The Only Way Is Essex Road
One of Islington's often-ignored streets, this thoroughfare offers a wealth of diverse history and architectural delights. Jane will lead you along the full length of the road from Islington Green to Ball's Pond Road covering 500 years of history, from Tudor houses, through 1820's Georgian splendour and Victorian expansion to Art Deco embellishment and today’s ... Read More
Look At The Estate We’re In
An architectural appreciation tour showcasing a variety of well-designed social housing estates in Islington. We'll start in Essex Road and make our way to Highbury & Islington station via Victorian, Edwardian and pre-WWII developments made possible by concerned and innovative benefactors. We'll also look at early LCC estates and Islington's own, more recent, schemes. It's ... Read More
St Mary Islington – Church and Tower tour
St Mary’s, Islington on Upper Street has played a central role in the history of Islington for a thousand years. During this time several different churches have stood on the site, leaving an eclectic range of architectural styles. On this 90-minute guided tour you’ll learn about the 12th-century Norman church and its 15th-century medieval successor. ... Read More
The Elephants Have Escaped – Oh What a Circus!
This delightful route starts near Parliament Hill Fields and ends midway between Archway and Tufnell Park stations. We'll retrace the path of two Victorian circus elephants who, in 1884, ran through the streets of Dartmouth Park, ending their journey trapped but unharmed in an Islington N19 front garden. We will take time to admire what ... Read More
The Diary of a Nobody – Mr Pooter’s Holloway
Upper HollowayThe Diary of a Nobody started as a popular satirical column in Punch magazine in 1888 before being extended and published in book form a few years later. This guided tour brings the book to life, taking you back to the late Victorian middle-class Upper Holloway that Mr. Charles Pooter and his family and ... Read More
Unusual Islington – a walking tour
Discover the hidden gems that make this corner of London so unique Join qualified local guide Nigel Smith for a captivating and surprising journey through the charming streets of Islington. This two-hour walking tour is designed to unveil the area's rich and often overlooked history, showcasing the intriguing stories and quirky details that make this ... Read More
Union Chapel Guided Tour
Union Chapel 19b Compton Terrace, London, United KingdomThe Union Chapel has towered over Upper Street in Islington since the 1870s and today thrives as an award-winning venue, homelessness project and a working radical church. On the tour, led by an expert Islington Guided Walks guide, you’ll see this architectural gem up close and discover the building’s fascinating history. The Grade I listed ... Read More
The River Fleet from King’s Cross to Farringdon
This walk traces the route of the now-subterranean River Fleet, which also marks the border between today's Camden and Islington boroughs. ‘Beating the Bounds’ around the borders between parishes, land ownerships and similar is an ancient tradition, where the boundary was literally paced out and marked with stones each year. Our route also explores nearby ... Read More
Cultural Clerkenwell – a walking tour
Barbican Tube Aldersgate Street, London, United KingdomWalk in the footsteps of Shakespeare and Dickens and see contemporary art in London’s oldest parish church with guide Nigel Smith. Since the middle-ages, when religious pageants were held on the banks of the River Fleet and entertainers performed at the annual Bartholomew’s Fair, Clerkenwell has been a part of London steeped in cultural history. ... Read More
St Mary Islington – Church and Tower tour
St Mary’s, Islington on Upper Street has played a central role in the history of Islington for a thousand years. During this time several different churches have stood on the site, leaving an eclectic range of architectural styles. On this 90-minute guided tour you’ll learn about the 12th-century Norman church and its 15th-century medieval successor. ... Read More
Unusual Islington – a walking tour
Discover the hidden gems that make this corner of London so unique Join qualified local guide Nigel Smith for a captivating and surprising journey through the charming streets of Islington. This two-hour walking tour is designed to unveil the area's rich and often overlooked history, showcasing the intriguing stories and quirky details that make this ... Read More
Union Chapel Guided Tour
Union Chapel 19b Compton Terrace, London, United KingdomThe Union Chapel has towered over Upper Street in Islington since the 1870s and today thrives as an award-winning venue, homelessness project and a working radical church. On the tour, led by an expert Islington Guided Walks guide, you’ll see this architectural gem up close and discover the building’s fascinating history. The Grade I listed ... Read More