‘SHAKESPEARE’S LONDON’ STUDY WALK – In the footsteps of the Great Bard.

This walk through the heart of the old City of London looks at the places associated with the London life of the ‘Great Bard’, and follow in his footsteps to the ‘Big O’. We start in the northern part of the city where Shakespeare settled with a London merchant family. Then we make our way south through the city, examining Shakespeare connections on the way, and using almost certainly the same route the bard himself would have taken as he made his way to his main place of work on the south side of the river.

Next, through Southwark, which had a reputation for low-living, with taverns, gambling, entertainment, brothels, and the location of countless smelly industries. Some parts have remained untouched since Shakespeare’s time. Finally, we reach Bankside where Shakespeare worked at his beloved Globe Theatre. En route, we will uncover a whole host of fascinating talking points, including links to some of other great writers in the English language, the stinky old alleyway that helped to endow America’s foremost university, London’s last galleried coaching inn and London’s oldest Gothic church, all of which have Shakespeare connections.

● The walk will be conducted by an officially qualified Blue Badge London guide.
● Complete your walk with a guided tour of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre (Inhouse tour. Book tickets directly with Shakespeare’s Globe).

SOUTHWARK STUDY WALK – Tales from the South Side.

Southwark was London’s first settlement. In 43AD the Romans established a camp of 40,000 soldiers here to protect the building of a bridge and port at the River Thames. It quickly gained a reputation for low-living, with taverns, gambling, entertainment, brothels, and the location of countless smelly industries. Some parts have remained untouched since Shakespeare’s time. En route, we will uncover a whole host of fascinating talking points, including links to some of the greatest writers in the English language, the stinky old alleyway that helped to endow America’s foremost university, and London’s last galleried coaching inn.

As we go further, we will discover the remains of the prison where Charles Dickens father was jailed, inspiring some of the most famous novels in the world. Also, the area that was once one of London’s worst slums, and the American who decided to do something about it.

● The walk will be conducted by an officially qualified Blue Badge London guide.
● Complete your walk with a guided tour of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre (Inhouse tour. Book tickets directly with Shakespeare’s Globe).

‘FRENCH CONNECTION’ STUDY WALK – The capital’s Gallic flavours in true esprit d‘Entente.

This walk examines our continental neighbour’s marked influence on London, in politics, in royalty, and in culture. London is the seventh largest French conurbation in the world with a French-speaking population of over 300,000. French is also spoken by a sizeable proportion of the UK’s population, the most popular foreign language. And did you know the name Great Britain stems directly from the need to distinguish it from French Britanny? Of course, Britain and France are neighbours – and like neighbours sometimes they argue, sometimes they try to out-do each other, but in times of trouble they often help each other out.

The London HQ of Charles de Gaulle is visited to demonstrate the stresses and strains of this relationship during World War II. The walk then takes a turn through the capital’s corridors of power, established under French sway after 1066. The British aristocracy is, we find out, originally descended from Norman blood. The London obsession with French cuisine is discussed using one of the capital’s most renowned restaurants as an example. Plenty of other French connections come into play.

● The walk will be conducted by an officially qualified Blue Badge London guide.
● Complete your walk with a 2-hour guided tour of ‘French Artists at the National Gallery’ for £100.00 (free entry).

‘2000 YEARS IN 2 HOURS’ WALK – London through the ages.

London. How did it all come about? This walk examines, in chronological order, some of the main historic events in the development of one of the world’s greatest cities. We start at the River Thames with stories of the mysterious Celts before we move onto London’s Roman remains nearby. Next, we look at the Saxon and Viking legacy. The Norman and Plantagenet dynasties take us onto medieval London (note: A short trip by public transport may be necessary to save time).

Then, we find the monastery founded for monks to pray for souls of the Black Death. We find the place where the Peasants’ Revolt came to a pointed end. The religious strife of the Reformation is also examined including the legend of Bloody Mary. How did the Great Fire start? We will find out. When was the ‘London mob’ at its most powerful? We will find out.  The effect of the Industrial Revolution and the Blitz on London are examined as we make our way to the Millennium Bridge. We have just covered 2,000 of years, yet from here we see aspects of 21st century London through its ever-changing skyline.

● The walk will be conducted by an officially qualified Blue Badge London guide.
● Complete your walk with a guided tour of the Museum of London for £100.00 (free entry).

WINSTON CHURCHILL STUDY WALK – Examining one of history’s most fascinating figures.

