🦅 Next Flights
I offer family and group walking tours by arrangement, normally up to twelve guests to keep the group size manageable. I can also design custom walks around specific themes if you have something in mind. Because there is a lot of information, guests are encouraged to take notes or video the walk. I use Eventbrite as a ticketing platform so once I agree a date and time with you, I will create the event and send a link for you to book.
For walk enquiries, please contact Tim at:
historyhawks@btinternet.com
John Nash's London, Part 1: A walk through Regent's Park
£ 20.00
📅 Date & Time: TBA
📍 Meeting Point: Regent’s Park Underground Station
We'll be spending a day looking at John Nash's amazing terraces in Regent's Park and visiting the gardens in the Inner Circle. The walk will take us up the west side of the Outer Circle, crossing into the park to walk along the boating lake then cutting through into the Inner Circle to look at the rose gardens, then up the Broad Walk and back down the eastern side of the Outer Circle to finish at the old Diorama in Park Square.
John Nash's London, Part 2: Regent St to Buckingham Palace
£ 20.00
📅 Date & Time: TBA
📍 Meeting Point: Regent’s Park Underground Station
We'll be following Nash's royal processional route from Regent's Park to Pall Mall and on to Buckingham Palace. From Nash's Park Crescent, we'll be walking down Portland Place, pausing to look at an Adam Brothers' house, then down Regent Street to Waterloo Place where the Prince Regent's mansion Carlton House used to be. We'll then descend onto the Mall and skirt St James's Park to Buckingham Palace which Nash was also involved in.
Byways of Charing Cross: the romance of the old and the shock of the new
£ 20.00
📅 Date & Time: TBA
📍 Meeting Point: Strand outside Charing Cross Station
We'll begin with the history of Charing Cross Station and the Eleanor Cross, then dive down the 18th century Craven Steet to look at the American influence, in particular Benjamin Franklin. We then pay a visit to the York Watergate and the history of York House and the Strand mansions in general. After a visit to the late 17th century Buckingham Street, we walk along John Adam Street to examine the heritage of the Adam Brothers and the Adelphi terrace where the fabulous art deco Adelphi Building now stands. We will finish back at the Strand with a talk on Durham House.
Savoy to Somerset House: the ancient heart of the Strand
£ 20.00
📅 Date & Time: TBA
📍 Meeting Point: Savoy Theatre on the Strand
We'll be looking into the medieval origins of the Savoy area which gave the theatre its name, exploring the history of the old Fountain Court associated with William Blake, then diving down an alley to look at the Savoy Chapel and the old BBC headquarters, recounting the history of Waterloo Bridge and finishing at Somerset House via the Great Arch.
At the Gates of the City: Aldwych then and now
£ 20.00
📅 Date & Time: TBA
📍 Meeting Point: Temple tube station
The Aldwych was one of the biggest redevelopments in modern London in the early years of the twentieth century. We show you what was there before and look at the iconic buildings here today. We'll talk about Somerset House, St Mary-le-Strand (the Jacobite church) and St Clement Danes (the oranges and lemons church) as well as Bush House and Australia House, and the great Strand mansions that gave their names to the streets today.
High and Dry: a history of the Embankment from York Watergate to Two Temple Place
£ 20.00
📅 Date & Time: TBA
📍 Meeting Point: Embankment tube station
We will explore the Victoria Embankment from York Watergate to Two Temple Place through Embankment Gardens. In the course of our walk, we’ll be visiting York Watergate and learning about the great Strand mansions, looking at the art deco Shell Mex building, telling the perilous story of how Cleopatra’s Needle made its way to England, paying a visit to a very strange lamp post, learning how the Savoy got its name, exploring the rich history of Somerset House, visiting a curious bath and ending at a fairy-tale stately home.
In Search of the Lost Palace of Whitehall
£ 20.00
📅 Date & Time: TBA
📍 Meeting Point: Eleanor Cross outside Charing Cross Station
We meet at the Eleanor Cross outside Charing Cross Station, then continue to the equestrian statue of Charles I at the junction of Trafalgar Square and Whitehall where the original cross stood. We then dive down Great Scotland Yard to investigate its medieval origins before heading to the junction with Horse Guards Avenue. Using the Banqueting House (the only surviving intact part of the palace) as a reference point, we will determine the location of the palace gate, explore Henry VIII's old tiltyard and tennis courts and then walk up Horse Guards Avenue to detemrine the location of the Great Hall and Chapel which formed the nucleus of Cardinal Wolsey's York Place, finishing at Queen's Mary's Steps on the Embankment.
Whitehall: Cockpit of Power
£ 20.00
📅 Date & Time: TBA
📍 Meeting Point: Eleanor Cross outside Charing Cross Station
This walk will guide you through the visible architecture of Whitehall, including the Banqueting House, Horse Guards, William Kent's Treasury, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Downing Street and the MoD building, exploring their history along with the personalities who lived here like Lady Caroline Lamb and freed slave Ignatius Sancho.
Westminster: the Power and the Glory
£ 20.00
📅 Date & Time: TBA
📍 Meeting Point: Westminster tube station
We take a tour around the precincts of the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey, exploring the stories that surround them and the personalities who influenced them such as Charles I and Oliver Cromwell.
In the Shadow of the Abbey: the secret back streets behind Westminster Abbey
£ 20.00
📅 Date & Time: TBA
📍 Meeting Point: Westminster Archives, 10 St Ann's St, London SW1P 2DE
What was the Devil's Acre? Who was Colonel Blood? Who tried to blow up St John's Smith Square? Come with me on this journey around the back ways of the Abbey and meet such fascinating characters as Siegfried Sassoon and Lawrence of Arabia.
Rebels and Refugees: Immigrants in Soho
£ 20.00
📅 Date & Time: TBA
📍 Meeting Point: Soho Square Gardens by Charles II statue
We'll be looking at the French Huguenot presence in Soho Square followed by the Jewish and Macedonian legacy in Manette Street. We find out why Greek St is called that, followed by a look at the Jewish influence on Berwick Street Market and the music scene. We'll be passing by Karl Marx's former home on Dean Street and end in Chinatown with a discussion of how and why this came to be a vibrant Chinese quarter.
Marvelous Marylebone
£ 20.00
📅 Date & Time: TBA
📍 Meeting Point: Baker street tube station, Baker Street exit
We'll be looking at the historic development of Marylebone and its architecture, exploring key elements of its social history and meeting personalities such as Sherlock Holmes, the Beatles, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and Christine Keeler.