020 8530-8443Monday to Friday 10.30am to 4.30pm

THE SECRET AND CURIOUS LONDON VIRTUAL TOUR

EXPLORE LONDON FROM HOME

Prior Bolton's Window in St Bartholomew's Church.

A VIRTUAL WANDER THROUGH OLD LONDON

SEE THE PLACES THAT MANY PEOPLE MISS

Richard's Secret and Curious London Tour is an hour long exploration of some of London's most intriguing locations.

No matter where you are in the world you can join this virtual online tour that will delve into the hidden alleyways and tucked away thoroughfares and discover intriguing curiosities that most people walk straight past, sometimes on a daily basis, and don't even notice!

SUCH AS?

Good question!

Well, for a start there's an old ferryman's seat - a survivor from the days when people found it safer to cross the Thames by ferry, rather than take their chances on crossing via old London Bridge.

Then there's London's oldest tree, towering high over a tiny 17th century building and preserved by the fact that William Wordsworth chose to feature it in one of the most dreadful poems ever written. Well, perhaps not worst, but certainly a long way down on the poetic scale.

How about the two mice that, for over a hundred years, have been fighting a battle over a piece of cheese on the side of one of the City's most exquisite buildings?

Or, why not take a look at a magnificent 17th century watergate, left stranded high and dry when the Thames was embanked in the 19th century?

The Philpot Lane Mice

WE CAN ROAM THE CITY FAR AND WIDE

These are the sorts of things that you will encounter as you pick your way virtually through the streets of London.

And, because this is a virtual online experience, we will not be confined to one neighbourhood or district. In fact, you will roam far and wide across the capital, unearthing strange and curious finds and locations, all of which have fascinating stories behind them.

SEE THE LOCATIONS IN BRILLIANT HD FOOTAGE

For almost twenty years Richard has been filming the streets of London for various documentaries. Now, with people unable to make it to London, he is utilising that footage to enable you to walk the streets of London from your home, be it in London, Liverpool, Louisiana or Lithuania!

In fact, no matter where you are in the world, you can now explore the streets of London in glorious high definition that is so crisp and clear, it will be as though you are actually walking through the streets and standing at the locations you will hear about.

The skulls on the gate of St Olave's Church

SOME OF THE OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

  • You will delve into the ancient alleyways at the heart of the City to uncover the site of London's first coffee house.
  • You will gaze up at a trio of demons that look down on passers-by from a City rooftop.
  • You will descend beneath a chilling arch to hear of the community of ne'er-do-wells and unfortunates to whom this world of perpetual twilight was home in the 19th century.
  • You will take a stroll through a north London alleyway to see the names of 19th-century police constables that those long ago officers carved into the wall at the end of their shifts.
  • You will stroll through a time-capsule of an alleyway, lined by exquisite 18th-century facades.
  • You will come face to face, or face to beak, with a foul-mouthed - or fowl-beaked- parrot - that was once the toast of Fleet Street.
  • You will stand alongside a rusting iron coffin to hear of the lady whose burial was postponed for several months whilst the church authorities argued with an undertaker as to whether such a coffin could be buried in their churchyard.
  • You will venture down into a medieval crypt, a truly secret location, that hides beneath the church that the diarist Samuel Pepys called "Our Very Own Church."
  • You will catch a tantalising glimpse of the mysterious London Stone, and Richard will discuss its possible origins, as well as tell you of its mentions in works of literature.

And all this will be done from the comfort of your own home, wherever that might be.

The York Watergate.

STORYTELLING AND FASCINATING FACTS

At each of these locations Richard will tell you the stories, regale you with the facts, and keep you informed about the wonders that you will encounter as he leads you on an enchanting journey around the streets and the places that he has been introducing people to for almost forty years.

SPEND AN HOUR IN OLD LONDON

So, join Richard Jones, Blue Badge Guide and author, for a magical online journey that really will introduce you to a side of London that you will be desperate to get out and explore under your own steam, once the current situation has been resolved.