demolished in 1777 is the next point of call, near the Central Criminal Court in Old Bailey. Remains of the wall can be seen on application to Security in the Merrill Lynch offices office hours - call 020 7995 9770 - but sadly the portion in the basement of the Central Criminal Court cannot be viewed by the public.

The foundations of the Roman wall have been discovered incorporated into the western wall of St Martin's Church Ludgate. This is another Wren church with interior by Grinling Gibbons. Opposite is a nostalgic old sweet shop and an alleyway off Pilgrim Street.

From here, we make our way parallel to new Bridge Street. This marks the line of the Fleet River, and we know the wall was diverted to run along the bank of the river when the Dominican Black Friars build their house on the site of the previous line of the Wall running down to the River Thames at present day Blackfriars.

You can finish the walk at Blackfriars Station, or walk west along the embankment for 5 minutes to Temple (District and Circle lines - zone 1).

 

From about 120 AD the Romans enclosed the capital city of Roman Britain, Londinium with a wall. No one know why. The wall was not necessarily built for protection at that time. Archaeologists have speculated that the objective might be to restrict access in and out of the city, enabling the Roman rulers and their successors to collect taxes. Another possibility is that the wall might have been constructed to impress, but floating more than a million Kentish ragstones up the Medway and along the Thames, each weighing as much as 500kg, might be stretching the prestige explanation a bit too far.

Whatever the explanation, the wall was built. It was 2 miles long, stretching from the Tower of London by the River Thames in the South-East towards the North and then West to join up with an existing Roman fort just South of present-day Barbican. From there, the wall ran to the South-West, finishing at Blackfriars. The original Roman wall was characterised by ragstones interspersed with lines of terracotta roof tiles for strength, and diamond pattern bricks for decoration. The wall was extended upwards and strengthened in the mediaeval period when London was inhabited once again, and used as a defence throughout the middle ages.

Gates were built at strategic points, and the names such as Bishopsgate, Aldgate, Aldersgate, Moorgate survive as road names to this day. Much of the wall has disappeared from sight. Either it was subsumed into houses, churches, and storerooms, or demolished when traffic volumes grew, or the stones were taken away and used to construct houses by local people. Much of this happened since the 1760's and a portion of the wall near the Museum of London was used as a Victorian warehouse which was not discovered until the blitz of the 1940's revealed the original line of the wall in the rubble of bomb sites and destruction.

The Museum of London designed a Wall Walk many years ago, and erected ceramic information boards at strategic points. Sadly, many of them have now disappeared with building works. The IRA bomb of 1993 destroyed one. Parts of the wall were incorporated into modern office blocks, and other bits are very hard to find. You cannot therefore follow the walk as designed any more, but I have based this podcast on it. Having said that, all I have done is follow the line of the wall from Tower Hill to the Museum of London, but the commentary includes quotations from the original Museum of London text which can still be found on their web site even if much of it is hidden or has disappeared from the streets.

This walk takes only 3 or 4 hours, but has taken me the best part of 3 days to design and research. I had to ferret out a big section of the wall that had been built into the basement of a conference centre. There are no signs, but the staff are happy to show you on request, even if you have to know it is there. The West Gate of the Roman fort is now in a locked room beside a car park. It is accessible on one day a month, and guided tours are offered by Museum staff. Again, you have to know it is there.

So all in all, this walk was a labour of love, and took far longer to do than any of my other walks. It is in two parts. This is part one, from Tower Hill Underground (Circle and District zone 1) to the Museum of London (St Paul's Central Line zone 1). I hope to finish off the walk from the Museum down to Blackfriars when I get my breath back.

It's a wonderful walk. There are many places where large, high sections of the wall are visible for free. The trouble is, you have to find them or know where they are. I tell you, and as far as I know there are no other up-to-date guides anywhere or my life would have been easier. It's a shame such an important historical site is now so poorly documented. if nothing else, I have made the whole length easier to find and more fun to follow, and the whole experience more interesting.

By popular demand from our Facebook group members, today's walk looks at the development of the Olympic Park being built to house the Olympic Games in 2012.

The name of the games might be London 2012, but the 'name of the game' is regeneration. Regeneration of this brownfield part of East London which has cast eyes in the direction of Canary Wharf to the South and the City to the West, but had not itself benefited from investment despite the death of its traditional industries and means of employment. Awarding the Olympic Games for the third time to London has changed all that. Regeneration was probably the biggest plus point that swung the Games in our direction, but not only will we see this neglected part of London transformed and many houses built for local people, but also the local community and sports bodies will have the use of the wonderful facilities currently under construction for years after the Olympic gates have closed and the medals awarded.

It's not a pretty walk, but an interesting one. We start at Clapton mainline station (Zones 1 and 2). Take the Central Line to Liverpool Street then change to the mainline train. Clapton is 10 minutes (3 stops) on the line to Chingford. Most of the way, we follow the Lea Valley Walk and the Capital Ring, but there are lots of cyclists  (part of the walk is a national cycleway) so you could cycle the entire route if you preferred. Most of the way we follow the Lee Navigation - the difference in spelling is confusing I know.

There is industrial archaeology aplenty. The Middlesex Filter Beds were construction in the 1850's to clean the water fed to East London following the horrific cholera outbreak of 1849. It is now a nature reserve. Hackney Marshes are a haven for footballers - here there are 88 full-size pitches - the most in one place anywhere in the world.

At Old Ford Lock, the keeper's cottage has been transformed into a luxury dwelling with garden and swimming pool. It was used as the studios of the Big Breakfast TV programme until 2002 and now sits in the shadow of the enormous Olympic Stadium. After passing the Hertford Union Canal arm - at only 1 mile long it is the shortest canal in the UK but strategic as it connected the Lee Navigation to the Regent Canal and saved a long detour around the Isle of Dogs. We then pass the large redbrick building that was the Bryant & May match works. We pass the busy Bow roundabout near Bow Church - cockneys are born in the sound of its bells and Dick Whittington was called back to become Lord Mayor by their peals when he was ascending Archway on his way North.

