Photo: St Ermin’s Hotel, Caxton Street – © David Charnick 2023

The St James’s area is redolent with history. It has traditional shops, some going back to the eighteenth and even seventeenth centuries. It has Jermyn Street, famous for its style. And of course it has a Tudor palace and one of the most beautiful parks in London.

But behind some of the frontages lurk stories of a covert world of intelligence and espionage.

Come with me to sites connected with MI5, MI6, the SOE and other aspects of the secret service. And we finish at a hotel with strong connections to the world of covert operations.

Please meet me at the main entrance to the Ritz Hotel on Arlington Street, just off of Piccadilly (nearest station Green Park).

The tour will take approximately two hours, and finishes at St Ermin’s Hotel, just by St James’s Park Underground Station.

For other espionage and intelligence tours, please see here: http://charnowalks.co.uk/espionage-intelligence/

For other Westminster-based tours, please see here: http://charnowalks.co.uk/other-london-tours/

For information on travel, please use Transport for London’s Journey Planner.