Walk of the Week: William Morris & Friends

Every Sunday we’ll pluck just one walk from the vast London Walks repertoire and put it centre stage.

You can check out the full schedule at www.walks.com.

But if you only take one walking tour this week, why not make it…

WILLIAM MORRIS & FRIENDS

Saturday 31st January 2015

at 2:30pm 

Meeting Point: Stamford Brook Tube

Arts and Crafts in Hammersmith. Yes, that's the sub-title for this Tour du Jour. And what I'm telling you is, whatever you do don't be fooled by it. This walk is a walk that banishes bland. It's a well-I-never from first to last. The man, his circle, the neighbourhood, the history – they're all so worth getting to know. Our man was the anti-parliamentarian who wanted to turn the Houses of Parliament into a dung-house. Designer. Artistic entrepreneur. Radical. Traditionalist. Founding father of British Socialism. Poet. Story teller. Best seller. Dreaming boy. Bearded patriarch. Translator of Icelandic epics. Husband of a Pre-Raphaelite icon (whose affair with Dante Gabriel Rossetti was a Victorian show-stopper). This is his London. A couple of particulars. 1.) We're usually able to visit WM's riverside house. 2) He spent the last 18 years of his life here – this was his neighbourhood. It was an arts and crafts hot-house: bookbinding, calligraphy, silversmithing, printing... there was creation here, there were beautiful things here. 3) Still are, not least because we'll be walking along one of the loveliest stretches of the Thames. Guided by Ann. N.B. the walk takes about two hours and ends near HammersmithTube.

To go on the William Morris & Friends walk meet Ann just outside the exit of Stamford Brook Tube.

A London Walk costs £9 – £7 concession. To join a London Walk, simply meet your guide at the designated tube station at the appointed time. Details of all London Walks can be found at www.walks.com.