Smithfield Market Attractions & Things to do

Get up close to some of the most powerful and historic buildings in the world on this 3.5 hour bike tour of central London. Follow a guide as you take in the architectural diversity of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, and St. Paul’s Cathedral; explore the bustling Covent Garden; and brush shoulders with the bronze lions in Trafalgar Square.
Duration: 3 hours 30 minutes.

This is our most popular tour, where you will get to see the majority of what London has to offer, whilst being driven around in my 6 seater Electric London Black Taxi . You will get to stop and visit must see sights including (all featured from Highlight’s tour; Big Ben, St Pauls Cathedral, Buckingham Palace, Tower of London, Westminster Abbey as well as Kensington Palace, Trafalgar Square, Tower Bridge, Borough market and many more hot spots). I will be talking to you throughout the tour whilst driving and on our stops. There will be lots of opportunities to stop and take memorable photos. This is a tour you cannot miss whilst visiting London.
Duration: 4 hours.

Walking through the most ancient part of London, you'll discover the remains of historic churches, gorgeous old pubs, and Tudor architecture.

These quiet streets have witnessed some of the most extraordinary and bloody moments in British history, from the Blitz, the Great Fire, Plague and Executions.

See the memorials to Protestant Martyrs burnt alive by Bloody Mary Tudor; find out how William Wallace met his end, and locate London's most significant Black Death cemetery.

But its not all blood and guts, as we will pass through the most gorgeous Tudor gateway in the City, explore alleyways barely touched in 400 years and see the church used in Four Weddings and a Funeral.

You'll be taken within the shell of a church destroyed in the Blitz, and be led into the park which displays the most touching memorial to self sacrifice you could possibly imagine.

The walk lasts 1.5 hours and will leave a lasting impression of a different side to London's extraordinary history.
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes.

Take a walk through the sinister past of the Dark Side of London, hearing ghost stories, tragic tails, and creepy facts and figures, all the more unsettling because it is true! You will learn the salacious history of the Barber Surgeons, see the site of the execution of a legendary hero, and stand before an old Victorian hospital famous for grave-robbery.

On this tour you'll find out why Londoners used to drink blood and eat bones, learn who is said to haunt London's Underground network, and hear the story of England's most prolific serial killer (and if you think you know who it is - think again!). You'll walk over plague pits, through haunted graveyards and along the very same paths the condemned would have once taken on their final journeys.

This tour, guided by a professional storyteller and scholar, is a must for anyone who wants to get off the beaten track and learn about the macabre tales that this ancient city has to offer. You’ll never look at London the same way!

Duration: 2 hours.

Experience the spook-laden sights and streets of London’s past on this 2.5-hour bus and walking tour. Ride a luxury air-conditioned coach, stop for two walking tours along the way, and listen to stories at every eerie stop from an expert local guide. Explore the atmospheric hunting grounds of the Ripper, see the former execution site of Smithfield Market and learn about bloodthirsty Sweeney Todd and the Cock Lane ghost. Finish at a cozy London pub to soothe your jangled nerves.
Duration: 2 hours 30 minutes.

Explore London's most chilling haunted pubs! Hear the stories behind centuries-old boozers and imbibe the atmosphere, as we take a walk through historic London.

Discover some of the most stunning traditional pubs that London has to offer, escorted by a qualified historian, who grew up in the area.

Make new friends and taste great beers, in this fun, yet informative journey back in time!

Hear tales of the infamous resurrection men, who snatched bodies from local graveyards. See the site of some of London's bloodiest executions. Learn about gruesome murders, apparitions and Faustian pacts. Visit a medieval plague pit, dating back to the Black Death. Check out filming locations from Four Weddings and a Funeral, Brave heart, Shakespeare in Love, V for Vendetta, Skyfall, Closer, Snatch, Sherlock and Poirot. See the City of London's oldest house and its oldest surviving parish church
Duration: 3 hours.

Travel through a thousand years of history, meeting medieval knights, body snatchers, Charles Dickens, an eighteenth century ghost, and William Wallace - aka Braveheart (and learn how he was in no fit state to shout "Freeeedoooommmm!" whilst being executed!)

On our walking tour we'll visit the areas around Smithfield, for centuries London's site of both animal and human slaughter. We'll learn about how the city disposed of the tens of thousands of Black Death corpses in the fourteenth century, the execution methods used in the Middle Ages, and how the area became a notorious slum which Dickens used as the setting for Oliver Twist.

The walking tour begins outside Barbican Station, ends near to Farringdon Station, and will take around two hours. Total distance is about two miles.

Ticket sales will be limited to fifteen attendees, to ensure maximum enjoyment for everybody on the tour.
Duration: 2 hours.

We will enter the darkest and most paranormal London with Major Thomas Weir to begin with our main story: Jack the Ripper. We'll focus on 3 of the 5 murders and move down the same streets they happened on. Alleys, conspiracy, terror is what we lived through for 3 months in this area of London.

Then we'll head for Little Britain, taking the
Tube at Liverpool Street station.
We'll dig into the darkest history of the Little Britain district: corpse thieves, torture, hospitals and we'll go down to the depths of London, to the old Newgate Prison. We will live in the first person to happen in this prison in the 17th century, and as of today it is one of the most paranormally active areas in all of London.

We will finish at the Viaduct Tavern pub where you have included in the price £4 to consume.

Only 8 people per tour.
The metro ticket is not included.
Children under 5 years not admitted.
Duration: 2 hours 30 minutes.

