Private Walks - June 2016

June was a reasonably busyish month for 'private walks'. Aside from my regular weekend 'pay what you want' London walks, I do tailor made walks around the capital for couples, families, groups of friends, work colleagues and even the odd lone traveller. They're all a bit a different and are very much based on what those particular people wish to get out of their walk, which could simply be seeing the sights, or maybe something a bit more off the beaten track. Below are photos of some of the people from across the globe that I met in June, along with a brief description of what we did or where we were when I took the photo.

All of the descriptions refer to the set of photos directly below. Top left we have Karen and her crew standing on Tower Hill, with the old Port of London Authority building behind them. I actually met them in the morning to wander around Covent Garden and Westminster where they were staying, but as my afternoon walk had just cancelled, they just carried on, as they were keen to see the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. Top right is Cynthia & co in Spitalfields about to embark on a well earned lunch after a jaunt around East London. Bottom left is whole bunch of colleagues from Soho based digital media company, Agenda 21. It was actually the third walk I've done with them around the area where they work. Bottom right is Vishal & Becca in Seven Dials near Covent Garden.  

Top left is Abi in Westlands in east London which is a large architectural antique centre in a de-consecrated church, Shoreditch. Rather oddly, the statue was originally from communist Prague and is for sale. Top right is Diane and family in Covent Garden at the end of our walk around the sights of Westminster. Talking of sights, bottom left is Hank and family outside Buckingham Palace. If you're visiting London this summer, then Buckingham Palace's 'summer opening' is from 23rd July to 2nd October with a special exhibition entitled 'Fashioning a Reign: 90 Years of Style from The Queen's Wardrobe' which is pretty self explanatory. Bottom right, Jen and family with St Paul's cathedral in the background.

Top left of the four photos below is Brian and family in Parliament Square, with the iconic 'Big Ben' in the background. I did quite a different walk with Frank & Mary around Spitalfields and Shoreditch and included a pub stop. Unfortunately for Serena & John (bottom left) it rained for the entirety of their walk, but never-the-less remained in good spirits throughout. Here they are in Trafalgar Square with the National Gallery behind them. Bottom right is Alex and family from the States who were back in London and came on their first walk with me a couple of years ago. They're standing in the courtyard of the historic 17th century George Inn in Borough, London's last remaining galleried inn. 

Top left (below) is Christine on a layover at Gatwick airport from Italy. I met her at Victoria station and did a quick whizz around Westminster before dropping her back at the station to get a train back to the airport. She's standing next to the statue of Charles I at the north end of Whitehall. Top right is Jack and family from the States. I met them at their hotel in Southwark and we did a walk that included Fleet Street and the City of London, dropping them back at Borough Market on Bankside in time for lunch. Bottom left is Karyl and her family at the end of our walk in Piccadilly, before they ventured in to Soho for dinner. Bottom right is a group of teenagers from around Europe, in London for a two week course. They're standing in Horse Guards. 

As you can see, an eclectic and varied month of walks. I'm currently taking bookings for July, August and beyond so if you're visiting London and in the planning stages, feel free to get in touch.