Three Mills is the fascinating surprise at the end of the walk. Do the walk on a Sunday and you can tour House Mill - one of the Grade 1 listed historic industrial buildings. The complex is the largest tidal mill left in Britain. During the week there is a small cafe if you need some refreshment - not a big selection of food but enough for a cup of tea and a snack.

The walk finishes nearby at Bromley-by-Bow Underground (Zone 2 on the Hammersmith & City and the Upminster branch of the District Line). Two stops to Mile End where you can take the Central Line from the same platform.

All-in-all a fascinating walk - some 3 1/2 miles in all. Lots to see and do, and great glimpses of the Olympic Park - but not the prettiest walk in the portfolio.

The new London Overground service started on 23 May 2010 in East London. All the trains are smart, new air-conditioned stock with plenty of room. The track looks new and the stations are magnificent. I have been waiting to do a walk through Rotherhithe and all along the river around Surrey Docks and Quays until the new line is open, making it easy to reach the walk using the Jubilee Line and changing onto the Overground at Canada Water. London Overground is fully integrated with all other transport services. Just use your Oyster pay-as-you-go or buy a Travelcard incuding Zones 1 and 2.

This is a quiet walk with wonderful river views throughout, hardly any traffic noise, fascinating history, and wonderful places for refreshments. You should allow 2-3 hours in all. Start at Surrey Quays and walk past the shopping centre to a red swing bridge where you descend steps and walk around Greenland Dock. Much of the regeneration of London Docks since the 1970's has been residential, and from this point on you can walk right past houses, apartments and other properties with amazing views over the Thames towards Canary Wharf. Greenland Dock was once one of the largest docks in the world: a long time ago it served the whaling industry, but later timber was unloaded from Scandinavia.

From here, we pick up the Thames Path and walk parallel to Rotherhithe St which skirts the path right around the peninsula. Sights along the way include Nelson House, an old fire station, wharves and docks, and constantly changing river views. At the Pump House Educational Museum you can see exhibits of Rotherhithe's heritage housed in the 1929 pumphouse building that enclosed steam engines designed to stabilise the water level in the Surrey Docks.

From here, it's a long walk past Globe Wharf and King & Queen Wharf with views across to Wapping and the Prospect of Whitby. Eventually you reach the large red tilting bridge alongside the Old Salt Quay public house where you can stop for a drink or have a meal overlooking the City of London across the Thames. It's then a short stroll to historic Rotherhithe and the end of our walk. Don't miss the Brunel Pumping Station - the museum costs £2 (concessions £1) and describes how the Thames Tunnel was constructed by hand from the year 1825 by Sir Marc Isambard Brunel with cooperation from his young son Isambard Kingdom Brunel. A small museum only worth visiting if you are interested in how these early engineers worked. Do not confuse with the Rotherhithe Tunnel which runs under your feet. You can see the round shafts both sides of the river.

Then you can walk along to the Mayflower pub which serves cream teas on its jetty by the river. nearby is St Mary's Church which is a must-see. Their web site says: "The present parish church, replacing a 12th century building, was completed in 1716. Designed by John James, an associate of Sir Christopher Wren, it has a homely grandeur with deep roots in the maritime history of Britain. The links with the 'Mayflower', with the Pilgrim Fathers, and with Prince Lee Boo of Pelau, are particularly treasured."

Finally, we pass the old free school with its facade including a boy and girl student in historical dress, and the Sands Studio where my absolute favourite film Little Dorrit was made. It runs for 6 hours and is available on DVD. The walk finishes nearby at Rotherhithe.

Part I of the walk finished either at London Bridge or at Borough Underground stations. From there, we travel one or two stops to the south. From Borough, take the Northern Line one stop to Elephant & Castle. From London Bridge take the Bakerloo two stops to its destination. Elephant & Castle is in zones 1 and 2.

Elephant & Castle is rarely visited by tourists. Indeed most Londoners are only familiar with the two roundabouts forming a major junction for routes to the south, south-east and south-west. The area surrounding the shopping centre is blighted by traffic, but you don't have to walk far to reach quiet neighbourhoods. The Victorian housing has been modernised to a high standard. More recently the 1960's housing developments have been improved and high quality offices and residential accommodation added to the stock. A redevelopment is planned for completeion in the next few years.

It's interesting to walk around the market and its surroundings. This is a multi cultural, multi-ethnic community. We visit two little-known gems. One is the Cinema Museum where we are fortunate enough to have a short guided tour by one of the Directors Martin Humphries and meet its founder Ronald Grant. The museum is well worth the trip, whether or not you are interested in movies and film. It is open by appointment to individuals and groups, so do call ahead or e-mail for a booking. The telephone number is +44 (0)20 7840 2200 or e-mail from this link.

I have included the interview in the walk soundfile for those who are not able to take the walk just now. My thanks to Martin for taking the time to describe his favourites from the museum for us.

The other visit is to the Cuming Museum. Hardly big enough to be called a museum, still there is one room full of eclectic and downright wacky items from the 700 remaining items out of more than 10,000 amassed by the Cumings. behind the museum are two changing exhibitions about Southwark.

This is an extension to the first part of the walk. I would not recommend it as a walk in its own right, unless your passion is for cinema. Seeing another part of London makes the short trip from London Bridge worthwhile in its own right, but the addition of the two museums adds greatly to the pleasure.

The extension starts and ends at Elephant & Castle (zones 1 and 2) within easy reach of Central London by Northern Line (Bank branch) and Bakerloo.

