Burnings, Butchery & Black Death: A Walking Tour of London's Bloody Past
Description
Travel through a thousand years of history, meeting medieval knights, body snatchers, Charles Dickens, an eighteenth century ghost, and William Wallace - aka Braveheart (and learn how he was in no fit state to shout "Freeeedoooommmm!" whilst being executed!) On our walking tour we'll visit the areas around Smithfield, for centuries London's site of both animal and human slaughter. We'll learn about how the city disposed of the tens of thousands of Black Death corpses in the fourteenth century, the execution methods used in the Middle Ages, and how the area became a notorious slum which Dickens used as the setting for Oliver Twist. The walking tour begins outside Barbican Station, ends near to Farringdon 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
A fourteenth century monastery and plague pit
A one thousand year old meat market
The home of the medieval Knights Hospitallers
A quiet alley with a noisy history
The memorial to William Wallace, aka Braveheart
London's oldest surviving parish church
The site where the Great Fire of 1666 died out, and of eighteenth century ghost hysteria
The site of the River Fleet, Victorian London's largest open air sewer
A hidden gem of a pub, hidden down an alleyway
The oldest surviving hospital in the country
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(277)
Such an interesting tour, Tom is so knowledgeable and very engaging. A wonderful part of London to explore, I highly recommend. Will definitely be booking another!
This was such a fun experience! Loved our guide, Tom, who made the whole thing interesting. He was well informed and very witty. I wish I had enough time to go through all his tours. My friends and I had a really good time on the trip!
Fabulous tour with Tom. Incredibly knowledgeable guide who had lots of fun facts . The time flew by even in the pouring rain! Highly recommend
Another excellent tour with loads of great information - Tom has a very easy delivery that help give out the information- highly recommended - this is my 5th tour with Tom
I rarely write any reviews but the tour with Tom was so great that I want to leave my feedback here! I highly recommend exploring London with this fantastic guide! He knows his city well and by his fabulous choice of book citations and his lively told stories he enabled us to travel back a few centuries in time and experience the history of London right in front of our eyes! Great!
I’ve walked these areas alone before, I know quite a bit of London’s history, but walking with Tom was a lot more fun and he knew all kinds of interesting things that I didn’t. It was a fun group, we all enjoyed it a lot.
The tour was really interesting! Tom was a super nice guide and explained everything so well, sharing lots of details about the history of London, fascinating curiosities from the past, and fun facts. We learned many interesting facts and stories throughout the tour. Very cool experience — we’re definitely looking forward to doing another one of his tours on our next visit to London!
Our guide was excellent, as was the tour. We were staying in Farringdon and enjoyed learning about the area while we were there.
Tom is a very friendly, knowledgeable guide. Would definitely book another of his tours. Went down streets I had never seen before
It was a really fun afternoon. We've lived in London for over 20 years, and through this tour we've discovered parts of the city we hadn't realised were there, and we've learnt so much. Tom was a fantastic guide and gave a good overview of the history in a fun and informative manner.
