On Sundays we pluck just one walk from the vast London Walks repertoire and put it centre stage.
The Unknown East End
Sunday 2pm
Whitechapel Tube |
Guided by Harry
Frontline London – the
only neighbourhood the government feared.
Down and out London,
it was the worst slum in Europe. Paradoxically it was also London at its
richest! Richest in terms of its artistic expression and social ferment and
human mix. It's the London of revolution (we'll see the building where Lenin,
Trotsky, Gorky and Stalin touched down); of sieges and battles; of Isaac
Rosenberg and Mark Gertler; of the greatest Indian poet of them all; of the
Liberty Bell (and Bi-Centenary Bell) foundry; of the Krays and the Elephant
Man; of the best ethnic restaurants in London; of the 13th-century White Chapel
and synagogues and mosques. And astonishingly – despite the attentions of the
Luftwaffe – much of the "fabric" is still there. Best of all, it's
"real people's London" – and they're still there, too.
The Unknown East End
Walk takes place every* Sunday at 2 pm. Meet just outside the exit of Whitechapel Tube. N.B. the Walk
ends on the corner of Fournier and Commercial Streets, which is convenient for Liverpool
Street Station and Aldgate East Tube and Spitalfields Market.
About Your Guide
Harry –
"Britain's Favourite Guide"* – is a Cockney, a Scouser and (these
days) a country gentleman. And a character - how could he be otherwise? And a
top flight professionally qualified Blue Badge Guide.
*So he was elected on
that famous BBC Radio 4 travel programme.
A London Walk costs £10 – £8 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.
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