This is the start of a two part walk through The Borough - a Londoner's familiar name for Bankside and Southwark on the South Bank of the Thames.

The walk will continue from Elephant & Castle where Part II can be reached from Borough or London Bridge Underground stations. This part starts at Waterloo - a large Underground station in Zone 1 on the Bakerloo, Jubilee, Northern (Charing Cross branch) and Waterloo and City lines. Exit from the station via the South Bank signs.

The walks takes us to the secret and little known places in The Borough. Feliks Topolski's Century is an exhibition of his work covering most of the 20th century. The murals are housed in the Hungerford Arches right under the mainline railway. Details from the exhibition web site. A little further on we enter the Royal Festival Hall on the South Bank. Here we wander round the public spaces open during the day, and visit the little known Saison Poetry Library. Poetry can be borrowed free from their collection of over 95,000 works.

Next we have to work hard to find the BFI. Full instructions are given to reach it - a gem inside and like the RFH newly refurbished. There is a wonderful cafe, and themed public spaces - but we have come to visit the BFI Mediatheque. Here you can have your own personal viewing screen and access the digital archives of the BFI covering more than 230,000 films and 650,000 TV programmes. very comfortable - all you do is sign in and get a number for free use of a screen for up to 2 hours.

Further along the Thames Path is the Tate Modern, where we enter the turbine hall in the converted old Bankside Power Station. Just past Shakespeare's Globe, we find the Ferryman's Seat in the walk beyond the Pizza Express. From here we turn south away from the River and find one of the saddest sights in London. Hardly known to anyone, but remembered by a certain class of Londoner judging by the flower-covered gates, 15,000 single women are buried in the Crossbones Graveyard under what is now used by London Underground to store vehicles. We hear all about the Bishop of Winchester who for 500 years had the right to house prostitutes in the Liberty of Southwark. Inns, theatres, brothels - all these characterise The Borough which has a seedier and more notorious past than any other part of the capital.

Two authors then dominate our walk. Charles Dickens was familiar with the area. His own father was incarcerated in the Marshalsea - a debtor's prison where inmates were left for years to look after themselves, and only released when their debts were fully paid. Only one wall remains near the wonderful church of St George the Martyr. The roads all around are reminiscent of Litte Dorrit set in the Marshalsea and in the church were Arthur Clenham and Little Dorrit were eventually married, and where Little Dorrit herself slept in a small vestry when locked out of the prison overnight.

Finally the other author is Geoffrey Chaucer, whose Canterbury pilgrims started from The Tabard inn. None of the large number of ancient inns remains, but the names are recalled in various alleys and cul de sacs off Borough High St. The George is a notable exception. It is London's only remaining galleried inn, and is owned by the National Trust whilst still operating as a public house and restaurant.

Part I of the walk finishes either at nearby London Bridge or at Borough Underground stations - from where we finish our walk, or travel to Elephant & Castle for Part II.

Every now and then, there are changes in public transport that warrant a news podcast to bring you up to date on ticketing, Oyster cards and how to buy them from abroad, getting to and from London's 5 airports and so on.

There are now more than 60 live walks available for free download. On the show notes page here at  londonwalks.org you will find links to some of the web pages I mentioned in the recording.

So far the podcast has achieved over 740,000 downloads covering between 60 and 65 walks. This is more than most books of London walks published. Remember all the London walks are recorded live, so they are not only suitable for use on your iPod or MP3 device, but if you can no longer travel, if you want a 'virtual' walk in London, or even if you are learning English you will find a use for the episodes. Some people follow them on Google Maps - and you can click on the icon to the right and find the start point of each walk located for handy reference.

Our Facebook page has been relaunched. The ID is 368014058115 or you can search for it by title which is "http://londonwalks.org" The URL of the home page is the title of the Facebook group. You are encouraged to rejoin by clicking on the Facebook link on the right. This is now a private group not visible to non-members, and each application is authorised so please be patient. Here you can share tips and information with others, post comments, make suggestions, and generally share whatever you think might be useful in the future.

In today's News and Transport episode, some of the links mentioned include:

Visit London for up to date information on transport, shows, museums and attractions.

Transport for London for maps, journey planner, ticketing, prices, and everything to do with public transport in London.

Buy Oyster cards from abroad This covers 63 countries, and you can receive your card 7 - 12 days after placing your order. Finally, I go into great detail with advice on how to get to and from London's 5 airports. You can hear my top tips - not all of which everyone might agree with, but which are personal recommendations from someone born, bred, and living in Central London who uses public transport all the time.

Thank you for continuing to support this project, which continues to flourish. I look forward to you accompanying me on the next London walk.

 

This walk is in three distinct parts.

We leave Gunnersbury Underground and Overground Station (District Line Zone 3) and walk through the pleasant streets of Chiswick. There are two main barriers to cross. One is the Great West Road, a busy road leading to the M4 and the West. We cross it near the Chiswick Roundabout at a pedestrian underpass. The other barrier is the main railway line which we can cross by footbridge. From here, there are a couple of narrow alleyways leading down to the Thames Path.

The second part of the walk begins at Strand-on-the-Green. We reach the River Thames down a short path beside a couple of ancient pubs, where food is served and you can enjoy local Fuller's ales. Strand-on-the-Green is fascinating and a most attractive street of houses fronting onto the path beside the river. They are used to occasional flooding - the doors are high up or protected by large steel doors. Some have ladders to windows, others look decidedly nautical, still others are just plain strange. This has got to be one of London's most interesting and attractive thoroughfares.

