Footprints of London turns 10!

June 28, 2021 Comments Off

August 2021 will mark the 10^th anniversary of the founding of our guided tours company Footprints of London (FPoL).

But how did it all start?

In 2011, the recent graduates of the Clerkenwell & Islington Guiding Course had just completed their exams and were wondering what the next step might be. How could they venture on the streets with their newly written guided walking tours and crucially, how to find willing clients to come along?

The course had been a great co-operative experience, but there was a real sense of “what next?” as it came to an end.

Many evening courses end with a night in the pub where the group gathers for one last time. There was a sense that this might happen, but one of the guides Alan Payne, suggested that if the group all worked together, they could put on a collection of guided walking tours that were better than those currently on offer in London.

Almost simultaneously Dave Brown sent out an email setting out how the group could all work together in practice. The idea was born.

There was an enthusiastic response to this with most of that year’s Clerkenwell & Islington graduates signing up.

The next step was a memorable name and logo which would communicate what the company was all about and after much discussion, the name “Footprints of London” and our distinctive “footprints with the River Thames running through them” logo were born.

The company was duly registered at Companies House to create a non-profit company limited by guarantee and owned by its members.

It was Dave Brown who came up with the initial idea of clubbing together to build a common website, which would offer customers the widest choice possible in one place and at the same time be a much lower cost to the guides than them all building their own individual platforms.

While favours were pulled in from friends and families, who shared their skills and expertise, it was Dave’s technical knowledge that really transformed things and led to our first website.

One of the things that made us stand out in those early days was the fact that we were one of only a handful of companies with all our guided walking tours bookable online.

This was particularly important to FPoL as one of the things we wanted to get away from was the idea of the “Rota Walks” as ran by the guiding associations whereby a guide would be required to turn up to lead a version of a generic walking tour designed by someone else (regardless of there even being any customers for it).

Using what was new technology at the time (a combination of WordPress and Google Script), it was possible for guides to research and design their own guided walking tours based on their own interests, schedule them and post them directly to the site to advertise them.

Thus, the core driving principle of Footprints of London was born; guided tours researched and developed by the (qualified and accredited) guides leading them, and thus delivered with an unequalled care, knowledge, insight and passion. All advertised and bookable together on one collective website.

By this time, word had reached the recent graduates of the City of Westminster Guiding Course who were also keen to take part, so when we went live in August 2011, we had 18 founding members, all keen to contribute and to share the work to make sure FPoL was a success. There was a buzz of excitement knowing we were really going to do this!

We needed some guided walking tours though!

Our goal has always been to provide more “off the beaten track” walking tours different from the standard tourist fare generally on offer, guided walking tours that would offer a deeper insight into this great city of ours.

Our first ever published walking tour was Islington – London’s Larder on August 18 2011 by FPoL stalwart Rob Smith. Rob remembers this clearly: “I was astounded when people booked and was so nervous taking people on my first public walk. But it went well, and I was keen to do more”.

The first year was immensely hard work. Launching a new walking tours company into the tricky climate of recession-hit London in 2011 was always going to be tough, and London 2012 grabbed so much attention. Gradually though things began to gather momentum, thanks to the hours of work put in by our group of talented guides.

As we became busier, it became clear that to accommodate the vastly increased number of walking tours on offer we needed to upgrade our website to make it more user-friendly (the version you see today). So, in 2014 (and thanks to the skills of a bright young website designer called Ricardo Pedrosa) we relaunched our website and added the tagline “where Londoners walk” to our logo to reflect better the depth and breadth of the walking tours on offer.

For much of the time since March 2020, guided walking tours have, of course, been impossible. But, as Benjamin Franklin said, “Out of adversity comes opportunity”.

In May 2020 and with no option in sight to continue guided walking tours, we ventured into virtual tours which have been a resounding success and helped us to reach new markets with people joining in from all corners of the world. Not only that they are accessible by anyone, regardless of any physical impairment an individual might have.

The fact we are no longer a company offering guided walks only for Londoners and visitors, but also to share our passions for this great city with people worldwide and those not physically able to join guided walking tours is something of which we are immensely proud.

As a testament to the qulity of the virtual tours we developed, we are also extremely honoured to feature in The Guardian’s “10 of the best virtual travel experiences for 2021”. And don’t worry, our virtual tours will continue post-lockdown!

We owe thanks to too many people to mention, but the most rewarding aspect has been a group of like-minded, committed, passionate and talented people working together to build a business from scratch.

What we have created changed the landscape for walking tours in London and we take great pride in any small part we have played in helping Londoners and visitors alike to love this great city just a little more.

But we are nothing without the people who have supported us these last 10 years. So, to every single customer who has booked a tour, anyone who has left a review on tripadvisor, to every person who has liked and shared us on social media or has promoted or supported us in any way shape or form; from the bottom of our hearts, thank you.

Here’s to the next 10 years!