Booze, Brothels & The Bard: A Walking Tour of London's Bawdy Borough
Description
Travel through a thousand years of history, meeting William Shakespeare, medieval Winchester Geese prostitutes, Charles Dickens, the ghost of a nineteenth century pub landlady, and the wonderfully named Doorkins Magnificat! On our walking tour we'll visit the areas around Borough and Bankside, which being outside the jurisdiction of the City of London were for centuries the site of seedy goings on. We'll learn how the area had been notorious for prostitution since the arrival of the Romans, visit the locations of Southwark's two most notorious prisons of which parts can still be seen today, take in the sights of a millennium-old market, view the remains of a medieval palace, and find Shakespeare's Globe Theatres both old and new! The walking tour begins outside Borough Station, ends near London Bridge Station, and will take around two hours. Total distance is about two miles. Ticket sales will be limited to fifteen attendees, to ensure maximum enjoyment for everybody on the tour.
Tour Options
Itinerary
The only remaining part of the Marshalsea Prison
The final resting place for thousands of Southwark's outcast dead
The largest extant reminder of Southwark's beer trade
London's last surviving galleried coaching inn
Europe's oldest surviving operating theatre
The world famous and iconic London Bridge
London's oldest surviving gothic church
A one thousand year old food market
The remains of one of the most prestigious homes in medieval England
The site of the notorious Clink Prison
The reconstruction of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(105)
Tom is an excellent guide. He’s full of enthusiasm for his subject and has lots of amusing anecdotes and quotes. This is my second tour with Historic London Tours and would thoroughly recommend Tom. Great to support a small business too.
Really enjoyed this tour. This part of london is so full of history and pur guide brought it all to life. His extensive knowledge with wit and solid appreciation of the area made it a tour that we have recommended to our friends. And we will return to explore by ourselves.
Another fantastic tour by Tom. Really well researched and incredibly interesting. We think these are the best tours in London. It's great to live in the city and learn so many new facts. Whether a Londoner or a tourist, Tom's tours are way above the best.
Excellent walk. Learnt lots about an area i had been to many times. Good value for money and will certainly book again.
This was the 3rd walking tour which we have attended and it was yet again an amazing insight into the history of London all delivered with humour - totally enjoyable
Very good tour. Easy meeting point. Well researched by guide.
Really interesting tour. Tom was extremely engaging and knowledgeable. We learned so much about the area.
An excellent tour lots of fun facts and a very knowledgeable guide. Well worth it.
Great tour full of interesting and engaging history about stuff we'd usually walk past and not notice. Tom was engaging and knowledgeable. Would recommend.
Tom was a great tour guide - able to tell stories that brought to life and to our attention what was in front of us. But without him, we would have just walked past them. In fact in getting to the start point we had walked past a lot of it and seen nothing. In 2 hours we saw so much in that area of London without much effort. We are both slow walkers and we kept up ok. Highly recommended.