At Kew Bridge, we pause to see the Kew Bridge Steam Museum. Check their web site for opening days - the old steam pumping works and its engines can only be seen for a few days each month throughout the year. From Kew Bridge, we cross from Middlesex into Surrey and walk around Kew Green. This leads us eventually to the main gates of the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew and the third part of our walk. Kew is the mother of all botanic gardens. or the grand daddy of them all. It's simply stunning. 300 acres of planting, with climate controlled sections of the Princess of Wales Conservatory, the huge Victorian Palm House, the Evolution, Pagoda and many more.

It's expensive but worth every penny. Walk around the gardens and into the various exhibits and buildings before leaving through the Victoria Gate. From this point, it's a short walk to the charming shops and railway station of Kew Gardens (District Line Zone 3).

The famous diary of Samuel Pepys was started 350 years ago this month and continued until May 1669. It was a personal, family diary but as Pepys worked for the King it contained momentous national events such as the restoration of the monarchy, the coronation of Charles II, the plague of 1665 and the Great Fire of London in 1666. Pepys recorded everything - his neighbour's sewage and his ineffectual groping of young women he met in church.

This walk covers the area destroyed by the Great Fire from Seething Lane near the Tower of London where Pepys lived and worked to St Dunstan's in the West which survived the conflagration by just a few yards. Pepys himself would probably have followed a similar route - the road pattern stayed much the same as it had been after the rebuilding.

Sir Christopher Wren figures prominently in the walk. An astronomer by profession, he designed a great number of City churches. His masterpiece, St Paul's Cathedral is the fourth cathedral dedicated to St Paul to be built on the site which itself can be dated back to Roman times. Leadenhall Market was also a structure founded on an old Roman forum. So there's a great deal of history along the way.

Here's an exerpt from Pepys' diary as the Great Fire took hold:

Sunday 2 September 1666

(Lord’s day). Some of our mayds sitting up late last night to get things ready against our feast to-day, Jane called us up about three in the morning, to tell us of a great fire they saw in the City. So I rose and slipped on my nightgowne, and went to her window, and thought it to be on the backside of Marke-lane at the farthest; but, being unused to such fires as followed, I thought it far enough off; and so went to bed again and to sleep. About seven rose again to dress myself, and there looked out at the window, and saw the fire not so much as it was and further off. So to my closett to set things to rights after yesterday’s cleaning. By and by Jane comes and tells me that she hears that above 300 houses have been burned down to-night by the fire we saw, and that it is now burning down all Fish-street, by London Bridge. So I made myself ready presently, and walked to the Tower, and there got up upon one of the high places, Sir J. Robinson’s little son going up with me; and there I did see the houses at that end of the bridge all on fire, and an infinite great fire on this and the other side the end of the bridge; which, among other people, did trouble me for poor little Michell and our Sarah on the bridge. So down, with my heart full of trouble, to the Lieutenant of the Tower, who tells me that it begun this morning in the King’s baker’s house in Pudding-lane, and that it hath burned St. Magnus’s Church and most part of Fish-street already. So I down to the water-side, and there got a boat and through bridge, and there saw a lamentable fire. Poor Michell’s house, as far as the Old Swan, already burned that way, and the fire running further, that in a very little time it got as far as the Steeleyard, while I was there. Everybody endeavouring to remove their goods, and flinging into the river or bringing them into lighters that layoff; poor people staying in their houses as long as till the very fire touched them, and then running into boats, or clambering from one pair of stairs by the water-side to another.

The major points of interest along the way are:

Leadenhall Market

St Mary at Hill Church

The Monument

St Mary Abchurch

St Stephen Walbrook

St Paul's Cathedral

Temple Church

The walk starts at Tower Hill and ends at temple. Both are in the Central zone District & Circle.

This walk passes places where the Victorian novelist Anthony Trollope lived, and places referred to in his many novels. It starts at Baker St and ends in Trafalgar Square.

It is a long walk - about 4.3 miles in all. If you are interested in Victorian literature, you should find the readings fascinating. If not, the walk is a splendid one, passing through fine and varied neighbourhoods, grand and royal buildings, and wonderful shopping of all kinds.

If you want to read Trollope for yourself, having taken part in this walk, why not check out the Trollope Reading List. It is a friendly, welcoming and knowledgeable group. This walk is dedicated to my friends on the Trollope Reading List.

Anthony Trollope was born in 1815 at 6 Keppel St, Campden Town near British Museum WC1. In 1882 when staying at 14 Suffolk St SW1 he quarrelled so violently with group of noisy street musicians that he had a stroke and died a few days later in Welbeck St (near Portman Sq). So he was very much a Londoner.

Trollope became one of the most successful, prolific and respected English novelists of the Victorian era. His first major success came with The Warden (1855) — the first of six novels set in the fictional county of "Barsetshire" (often collectively referred to as the Chronicles of Barsetshire), usually dealing with the clergy. The comic masterpiece Barchester Towers (1857) has probably become the best-known of these.

Trollope's other major series, the Palliser novels, concerned itself with politics, with the wealthy, industrious Plantagenet Palliser and his delightfully spontaneous, even richer wife Lady Glencora usually featuring prominently. He also wrote penetrating novels on political, social, gender issues, and conflicts of his day.

Trollope's popularity and critical success diminished in his later years, but he continued to write prolifically, and some of his later novels have acquired a good reputation. In particular, critics generally acknowledge the sweeping satire The Way We Live Now (1875) as his masterpiece. In all, Trollope wrote forty-seven novels, as well as dozens of short stories and a few books on travel.

Anthony Trollope died in London in 1882. His grave stands in Kensal Green Cemetery, near that of his contemporary Wilkie Collins. See my Kensal Green Walk.

References to Trollope and his works in this walk

Marylebone Rd

Location of realities Institute in Is He Popenjoy?

