Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to pre-book?

We operate a pre-booking system via Eventbrite for all our walks.  In this way we can manage the numbers on our walks to ensure your maximum enjoyment of them.

If, however, for any reason you cannot pre-book via Eventbrite you are welcome to attend and pay on the day, but you must please inform the guide of your intention to attend as attendance on any walk can only be guaranteed with prior notice.

Contact details are on each guide’s profile, please remember to provide a ‘phone number and your guide will then confirm all the meeting details by return.

Please in any event do not make the journey to a meeting point unless you have received confirmation from your guide (these are sent automatically with Eventbrite bookings).

What happens if I am running late?

On booking or confirming your place on a walk your guide will send you an e-mail confirming specific instructions for the meeting point, the location of the first stop on the walk and his or her mobile number (if you have not received this within 24 hours of the walk please contact the guide).  So if you are running late, please inform your guide by telephone or text as soon as you can.

It usually takes around five minutes to muster the group and give an introduction to the walk at the meeting point before moving off to the first stop where the group will be for a further five minutes or so.  All told, this should give you around 10-15 minutes to catch the group up.

Do I get a refund if I fail to turn up?

If you give your guide a minimum of 24 hours notice of cancellation of a booking  you will be offered a refund* or the opportunity to transfer the booking to another walk with the same guide.  Otherwise, afraid not.

Unless the weather conditions are really extreme (and we’re talking “don’t go outdoors” weather warning extreme here) or there is some kind of catastrophic transport failure your guide will be there at the meeting point at the appointed time.

*Please note that as of July 2019, Eventbrite has introduced a policy not to refund their booking fees for any ticket refunds.  It has always been our policy not to pass these fees on to our customers, but due to the introduction of this policy by Eventbrite any refunds requested will be subject to the deduction of booking fees (currently £1.52 on a £12 standard ticket and £1.30 on a £9 concession ticket).

Will the walk ever be cancelled?

Extremely unlikely.  The main possible causes for cancellation would be extreme weather conditions (see above) or some large scale transportation failure.

In the unlikely event that a walk ever has to be cancelled, your guide will give you as much notice as possible of this and contact you by e-mail and text to offer you either a refund or the opportunity to transfer your booking to another occurrence of the walk.

If you are aware of and concerned about any possible extreme difficulties, then we suggest you contact your guide to confirm that the walk is going ahead.

Do I get a refund if the guide fails to turn up?

In the hugely unlikely event that this does ever happen, of course you do.

If for any reason a guide knows in advance that they are going to be unavoidably indisposed they will give you as much notice as possible of that and offer you either a refund or the opportunity to transfer your booking to another occurrence of the walk.

How long do walks last?

Duration of individual walks is shown on the Eventbrite booking pages, but the greater proportion of our walks last between 1½ – 2 hours.

How many people are in a group?

It varies hugely according to the walk, but our policy for scheduled walks is an absolute maximum of 20 (although some guides prefer to set it at 15) as smaller groups make for a far more interactive experience on our walks and allow subjects to be covered in a little more depth.

It is possible that some walks might only attract a single booking.  In this instance your guide will contact you to offer the opportunity either to transfer your booking or to proceed with the walk.

How will I recognise the guide?

All our guides (handsome bunch that they are!) have their photograph on their profile, which should help.  They will also be holding a sign with either the Footprints of London logo or the title of the walk (or both).  If for whatever reason you still can’t see them, give them a call on their mobile.

Are your guides insured?

As qualified, accredited guides that are all members of their respective guiding associations, all our guides have appropriate public liability insurance, but it is important to stress that each walker is responsible for their own safety whilst on a walk.

Please note that when you book a place on a walk you are entering a contract with the individual guide and not with this website or Footprints of London Limited.

I have a disability/limited mobility, can I come on your walking tours?

Everyone is welcome on our walking tours, but there may be some which may be less accessible for some due to their length, location or the terrain they cover. As we want everyone to enjoy our tours, if you have a question regarding accessibility please contact the guide in advance of making a booking who will be able to advise on its suitability. Please note that an accompanying nominated carer attends free of charge, but please notify the guide of this when the booking is made.

Acknowledgements for this website

This site is implemented using a modified form of the Kopa Nicititate Theme, developed with lots of great PHP code by developer Ricardo Pedrosa . We highly recommend him to anyone who needs to build a technically complex web site. Our web master has subsequently modified the website, so any issues are down to him…

The site depends heavily on images. All pictures on the web site are either copyright of our members or from works which we have obtained the right to use them.   We particularly want to credit Rita Conry who took videos of our guides, and provided a number of the images we use on the site. We  depend  on current and past Footprints members who have provided the rest of the photographs. These include Rob Smith, Stephen Benton, David Brown, Mark Rowland, Neil Sinclair, Jen Pedlar, Peter Henderson, and Brian Mc Clory. All these photos are (c) their authors.

If there are any issues with our site please contact the webmaster.