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:


30Sep
30 - Sep
20:00 - 21:00

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...

03Oct
03 - Oct
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...

03Oct
03 - Oct
14:00 - 16:30
Tower Hill Tube Station - Trinity Square , London, EC3N 4DJ

Walking Tour – The Long Good Friday Revisited

A walk looking at some of the locations from the film The Long Good Friday and how the story in the...

05Oct
05 - Oct
14:00 - 16:00
West Drayton Station - Station Approach West Drayton, London, E16 1DQ

Walking Tour – A West Drayton Wander

West Drayton in the borough of Hillingdon has a Tudor Gateway hidden away among its modern housing,...

05Oct
05 - Oct
20:00 - 21:00

Virtual Tour – Shipwrecks in the Thames

Stories of sunken ships in the Thames from Roman times to the present day With so many ships visitin...

06Oct
06 - Oct
14:00 - 16:00
Bath Spa Station - Dorchester Road, Bath, BA1 1SU

Walking Tour – A Bath Promenade

This afternoon stroll around Georgian Bath features readings from 18th century guide books and newsp...

07Oct
07 - Oct
20:00 - 21:00

Virtual Tour – London’s Food Factories

It was hard work keeping Victorian London supplied with food. This Virtual Tour looks at the factori...

12Oct
12 - Oct
20:00 - 21:00

Virtual Tour – Castles Around London

The story of twelve medieval castles that are a short journey from London London is home to one of t...

13Oct
13 - Oct
20:00 - 21:00

Virtual Tour – London’s Royal Docks

The Royal Group of Docks in East London were one of the largest engineering projects in London'...

14Oct
14 - Oct
20:00 - 21:00

Virtual Tour – Six Islington Squares

Enjoy an hour looking at the domestic architecture of 19th century Islington on this Zoom virtual to...

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