Take an Unusual London Walking Tour

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Guided Walks Featuring the History of Science and Technology, Eccentrics, Intelligence & Strange Pets

Tired of kings and queens? Don't follow the herd. Discover London's unsuspected history. Hear about head hunters at Holland Park, the surface of Mars at Mayfair, or dinosaur dung in Westminster.

These walking tours for small groups visit the homes and haunts of remarkable characters from history. But rather than the artists, nobles and politicians I bring you the ingenious, enlightened and eccentric - typically scientists, inventors, engineers and spies. But the best stories cut across the normal boundaries.

Aimed at the layperson these walking tours in central London or in one of London's "villages" feature architectural high points and quiet and attractive stretches in back streets, parks or along the water. They embrace social history and the often surprising evolution of London's infrastructure.

Enjoy an offbeat London guided walk, for example Nine Boffins - an original Westminster war walk, also Making the Earth Move in Woolwich, or a Spy Walk. Other walks feature Local Heroes (and a few villains) in Mayfair, Kensington, Lambeth, Chelsea, Belgravia, Charing Cross, Notting Hill, Bayswater, Holland Park, Richmond, Blackheath, Smithfield, Soho, Bloomsbury, Marylebone, Wimbledon and West Brompton.

Scientific Tourism in London

Local Heroes

London is home to world famous institutions like the Royal Society (founded 1660), the Royal Institution (founded 1799), the Science Museum (1857) and the Natural History Museum (1881). Many world famous scientists* and inventors have also lived here including Charles Babbage, Charles Darwin, Michael Faraday, Alexander Fleming, Benjamin Franklin, Isaac Newton, Alan Turing and James Clerk Maxwell.

Literally hundreds of others with extraordinary stories of their own have largely been forgotten. Outside my walking tours few of these stories are enjoyably accessible to the visitor, even via the English Heritage blue plaques. Apart from scientists and inventors I also cover others with science or enlightenment in their story: explorers, pathologists, code breakers, surveyors, cooks, camoufleurs, manufacturers etc.

Seen The Genius of Invention on BBC2? You might like to leave your armchair and take a guided science walk

Here are typical topics from my walking tours arranged in a historical timeline.

1784 Air rage, in West Brompton
1786 Performing surgery at 10 Downing Street in Westminster
1797 Weighing the world in Clapham
1799 Sending high speed data through Southwark
1852 Measuring beauty with a sextant, in Knightsbridge
1892 Decorating the home with electricity, in Bayswater
1915 Fighting chemical warfare, in Pimlico
1940 Surviving the battle of the beams over Richmond
1965 Sniffing out spies, in Lambeth

This is not the history of science textbook-style, but colourful stories of invention, experiment, discovery and adventure told in appropriate locations in a great city.

Secrets and Spies

As I focus on stories of ingenuity and eccentricity I have found it natural, in addition to science, to explore another hidden world, that of deception, espionage and secret weapons. You can still see sites in London connected with scientific intelligence, the day to day commerce of secrets, the conduct of elaborate deceptions and the development of bizarre secret weapons.

Scheduled Guided Walks & Private Tours

These unusual London walking tours, mostly within zones 1-4 of the Travelcard area, generally last 2-3 hours, but there are some longer walks which involve a rest stop. Click here for a tour menu. For mobility aspects see General Information.

Intended Audience
You like walking or exploring around town,
You have perhaps visited London's famous sites before and want something more unusual,
You are interested in science & technology, intrigue or social history,
OR, like many of my customers, you don't know much about science but you like to see and hear something new and interesting.
You could hear about magnetic mines at one street corner, and false teeth or plant hunting at the next.
Get a quick impression of the guided walks from my Word Cloud below.

Photo: Mike Gould

Strange Pets

It turns out that you cannot research remarkable people for long without finding that a number of them had very odd or very talented pets. You can be sure to hear about them.

Wombats

*The term "scientist" dates from 1834 and describes those who use the scientific method. Prior to that it is usual to use the term "natural philosopher" to describe those who sought to describe nature (space and matter) by any means available.

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