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, featured in a documentary about the Great Smog on French TV and worked with ITN News reporter Sally Williams. Rob has appeared on the Radio 4 programme Screenshot with Mark Kermode and on History Hit Podcast with Dan Snow.

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:


25Mar
20:00 - 21:00
Online Event

Virtual Tour – Around The Kent Coast

Kent's coast is full of history. This online talk will take you on a journey from Dungeness to Sheer...

28Mar
14:00 - 15:00
Woking Station - High Street, Woking, GU22 7AE

Walking Tour – The War of the Worlds in Woking

A visit to the sandpit on Horsell Common near Woking - the place where Martians landed in HG Wells "...

31Mar
11:00 - 13:00
Green Park tube (Victoria, Picadilly, Jubilee lines) outside Stratton Street exi...

Walking Tour – Prime Ministers’ Homes

The Prime Minister lives at 10 Downing Street of course! But where have they lived before and after...

31Mar
14:00 - 17:00
Uber Boat by Thames Clippers - Vauxhall (St. George Wharf) Pier - St Georges Wha...

Walking Tour – Literature on the Thames

A literary odyssey along the Thames from Vauxhall to Barking ReachThe River Thames has inspired writ...

31Mar
20:00 - 21:00
Online Event

Virtual Tour – The Pleasures of Bath

This Virtual Tour looks at life in Georgian Bath - which was a place to come for health reasons but...

01Apr
14:00 - 16:00
East Acton Underground Station - Erconwald Street, London, W12 0BP

Walking Tour – A Stretch in the Scrubs

This walk takes in the open space of Wormwood Scrubs, then gives a view of the work on the new HS2 s...

01Apr
20:00 - 21:00
Online Event

Virtual Tour – Wandsworth’s Best Buildings

Rob talks about his favourite buildings in the London Borough of Wandsworth, including the former Yo...

02Apr
14:00 - 16:30
Dagenham Dock Station - Chequers Lane, London, RM9 6PR

Walking Tour – Industrial History of Dagenham Dock

Dagenham is instantly associated with the huge Ford factory that opened in 1931, but many other indu...

03Apr
11:00 - 13:00
Farringdon Underground - 39 Cowcross Street, London, EC1M 6BY

Walking Tour – The Makers of Modern London

A walk looking at some of the people who transformed London into the worlds first modern city If you...

04Apr
14:00 - 16:00
Farringdon Underground - 39 Cowcross St, London, EC1M

Walking Tour – Il Quartiere – Tales From Italian Clerkenwell

Tales of love, bravery, crime and friendship from Italian Clerkenwell 1830-1950  From the mid 19th C...

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