Footprints of London

The story of how voyages of trade, discovery and colonisation started from Blackwall, in London’s Docklands Blackwall in London’s Docklands has as much maritime history as Greenwich, it is just that you have to look a bit harder to find it. In this two hour walk Rob Smith uses fragments of the old dockyard and…

Caledonian Road is far from London’s tourist trail but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to see.   Caledonian Road is far from London’s tourist trail but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to see. Far from it, in this virtual tour  around some of Islington’s less well known spots Rob Smith will introduce you to a host of…

A walk looking at some of the locations from the film The Long Good Friday and how the story in the film ties in with real events. This walk visits many of the East London locations from the film The Long Good Friday, some of which are recognisable, some of which have changed a lot…

A walk along Islington’s City Road – home to innovative hospitals, company headquarters and a line in a nursery rhyme  Up and Down The City Road, In and Out The Eagle   “Up and Down the City RoadIn and Out The EagleThat’s the way the money goesPop Goes the Weasel” Generations of children have sung about the…

Woolwich Dockyard was where Henry VIII’s ship The Great Harry was built in 1514. This walk explores the site of shipbuilding for 350 years    In 1514 the warship Great Harry was constructed at Woolwich – the pride of Henry VIII’s fleet. For nearly 350 years after this ships were built and repaired at Woolwich…

Up and Down The City Road, In and Out The Eagle – the rhyme is known to many people but what’s the real story of City Road  Up and Down The City Road, In and Out The Eagle   “Up and Down the City RoadIn and Out The EagleThat’s the way the money goesPop Goes the Weasel”…

Tales of love, bravery, crime and friendship from Italian Clerkenwell 1830-1950   From the mid 19th Century  to the Second World War the streets of Clerkenwell around Saffron Hill were known as Il Quartiere to the Italian residents. This walk will explore every day life in London’s Little Italy, introducing the characters who made up…

The New River was an ambitious 17th century scheme to supply London with water by digging a canal from Hertfordshire to London     The New River was an ambitious 17th century scheme to supply London with water by digging a canal from Hertfordshire. While the New River still flows as far as Stoke Newington,…

Spy stories from the streets of London during World War One and Two A 50 minute talk about espionage and counter intelligence that tells the true stories that inspired spy fiction. You will hear about the reasons the British security services were set up, how they are organised, their role in two world wars and…

A look at some of the buildings in London that didn’t get built – some a missed opportunity, some a close shave for London! With so many architects having plans for London it is no surprise that not all of the buildings that are planned get built. This fifty minute talk on Zoom looks at…