Luxborough St (Northumberland St)

Home of Meager family – Yosef Meager (Revd Joseph Emelius) lodged here after separation from Lizzie Eustace Phineas Redux

Trollope lodged here as junior clerk in GPO

Baker St

The Rowleys stayed at Greggs Hotel in He Knew He Was Right

Home of Mr and Mrs Low Phineas Redux

Mr Slope’s church before he was Bishop Proudie’s chaplain Barchester Towers
“He had been a sizar at Cambridge, and had there conducted himself at any rate successfully, for in due process of time he was an MA, having university pupils under his care. From thence he was transferred to London, and became preacher at a new district church built on the confines of Baker Street. He was in this position when congenial ideas on religious subjects recommended him to Mrs Proudie, and the intercourse had become close and confidential.”

York St

Trollopes lives at 20 1838-40 after AT’s father died

Wyndham St

Lady Anna and her mother lived here before their right to the title had been established in Lady Anna

Bryanston Sq

AT’s sister Cecilia married to John Tilley in church here

Montagu Sq

No 39 plaque AT lived here 1876-80

Portman Sq

London home of earl of Brentford, father of Lady Laura Standish Phineas Finn

De Courcey’s London house Small House at Allington

Greshams town house Dr Thorne

Orchard St

Phineas Finn first spotted garrotters Phineas Finn

Park St

Phineas saved Mr Kennedy from garrotters

Green St

Mildmays London house Phineas Finn

Mr and Mrs Harold Smith at Park Lane end Small House at Allington

Frank Houston’s aunt Rosina Houston Ayala’s Angel

Brook St

London home of Marchesa Baldoni – here Ayala Dormer met Col. Stubbs

Boncassons had house here The Duke’s Children

Home of Lady Linlithgow Eustace Diamonds

Hanover Sq

George Vavasour speculated on murder of his grandfather Can you forgive her?

Burgo Fitzgerald was kind to a prostitute here in spite of his own terrible problems ibid

Great Marlborough St

Phineas lodged in house or Mr & Mrs Bunce Phineas Finn & Redux

George Vavasour’s attorney Mr Scruby has office here Can you forgive her?

Conduit St

Tailor Neefit’s shop Ralph the Heir
“Mr Neefit was a breeches-maker in Conduit St, of such repute that no hunting man could be said to go decently into the hunting field unless decorated by a garment made in Mr Neefit’s establishment. His manipulation of leather was something marvellous, and in his latter years he had added to his original art – an art which had been perfect rather than comprehensive – an exquisite skill in cords, buckskins and the like.... Mr Neefit had actually lived over the shop in Conduit St but was now the proud possessor of a villa residence in Hendon, two miles out in the country beyond Swiss Cottage.”

Bond St

Ralph the Heir has rooms Ralph the Heir

Booby & Moggs boot makers ibid

Harter & Benjamin jewellers The Eustace Diamonds

Bruton St

Town house of Sir Harry Hotspur Sir Harry Hotspur of Humblethwaite

Longstaffes lived here The Way we Live Now Chapter XIII
This conversation took place in the drawing−room of the Longestaffes' family town−house in Bruton Street. It was not by any means a charming house, having but few of those luxuries and elegancies which have been added of late years to newly−built London residences. It was gloomy and inconvenient, with large drawing−rooms, bad bedrooms, and very little accommodation for servants. But it was the old family town−house, having been inhabited by three or four generations of Longestaffes, and did not savour of that radical newness which prevails, and which was peculiarly distasteful to Mr Longestaffe. Queen's Gate and the quarters around were, according to Mr Longestaffe, devoted to opulent tradesmen. Even Belgrave Square, though its aristocratic properties must be admitted, still smelt of the mortar. Many of those living there and thereabouts had never possessed in their families real family town−houses. The old streets lying between Piccadilly and Oxford Street, one or two well−known localities to the south and north of these boundaries, were the proper sites for these habitations. When Lady Pomona, instigated by some friend of high rank but questionable taste, had once suggested a change to Eaton Square, Mr Longestaffe had at once snubbed his wife. If Bruton Street wasn't good enough for her and the girls then they might remain at Caversham. The threat of remaining at Caversham had been often made, for Mr Longestaffe, proud as he was of his town−house, was, from year to year, very anxious to save the expense of the annual migration. The girls' dresses and the girls' horses, his wife's carriage and his own brougham, his dull London dinner−parties, and the one ball which it was always necessary that Lady Pomona should give, made him look forward to the end of July, with more dread than to any other period. It was then that he began to know what that year's season would cost him. But he had never yet been able to keep his family in the country during the entire year. The girls, who as yet knew nothing of the Continent beyond Paris, had signified their willingness to be taken about Germany and Italy for twelve months, but had shown by every means in their power that they would mutiny against any intention on their father's part to keep them at Caversham during the London season.

Lady Lufton’s town house Framley Parsonage

Bishop Proudie’s London house Barchester Towers

Berkeley Sq

Lady Baldock lived here Phineas Finn

Sir Hugh Clavering’s town house The Claverings

The Houghton residence in Is he Popenjoy?

Lord Nidderdale lived here at house of his father Marquis of Auld Reekie The Way we live now

Hill St

Universe Club may have been here, west of Chesterfield Hill. Phineas Finn quarrelled with Mr Bonteen shortly before he was murdered Phineas Redux

Curzon St

Louis Trevelyan’s home He knew he was right
“As it was time for him to have his leave of absence, he and sundry of the girls went to England with Mr Trevelyan, and the marriage was celebrated in London by the Rev Oliphant Outhouse of St Diddulph in the East who had married Rowley’s sister. Then a small house was taken and furnished in Curzon St Mayfair, and the Rowleys went back to their seat of government leaving Nora, the second girl, in charge of her elder sister.... For nearly two years this little household in Curzon St went on well, or if anything was the matter no one outside was made aware of it. And there was a baby, a boy, a young Louis, and a baby in such a household is apt to make things go on sweetly.”

