Hidden London & Regents Canal

Hidden London including a Walking Tour & Regents Canal Cruise

 

In 1666 the Great Fire swept away much of the London of our ancestors but the flames died to ashes to leave one corner untouched. With a walk, a coach tour and a relaxing canal cruise through Regents Park, this is a day of great contrasts in the company of a top notch tour Blue Badge Tour Guide who really knows how to tell a story.

 

Your Guide will meet our coach on Newgate Street for morning coffee in Paternoster Square - a cup of tea or coffee is included. We are in the precincts of St Pauls Cathedral and Paternoster Square and the surrounding street names remind us of the processions of the mediaeval clergy. In this bright and modern square we see Christopher Wren's Temple Bar Gate that once marked entry into the Square Mile. Across the road we discover Christ Church Greyfriars where four Queens were buried. The friary church was destroyed in the Great Fire and today, set in an attractive little garden, we see the ruins of the Wren church that replaced it and, which itself was destroyed during the Blitz.

 

Before the Great Fire there were over 100 churches in the Square Mile and just across the road we discover another garden that unites the rest of the old Greyfriars churchyard with that of another lost church plus one still standing to form one of the largest open spaces in the City.  

 

We visit London's oldest Parish church, approached from beneath a Tudor gatehouse and alongside some mediaeval cloth merchants houses. Your tour guide will pick out some wonderful features - this is a very memorable visit. 

 

For lunch we stay in Smithfield for a choice of pubs and cafes.

 

The relaxing narrow boat cruise is on London’s hidden waterway - the Regents Canal. We begin the journey from Little Venice, a delightful pool surrounded by opulent Regency houses and end at the flagged and cobbled courtyard of Camden Lock. Elegant town houses line the first stretch and soon we are gliding through the green splendour of Regents Park, past the terraces of London Zoo. 

 

 

Thursday 4 March 2027

Pick ups: Route A2

 

Tuesday 23 March 2027

Pick ups: Route B2

 

£75 per person

 

Price includes:

Guided Walking Tour of Hidden London

Regents Canal Cruise

Return Coach Fare

 

The walking is flat and will be manageable for everybody except those who rely on two sticks or a rollator - for these people we'd recommend using a wheelchair (We can take a fold up wheelchair on the narrow boat but not a motorised scooter).

The walking tour is about 1200 yards on the flat with lots of stops including opportunities to sit down.

It's about 200 feet from the coach to the morning coffee stop and there will be about 350 yards in total to and from the coach for the cruise.