This walk through the capital’s corridors of power examines the destiny of one of the great names of history: Winston Churchill, recently voted greatest Briton of all time. His life-span stretches from Bismarck to the Beatles. He had a great historical impact, not just with his leadership during World War II, but right across the 20th century. Recently, there has been a flurry of movies dedicated to the great man, including the award-winning blockbuster The Darkest Hour. One of the first stops looks at Churchill’s relationship with the USA. Churchill did more than any other to forge Britain’s political ties across the Atlantic. In fact, although his father was English, his mother was American.

The writer Mark Twain said: ‘that makes him the perfect man.’ We also find out that he seriously misjudged some policies: Dardanelles, India, the abdication of Edward VIII, for example. But we also weigh his faults against his achievements during World War II, in particular his political plate-spinning.  At Westminster we discuss his ultimate legacy: some might argue world peace, others warmongering. Regardless, he remains eminently quotable, one of his most relevant lines being: ‘History will be kind to me, for I intend to write it.’

● The walk will be conducted by an officially qualified Blue Badge London guide.
● Complete your walk with a 2-hour guided tour of Churchill’s War Bunker for £100.00 (+ entry fees).

BRITISH MUSEUM – TOUR #1: TREASURES OF THE THE BRITISH MUSEUM

A private guided tour of civilization’s hall of fame! The iconic British Museum was founded over 250 years ago in the academic heartland of London known as Bloomsbury. Recently remodelled, this independent institution prides itself on being the world’s first free public museum. Step into the Great Court and marvel at the magnificent glass roof. Below are the seven million objects that make up the greatest collection of antiquities in the world.

This tour examines the Museum’s top 10 treasures from major world cultures. From Ancient Egypt, the Mummies, Statue of Ramesses and the famous Rosetta Stone. From Ancient Assyria, the sculptures of King Sargon’s palace. From Ancient Greece, the Elgin Marbles. From the Pacific, the Easter Island Statues. From Britain, the Roman Vindolanda Tablets, the early Christian Hinton St Mary Mosaic, the Saxon Sutton Hoo Treasure and the Viking Lewis Chessmen.

● Usually open daily. Free entry.

BRITISH MUSEUM – TOUR #2: ROMANCING THE BRITISH MUSEUM

A private guided tour of civilization’s hall of fame! The iconic British Museum was founded over 250 years ago in the academic heartland of London known as Bloomsbury. Recently remodelled, this independent institution prides itself on being the world’s first free public museum. Step into the Great Court and marvel at the magnificent glass roof.  Below are the seven million objects that make up the greatest collection of antiquities in the world.

This tour examines the exhibits that inspired an army of dreamers to wax lyrical, such as Ramesses Statue, the Elgin Marbles, the Tomb of Mausollus and the Portland Vase. Literally mixing art with antiquities, this revealing jaunt features the Romantic antics of Byron, Keats, Shelley & co, and explores the poetic licence that inspired Tennyson, Coleridge and Yeats among others. Don’t wander around the museum lonely as a cloud, let us immerse in verse!

● Usually open daily. Free entry.

NATIONAL GALLERY – TOUR #1: MASTERPIECES OF THE NATIONAL GALLERY

A private guided tour of one of the world’s greatest art collections. Attracting over three million visitors a year, the National Gallery forms a magnificent backdrop to Trafalgar Square and has been recently refurbished. Gothic, Renaissance and Mannerism are displayed in the West Wing, while the North Wing is a monument to Baroque and the Dutch masters. Rococo, revolution and romanticism is the theme of the East Wing, where we also find the Impressionists.

Our Masterpieces Tour is a good overall introduction. Generally regarded as the National Gallery’s greatest hits, your guide will showcase the following priceless paintings among others: Van Eyck’s Arnolfini Portrait, Holbein’s Ambassadors; Constable’s Haywain, Monet’s Water Lilies and Van Gogh’s Sunflowers. The paintings are covered mainly in chronological order to help show developments in style.

● Usually open daily. Free entry.

NATIONAL GALLERY – TOUR #2: DECODING THE RENAISSANCE

A private guided tour of one of the world’s greatest art collections. Attracting over three million visitors a year, the National Gallery forms a magnificent backdrop to Trafalgar Square and has been recently refurbished. Gothic, Renaissance and Mannerism are displayed in the West Wing, while the North Wing is a monument to Baroque and the Dutch masters. Rococo, revolution and romanticism is the theme of the East Wing, where we also find the Impressionists.

Our Decoding the Renaissance Tour explores hidden messages, secret symbols and mysterious meanings in paintings from the 13^th to the 16^th centuries. Examining some of the greatest paintings from the Renaissance period, it includes priceless masters by Van Eyck, Botticelli and Holbein. The paintings are discussed mainly in chronological order to show developments in style.

● Usually open daily. Free entry.

NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY

A private guided tour of a historic picture gallery. Just behind the National Gallery near Trafalgar Square, the National Portrait Galley is an excellent way to get up close and personal with the famous kings and queens of England, such as King Henry VIII, Queen Elizabeth I and Queen Victoria. Here they are, in all their glory, and all under one roof. Hear the fascinating stories from the great royal dynastic houses: the Plantagenets, the Tudors, the Stuarts, the Hanoverians, the Saxe-Coburgs and the Windsors, as their portraits echo down the ages.

Other ‘celebrities’ from times past are also honoured. There’s Christopher Wren and Robert Adams, architects extraordinaire. There’s national miliatary heores, such as The Duke of Wellington, Lord Nelson and Winston Churchill. And there are modern portraits too, from the world of popular music, sport and entertainment.

● Usually open daily. Free entry.

THE TUDORS TOUR – TYPICAL ITINERARY

Introduction
We recommend an 8:30am start time for this tour starts. This exclusively-researched tour profiles England’s most infamous and fascinating king, Henry VIII. We will also cover his six (yes six!) wives, his court, the ‘Boy King’, ‘Bloody Mary’ and the ‘Virgin Queen’.

Henry VIII
No other monarch in history is more talked about, written about or argued about. Married six times, Serial wife-killer. megalomaniac, massive ego, monstrous temper, and, in his own lifetime, described as the most dangerous and cruel man in the world. Hear how he shut down the great monastic institutions and greedily profited from their wealth. Some argue this was a good thing, as the populace subsequently benefited from his lavish spending.

Tower of London
A guided tour of London’s oldest building. A World Heritage site described by Shakespeare as ‘The Slaughterhouse’. The tragic tale of Henry’s second wife Anne Boleyn is the central theme. Also see the famous Beefeaters and the Crown Jewels, king of bling!

Hampton Court
A guided tour of the world’s finest surviving Tudor palace: the one that Henry VIII stole! Highlights include the authentic Tudor kitchens, Great Hall and Chapel Royal. With 500 years of royal history, magnificent gardens, and the world’s oldest maze for you to get lost in!

JANE AUSTEN’S HAMPSHIRE – TYPICAL ITINERARY

Introduction
We recommend a start time of 8am for this tour. After a fast-route from London, our Jane Austen Tour take us to her beloved county of Hampshire where we can promise a fascinating and enjoyable day out. We will celebrate the life and times of one of the most widely-read authors in literature. Active from 1800-1816, Jane Austen only completed six novels before being cruelly stuck down by illness in her early 40s. However, the romantic and humorous nature of her works ensured she became one of the most widely-read female authors in English literature.

Steventon
This Hampshire village is the birth-place of Austen, and where she spent her first 25 years. Here she drafted Pride & Prejudice, Northanger Abbey and Sense & Sensibility. The 12th century parish church has changed little since Jane attended and contains memorials to the Austen family.

Chawton
We take a guided tour of the 17th century house where Austen spent the productive part of her writing career. It is now a small private museum and has been welcoming visiting Austen fans since as far back as 1947. We will also view the manor house once owned by her brother.

Winchester
This historic city appeared as a movie location for the film version of Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.  We will see the house where Austen lived during the last months of her terminal illness, and take a tour of Winchester Cathedral, her final resting place.

MAGNA CARTA TOUR – TYPICAL ITINERARY

Introduction
Your driver-guide will pick-you up from your central London hotel or place of residence at the specified time. We recommend an 8:30am start time for this tour. After a fast-route from London, our Magna Carta Tour examines the story behind the famous document, recently celebrating its 800th anniversary, and its background to the legend of Robin Hood.

What Is Magna Carta?
In the early 1200s, the king of England took out his frustrations on the church, people, and powerful aristocracy, by taxing them to the hilt. ‘Bad King John’ was forced to apply his seal to a ‘great charter’, drawn up to limit his powers. Magna Carta eventually became the rallying cry for democracy, upheld as a pioneering example of documented constitutional power.

Windsor Castle
We take a guided tour of the castle, still the premier royal residence in England. King John was besieged here by the barons brandishing their charter, and in the words of historian A.L Rowse, ‘rode out every day to receive bitter drafts of the medicine he so richly deserved’.

Runnymede
We visit the famous water-meadow where King John was finally forced to agree to the document. Nearby is the Magna Carta Memorial, a domed classical temple built by the American Bar Association to commemorate the document as a symbol championing fundamental human rights and liberty under the law

Salisbury Cathedral
We journey to Salisbury in the county of Wiltshire. After a guided tour inside the magnificent cathedral (the tallest medieval building in the world) we visit the Chapter House. Here we find our holy grail, a rare surviving copy of the original Magna Carta.