Half Moon St

Lizzie Eustace lodged here after being turned out by Mrs Bonteen when her supposed husband had been found to be Mr Bonteen’s murdered Phineas Redux

Clarges St

Lord Fawn took this route from the Universe Club to Piccadilly and then to his lodgings in Victoria St.  At the N end of Clarges St he saw someone hurrying by whom he later thought to be Phineas Finn. Phineas Finn

Lady Ongar desired to stay here after Lord Ongar’s death in Florence The Claverings chapter 5
Harry said nothing, but went on reading. "I shall only want two sitting-rooms and two bedrooms--one for myself and one for Clara--and should like to have them somewhere near Piccadilly--in Clarges street, or about there. You can write me a line, or send me a message to the Hotel Bristol, at Paris. If anything fails, so that I should not hear, I shall go to the Palace Hotel; and, in that case, should telegraph for rooms from Paris."

Bolton St

Lady Ongar’s lodgings The Claverings

Hay Hill

Passage opposite bottom of Hay Hill was where Mr Bonteen’s body found Phineas Redux

St James’s St

George Hotspur’s lodgings Sir Harry Hotspur of Humblethwaite

Mr Monk lived here Phineas Finn

Lord Chilton dines at Mooney’s Restaurant Phineas Redux

The Bear Garden is near here The Way we live now; The Duke’s Children

Carlton Gardens

Altringham House, home of Earl of Altringham Sir Harry Hotspur of Humblethwaite

Carlton House Terrace

Town house of Duke of Omnium The Prime Minister [Phineas Redux Carlton Gardens]

Suffolk St

John Grey’s lodgings, where George Vavasour tried to kill him Can you forgive her?

No 14 – Gardants Hotel – AT stayed here in his later years

Eleanor Arabin and Johnny Eames stayed at a quiet hotel near here on their way back from the continent Last Chronicle of Barset

Dean Lovelace stayed here Is He Popenjoy?
This was not in itself satisfactory; but such as it was, it did for a time make Lord George believe that Popenjoy was Popenjoy. It was certainly true of him that he wished Popenjoy to be Popenjoy. No personal longing for the title or property made him in his heart disloyal to his brother or his family. And then the trouble and expense and anxieties of such a contest were so terrible to his imagination, that he rejoiced when he thought that they might be avoided. But there was the Dean. The Dean must be satisfied as well as he, and he felt that the Dean would not be satisfied. According to agreement he sent a copy of his brother's letter down to the Dean, and added the assurance of his own belief that the marriage had been a marriage, that the heir was an heir, and that further steps would be useless. It need hardly be said that the Dean was not satisfied. Before dinner on the following day the Dean was in Minister Court. "Oh, papa," exclaimed Mary, "I am so glad to see you." Could it be anything about Captain De Baron that had brought him up? If so, of course she would tell him everything. "What brought you up so suddenly? Why didn't you write? George is at the club, I suppose." George was really in Berkeley Square at that moment. "Oh, yes; he will be home to dinner. Is there anything wrong at Manor Cross, papa?" Her father was so pleasant in his manner to her, that she perceived at once that he had not come up in reference to Captain De Baron. No complaint of her behaviour on that score had as yet reached him. "Where's your portmanteau, papa?" "I've got a bed at the hotel in Suffolk Street. I shall only be here one night, or at the most two; and as I had to come suddenly I wouldn't trouble you." "Oh, papa, that's very bad of you."

Paul Montague had lodgings here The Way we live now

A bonus walk lasting about an hour. It's for when you have time for a stroll and find yourself in the vicinity of Holborn or Covent Garden.

We start at Holborn Underground on the Central and Piccadilly Lines in Zone 1. After acending the long escalator, go straight through the barriers out to Kingsway. Turn right and cross over High Holborn to see the 1950's tram underpass which unaccountably remains in Southampton Row. Then cross over and take a seat in the Sicilian Ave precinct (pictured) whilst I tell you all about Holborn and Covent Garden.

There's lots of history on this walk, but nothing heavy. Just snippets about the origins of the present look and feel of the place mainly dating back to the 1600's. After the chat we continue down Kingsway and turn right into Great Queen St, names after James I's queen, Anne of Denmark. You can visit the enormous imposing Freemasons' Hall where there are public exhibitions associated with the Masons. You can also see the site where the Football Association was founded and where they argued about the rules. Plus ca change.

Drury Lane signals the start of Theatreland and then Covent Garden. The highly fashionable houses of the early 1600's gave way to rowdy, brawling and seedy streets as the aristocrats moved West.

Bow Street is the heart of the walk. Here we see the old Bow Street Magistrates Court, recently closed. Here the Bow Street Runners, forebears of every police force in the world took over from the early volunteer 'thief takers.' Here a blind magistrate claimed to be able to distinguish up to 3,000 different miscreants by the sound of their voices alone. Here Oscar Wilde was arraigned for gross indecency, and an 89 year old Bertrand Russel with other supporters of CND was bound over to keep the peace in the 1960's. Fascinating history.

Then the highlight of the stroll if you are lucky - a visit to the Royal Opera House and the old Floral Hall. A refurbished gem of a place not to be missed. Try and get there between 10am and 3pm Monday - Saturday to gain admittance. The Paul Hamlyn Hall as it is know known (that's corporate sponsorship for you) is a must-see.

Finally you can cross the Covent Garden Piazza with its street entertainers, market stalls, eating places and other attractions to St Paul's Church. The walk finishes with a stroll along Floral Street and its shishi fashion shops and tiny alleys and courtyards. From Long Acre you can either brave the deep lifts down to Covent Garden Underground (Piccadilly Line Zone 1) or spend a few minutes retracing your steps back to Holborn.

