Winter Wanders between Christmas and New Year

After the highs of the Christmas festivities are over, you could flop down on the sofa for the rest of the long weekend, or join the rush to the sales – or you could do something different and take a stroll to explore the history of Clerkenwell and Islington.

It’s often hard to find something affordable and fun to do in the “limbo time” before New Year, so a few of us, all Islington Guides, thought it would be a good time to plan a week of short walks around the area. We came up with the title Winter Wanders and decided to run some fairly short, fun tours – most of them are about an hour and a half – within easy reach of transport.

The walks are every day except 1 January, between 27 December and 3 January. They cover Clerkenwell, Highbury and Upper Street, and Old Street and St Lukes.

The first tour on Saturday 27 January is a walk down Clerkenwell Road, learning how it smashed a path through the area’s historic streets and finding out about the Victorian and early 20^th century industries that took root in the area – everything from clockmaking and jewellery to famous names like Kodak cameras and Columbia Records.

On Sunday there’s a relaxed tour of Highbury and Upper Street, introducing characters and stories from the area’s rich past, from its time as London’s dairy capital to the contemporary shopping and cafe culture of Islington Square – plus theatres and churches, art and literature, and some hidden gems.

More walks in the following week will cover other parts of the borough with knowledgeable, friendly guides who are passionate about the area.

For more information and tickets, see walks [https://islingtonguidedwalks.com/walks/].