Rob Smith


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Tour guide Rob Smith at a riverside pub in London
Contact 07806 714006 or mail

Rob is a member of Clerkenwell & Islington Guiding Association.

“Despite my 35 years in London” he says “I’m always amazed how you can find a new street that’s got an amazing story to tell. The thing I like best about London is how a tiny thing, like a decoration on a building can tell a big story. When you’re walking you are following in the footsteps of Londoners from the past, it makes the history come to life much more than just reading about it”

Rob is most interested in social history, and the way that inventions have changed people’s lives, but he always makes room in his walks to tell the stories of his London heroes.

Rob’s walks take him all over London, and beyond with a series of walks along the River Thames heading out East of London towards the Thames Estuary. You can also join him on day trips out of London to places like Rochester, Reading and St Albans.

He has written a book The Industrial History of the Lower River Lea based upon one of his tours.

He has worked on TV with The Hairy Bikers on The Pubs that Made Britain, featured in a film about Barking Power Station, and appeared on a programme about the East India Company for Iran International TV. Rob has appeared on the Radio 4 programme Screenshot and on

History Hit Podcast

When not out walking, Rob also teaches London History courses at Morley College, South Thames College and Bishopsgate Institute.

His current Footprints of London walks and online virtual tours are:


May 24
Walking Tour Essex Estuaries – Rochford: A Hotbed of Dissent
Rochford Station - West Street, Rochford, SS4 1AU
May 27
Walking Tour – Around Rochester – A Tour of an Historic Medway Town
Rochester Railway Station - 86 Corporation Street, Rochester, ME1 1NH
May 29
Walking Tour – Dissenters of Newington Green
Outside The Lady Mildmay Pub - 92 Mildmay Park, London, N1 4PR
Jun 02
Walking Tour – Gainsborough’s People
Outside National Gallery - Trafalgar Square, London, WC2N 5DN
Jun 02
Walking Tour – Elstree Remember Me – Borehamwood’s Film History
Elstree and Borehamwood Station - Allum Lane, Borehamwood, WD6 3LS
Jun 03
Walking Tour – Beneath London’s Streets
Tower Hill Station - Trinity Square, London, EC3N 4DJ

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