Another classy riverside walk which covers part of the Oxford & Cambridge Boat Race course but in the reverse direction. The walk starts at Hammersmith Underground (District & Circle Lines) or Hammersmith (Hammersmith & City Line). You can also reach the start point in the Broadway shopping centre on any bus passing through or terminating at Hammersmith Bus Station which is located over the Underground. The start is in Zone 1 but we end our walk at Barnes Bridge in Zone 3 so a Zone 1 - 3 Travelcard is advisable.

Aiming for the church beside Hammersmith Broadway, we walk down Queen Caroline St towards the river Thames and the Riverside Studios. The Broadway is a busy roundabout under the flyover taking traffic to the West and South West so please pay careful attention to the instructions, and DO NOT cross anywhere other than using the pedestrian crossings or the underpass.

Very shortly the busy bustle of Hammersmith Broadway fades away, and we can sit on a bench by the river adjacent to the iconic Hammersmith Bridge, the first suspension bridge across the Thames. The way is easy to find, as the Thames Path is clearly marked so you should have no difficulty ober the 2 1/2 miles or so, and there is little if any traffic throughout.

There are many fine pubs along the first section, and you will hear me talk about one Fuller's ale I try at the Dove. The walk passes the Fuller's Brewery. We also pass many boat houses belonging to the various clubs dedicated to skulling or sailing.

Kelmscott House is interesting because it was the London home of William Morris. If you want to visit the William Morris Society, you should take the walk on a Thursday or Saturday afternoon (open 2 - 5 pm). The adjacent coach house is the site of the very first telegraph. Sir Francis Ronalds managed to pass an electrical current through 8 miles of cable encased in glass tubing. The British Admiralty were unimpressed and did not pursue the idea.

You can read more about Fuller's ales by clicking on the Fuller's home page.

The walk uses the Thames Path, various quiet riverside roads, and two extensive open parks. There are wonderful (and expensive) houses much of the way, and continuous views of the river except where private gardens give glimpses through railing beside Chiswick Eyot. Eventually we arrive at the Bandstand and climb the steps to the pedestrian walkway leading over Barnes Bridge. This crosses the river straight onto Platform 1 with 4 trains an hour to Clapham Junction and Waterloo.

Is this the last audio London Walk? If so, I have saved one of the very best for last. The starting point is the Tower of London. You can reach it on the District & Circle to Tower Hill (zone 1) or the Docklands Light Railway to Tower Gateway. The walk is about 3.7 miles. The finishing point is by the tower of Big Ben opposite Westminster Underground on the Jubilee Line (zone 1).

What is so good about this walk? Firstly, the views. Spectacular throughout its length. From the Tower of London we use the riverside on the north side of the Thames to look back at Tower Bridge. Click here for bridge opening times - if you can arrange clear weather and start your walk as the bascules lift you will enjoy this walk all the more.

The second bridge we hear about is London Bridge. The original was sold to the US. The third is Cannon Street where we pass underneath the railway terminus. Next we cross the river by Southwark Bridge and pass Shakespeare's Globe and the Tate Modern. Opposite the old bankside Power Station is the Millennium Bridge that oscillated when first opened, and was closed for almost 2 years for dampening. It is known affectionately to Londoners as the Wobbly Bridge, but at night as the Blade of Light.

On the north bank we pass under Blackfriars railway and road bridges before crossing back to the South Bank as far as the National Theatre. Waterloo Bridge offers some of the best views of London in both directions and is not to be missed. After passing through Victoria Embankment Gardens with its armillory sphere dedicated to Richard D'Oyly Carte and the strange bust of Sir Srthur Sullivan with a semi naked woman attempting to climb up it, we reach Hungerford Bridge. Once the ugliest of all bridges, two spectacular walkways have been constructed on either side. They are now called the Golden Jubilee bridges. We cross over the river once again and continue past the London Eye and the London Aquarium.

Our last bridge is Westminster where the walk finishes.

This walk starts near Brixton Underground (Victoria Line Zone 2). It is part of a walk originally suggested to me by Lambeth Council. brixton is at the heart of Lambeth. Here is the famous Brixton Market with its Afro Caribbean flavour, its eating places and food from many parts of the world, and its unique and noisy cosmopolitan atmosphere.

At the start of the walk is the Ritzy Cinema, the Tate Library named after the sugar magnate of Tate & Lyle fame, Lambeth Town Hall, the famous Fridge music venue, St Matthew's Church, one of 4 built in the 'Waterloo' style, the extraordinary Budd Monument (pictured with Lambeth Town Hall in nthe background) and much more.

The Sharpeville Monument commemorates lives lost at the 1960 massacre in South Africa.

Hear the soundscape as I walk you throught the market area. Admire the Walton Lodge Sanitary Steam Laundry, founded in 1880 and still going strong. nearby admire a plaque dedicated to the life of a totter and squatter who totted and squatted between 1979 and 1989. Apparently, so it says, he was 'much loved.'

Walk along Railton Road, the front line of the Brixton riots of 1981 when 145 buildings were burnt and many vehicles destroyed. I tell you all about the history of that troubled time in London's race relations, now mercifully past as you can see from the new buildings and regeneration going on all over the area.

We then pass into a gem of a park. Brockwell Park was originally the grounds of a great mansion, bought by the London County Council for the use of the local community as a green space in 1891. As we walk down towards the amazing renovated Lido we hear about the history of brixton, its multi ethnic flavour, its immigrants from the Caribbean from 1948 on, and its present day character.

In the Park is a gem. Lambeth's best kept secret - the Walled Garden. Little Ben is a clock that had to be wound once a week, and was the gift of the local MP for Norwood. A previous member of parliament had a heart attack and died during the opening of the park in 1892.