SHAKESPEARE TOUR – TYPICAL ITINERARY

Introduction
We recommend an 8am start time for this tour. After a fast-route from London, our Shakespeare Tour examines the life and times of the most famous author in literature by exploring the town and landscape that inspired the budding bard, Stratford-upon-Avon. Includes his birthplace, his school, his wife’s house and a visit to his burial place at Holy Trinity Church, taking in a stroll along the banks of the river Avon.

Stratford-Upon-Avon
The wonderful thing about Stratford, is that over 400 years on, many of the places associated with Shakespeare’s life are still standing. Follow in the Bard’s footsteps along the banks of the River Avon, with your guide pointing out the theatres and memorials erected in his honour.

Shakespeare Birthplace
The birthplace, right in the heart of the town, features a tour, exhibition and museum. It is close to the market square and there are a number of traditional shops nearby. Shakespeare’s school also worth a tour, and we will visit it if is open (amazingly, it still operates as a school today!).

Anne Hathaway’s Cottage
Traditionally built of ‘wattle, daub and thatch’, this was where Shakespeare, in his mid-teens, acted out his own Romeo role to woo Anne. The inhouse guides that show you around are engrossing: find out the fascinating origins of the phrases, ‘rule of thumb’, ‘gone to pot’, and ‘sleep tight’.

Holy Trinity Church
A visit to the altar of the 14th century Holy Trinity Church where the Great Bard is buried is a must. The bust overlooking his tomb was the archetypal artistic portrayal of the playwright, and has become the definitive likeness. At the church entrance, we uncover the code of medieval law behind the ‘Sanctuary’ handle.

PREHISTORIC BRITAIN TOUR – ITINERARY

Introduction
We recommend an 8am start time for this tour. After a fast-route from London, our Prehistoric Britain Tour takes us to England’s mystic landscape: The famous stone circle is covered in depth, including recent archaeological discoveries and the theories that go with it. We also try to equate other mysterious monuments and megaliths at neighbouring Avebury and Durrington.

Wiltshire’s Neolithic Landscape
Deep in the county of Wiltshire, you somehow pass through a portal that takes you thousands of years back in time. The wider Neolithic landscape roughly between the A4 and A303 is just teeming with ancient sites all waiting to be explored. For example, West Kennet Long Barrow, the largest prehistoric burial mound in the country, where once skeletons of the ancients were laid in its multitude of underground burial chambers. 30 skeletons were found inside the 14 chambers. The 350ft long mound is south-eastern facing and was built around 3700BC, before the Avebury circle. Also unmissable is Silbury Hill. It dates to c2450BC, so late Neolithic. At 130ft (40 metres) high, it is Europe’s largest prehistoric man-made mound, similar in size to the smaller Egyptian pyramids of the Giza Necropolis. Strangely conical in shape, with a base diameter of 550ft (167m), the flat-top at the summit has a diameter of 98ft (30m). It has been calculated that it would take 500 men working 15 years to deposit & shape. Its exact purpose is unknown. Few prehistoric artefacts have ever been found. It was made unsafe by multiple excavations and thus has kept its secrets as to its use or meaning. My best guess is a beacon mound to alert the people of Avebury about incoming visitors. In 2007, the site of a 12-acre Roman village was discovered at the foot of Silbury Hill. It contained regularly laid out streets and houses.

Avebury
Then we arrive at the spooky village of Avebury. Spooky, as it is locked-in by the largest stone circle in the world, at least 200 years older than Stonehenge. From a modern preservation point of view, it ticks all the boxes. A World Heritage Site, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and a Site of Specific Scientific interest. There were originally 101 stones on the outer ring. With two inner circles and smaller patterns of stones within. It is surrounded by a sheer-sided ditch 30ft high. We have a good walkabout and discover the Devil’s Throne, where it is said the dark one himself may be summoned, or the murderous Barber Stone, which exacted a terrible revenge on a villager who tried knock it down.

Woodhenge
Driving south we stop at Durrington for the Woodhenge circle and the dip that represents the ancient settlement of Durrington Walls, famously excavated by a team of nearly 500 archaeologists in the recent Riverside Project. Latest finds from digs around this area will help you theorise.

Stonehenge
Finally, we enter the mysterious World Heritage site of Stonehenge, an ancient stone structure older than the pyramids of Egypt, and a rare surviving monument of the pre-historic world. It is so well-known it hardly warrants a description, suffice to say that some have a deep fascination with this place, and wonder about its meaning. Those not so swayed by the stones’ magical charms are left pondering the biggest mystery of all – how on Earth did they get there? As we return from Stonehenge, we reflect on these and other mysteries which surround the place.