The walk ends at Herne Hill main line station, which is one stop south from Brixton on the line that runs into Victoria or Blackfriars. Zone 1/2 Travelcards are valid on mainline trains, and there is a frequent and reliable service into central London from this point. Alternatively you can walk back to Brixton along Railton Road, making the walk a circular one.

This is the second Soho walk I have done. The first walk proved to be the most popular of all the London Walks in terms of the number of downloads. This walk follows a different route, and focuses on the history of this cosmopolitan area rather than its present day appearance. Surprisingly there is a great deal of history as you will discover, starting with the laying out of the various streets in the 17th and 18th centuries to the events of more modern times.

The starting point is Tottenham Court Road Underground station (Zone 1 - Central and Northern lines). We leave by exit 1, turn right into Oxford Street and then right down Charing Cross Road beside Centre Point. From this noisy and busy intersection we quickly leave the bustle and reach the relative calm of Soho Square. So-ho! was a hunting cry - Soho Fields became the northern part of a royal park extending up from Whitehall Palace and the king's royal mews on the site of the present Trafalgar Square.

Soho is a cosmopolitan mix of restaurants, pubs, food outlets, offices and sex shops cheek by jowl. The highlight of this walk is Chinatown in Gerrard Street and the surrounding area. The history of this area is similar to many other streets: the substantial houses built here between 1670 and 1685 boasted as one occupier no less than the 1st Duke of Devonshire. By the mid 18th century these had given way to coffee houses and taverns. At number 44 - currently my favourite Chinese supermarket the Loon Fung - John Dryden resided in 1687. From the 1950's a Chinese settlement grew up, and now the ceremonial gateways at each end of the street are recognition of the status of the Chinese community in this area.

The other highlight of this walk is Theatreland. We weave through the area around Shaftesbury Avenue where so many theatres are located, including the famous Palace on Cambridge Circus, home of a number of long-running musicals.

After leaving Theatreland, we walk up Wardour St, known for its film companies, restaurants and clubs. We then cross busy Oxford Street into the garment and soft furnishings area around Berners Street and finish our walk down Tottenham Court Road again to Goodge Street Underground (Northern Line Zone 1).

This fascinating glimpse of the seat of government and the church starts at the foot of the tower of Big Ben as the clock chimes the hour. To get here, take the Jubilee Line to Westminster (Zone 1) and cross the road as you exit the Underground station.

We start with a history of Westminster Palace and Westminster Hall, and then walk south down Parliament Square with the Houses of Parliament on our left hand side. Opposite is the small church of St Margaret's which sits incongruously in the shadow of Westminster Abbey. The Jewel Tower dates back to the 14th Century and can be visited. Continuing down Millbank past Old Palace Yard we turn into Smith Square with its concert hall in the former church building and continue into the dvision bell area with predominantly 18th century terraced houses, much sought after by politicians.

In Cowley St we admire the headquarters of the Liberal Democrats then into Dean's Yard. This is a wonderful space flanked by buildings of various ages. On the East is Westminster School whose premises can be traced to the 11th Century in part. We leave Dean's Yard into The Sanctuary by the West end of Westminster Abbey. From there, we cross to the Methodist Central Hall and stroll along the wonderful Queen Anne's Gate.

This ancient close with Cockpit Steps at one end and Broadway at the other leads out by 55 Broadway, art deco offices of London Underground built over St James Park tube, then New Scotland Yard belonging to the Metropolitan Police. Crossing busy Victoria St we walk down the street market in Strutton Ground and then cross Greycoat Place leading to Vincent Square where there are flower shows in the Old and New Horticultural Halls belonging to the Royal Horticultural Society.

Crossing Rochester Row by the old almshouses near St Stephen's CHurch, we enter Westminster Cathedral, seat of the Roman Catholic archbishop. As we enter to admire the 100 different types and colours of marble decorating the interior of this red brick building, there is a mass taking place and we can hear the sermon in the background.

The walk ends at Victoria Station (Zone 1) Victoria Line, District, Circle, and Mainline railways and buses to various parts of London.

Walking through London is a delight at any time. Combine a stroll with some of the capital's finest buildings, most fashionable shops, grand facades, processional routes, history, royalty and life and you have a winner every time. This walk should only take about an hour. It starts at Trafalgar Square and finishes at Piccadilly Circus not far away.

You can reach Trafalgar Square by taking the Bakerloo or Northern Lines to Charing Cross. Take the exit marked Trafalgar Square and start by Nelson's Column. The walk begins by crossing to Admiralty Arch and strolling down The Mall to the Duke of Your's Steps on the right. From this point we enter St James's. We pass London's great clubs such as the Reform. We see some of the best Nash architecture, like the two magnificent Carlton House terraces.

We pass down Pall Mall to St James's Palace, built out of red brick by Henry VIII and home of the late Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. In St James's St we admire some of London's finest and most venerable shops, such as Berry Bros and Rudd, Lock's Hatters and Lobb - all survivors of the 18th century. Beside Berry Bros is an archway leading to London's smallest square, pictured on the right. A little gem, sel;dom found by the tourists passing by the Palace.

A much more grand and bigger square is St James's, home of courtiers and prime ministers. From this point we walk up to Jermyn St where well heeled men can equip themselves with clothing and accessories at suitably elevated prices. You can also enjoy being pampered with one of the world's most expensive shaves.

The walk finally passes along Piccadilly, named after a brand of stiff collar worn at court, and sold by a certain tailor who made a fortune out of the fashion, as well as having the entire street named after his collars. We finish amidst the bright lights and bustle of Piccadilly Circus where you can take the Piccadilly Line or Bakerloo Line (zone 1) to your starting point.