Cut to AD 43, witness the Romans marching into London through your time machine, the black heritage cab. You're advised to charge your imagination batteries overnight, to view the special effects with clarity.
History lovers be prepared with your questions, the tour guide is a keen Londoner and historian. Dare to peek into the ‘Dead Man’s Hole’. Enjoy (or endure) the Execution site on Tower Hill and smirk at the origin of that well-used phrase ‘Can I hang with you?’ Old Roman Wall to Roman Amphitheatre, we ensure drama never ceases at the World Heritage Site of The Tower of London.
Get ‘hung, drawn and quartered’ in the tiny little medieval streets from London’s less glamorous past. Drift into the stories of the ‘Great Fire of London’, ‘Braveheart’, Body Snatchers, Gallows of Old Newgate Prison and the World famous Criminal Courts of Justice – The Old Bailey…we’ll keep ‘em coming. Till you’re ready to join the history club like the rest of us.
Duration: 4 hours.

Leave the regular tourist trail behind and get immersed in the hidden secrets of the London's rich past with your own personal Guide.

A private and bespoke walk through 2000 years of London's history at your pace. No strict schedules or herding about, a bespoke tour just for you.

This tour is ideal for those who want to get off the usual visitor routes and discover the gems that many people miss -

Ancients buildings, Dickensian Alleys, Hidden Courts, Church Crypts, Secret Routes, and of course London's most atmospheric

Inn's, Taverns and Pubs, some dating back over 600 years!

Go on an adventure with your own local guide, a sense of curiosity greatly encouraged!. Your guide is passionate about making this a truly personal and memorable tour.
**Children under 16 Go FREE when accompanied by paying adults - (Max 4 Children)**
Duration: 3 to 4 hours.

This is our Ultimate 6 hour tour, where you will get to see the majority of what London has to offer. You will get to visit must see sights including (all featured from Highlight’s tour; Big Ben, St Pauls Cathedral, Buckingham Palace, Tower of London, Westminster Abbey Trafalgar Square, Tower Bridge, Borough market as well as sites from our Hidden Gems Tour including Kensington Palace, Little Venice, Notting Hill,Camden market and many more hot spots). I will be talking to you throughout the tour whilst driving and on our stops. There will be lots of opportunities to stop and take memorable photos. This is a tour you cannot miss whilst visiting London.
Duration: 6 hours.

Delve into 007’s dangerous world of espionage and discover filming locations used in the movies on this 4-hour James Bond bus tour of London. Travel past the streets of the British capital with a guide, and discover top city landmarks used in Bond movies such as 'No Time to Die, ‘SPECTRE’ and 'The World is Not Enough'. Gain insight into life on-set for crew and actors like Sean Connery, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig, and enjoy the tour with other fans of the movie franchise.
Duration: 4 hours.

Follow the incredible London life of United States Founding Father Benjamin Franklin.
Franklin lived in London for nearly 20 years, and this fun, history based tour takes you on a journey through the streets he knew well.

His first extended stay as a young batchelor helped shape and form the man he would become. He later returned for 16 years as a Diplomat representing Colonial interests. During this period he made the change from viewing himself an Englishman and supporter of the King, to an ardent supporter of the American Revolution, and signatory to the Declaration of Independence.

This private and personalised tour allows you to follow in his footsteps across the oldest parts of the City of London, discovering many famous landmarks as well as some hidden Gems, including the only surviving home of Benjamin Franklin in the world.


Duration: 2 to 3 hours.

London without espionage is like tea without cake. Deceit woven in political conspiracies, thrilling car chases, gadget workshops spewing crazy innovations and double agents with looks to kill. So if you're a die-hard fan of Ian Fleming, this tour's “For Your Eyes Only”.
Ride the mean streets of London and be part of a glorious 55-year legacy of spy thrillers. Relive your favourite spy flicks and their lead characters with an accredited London Private Driver Guide who's a pro at the 007 theme.
Your mission ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’, should you choose to accept, is to step into the shoes of Connery, Lazenby, Moore, Dalton, Brosnan and Craig with your very own Special Agent. Snoop in on many mystery locations with fact-filled commentary and stand-up presentations. Prowl around the real-life world of secret service on Westminster, Whitehall, Downing St, National Gallery. Get closer to the fictional legend that is James Bond. Play out your fantasy because “You Only Live Once”..
Duration: 4 hours.

Led by one of our fantastic guides, who are not only experienced tour guides, but also actors or directors who trained at some of the finest drama schools in the world, and written by a Ph.D. candidate at Queen Mary University of London's School of English and Drama, this tour blends history, drama, and live performance and is a must for anyone curious or passionate about Shakespeare!

Starting at Farringdon Station, we will explore locations that Shakespeare would have been familiar with and which are still left standing after the Great Fire of London and the London Blitz. We will also explore areas of London, which, although much changed, inspired Shakespeare and allowed him to progress from being the son of a glove maker to a servant of the King. During the tour, we will learn how Shakespeare became the ‘immortal bard’, debate if Shakespeare wrote the plays we credit him with and explore why Shakespeare’s works are still enjoyed and celebrated in the 21st Century.

Duration: 3 hours.

Leave the regular tourist trail behind and get immersed in the hidden secrets of London's rich past that most tourists don't get to see.

On this very small group tour of maximum 6 Persons you will walk through 2000 years of London's history at a relaxed pace. No strict schedules or herding about. And being in such a small group means you will easily hear and interact with your guide and no crackling headsets!

This tour is ideal for those who want to get off the usual visitor routes and discover the gems that many people miss -

Ancients buildings, Dickensian Alleys, Hidden Courts, Church Crypts, Secret Routes, and of course London's most atmospheric Inn's, Taverns and Pubs, some dating back over 700 years!

Go on an adventure with your own local guide, a sense of curiosity greatly encouraged!. Your guide is passionate about making this a truly personal and memorable tour. 100% Five Star Rated Guide.

Duration: 3 to 4 hours.

This private tour takes you through the nooks and crannies and grand streets of perhaps the greatest city in the world.

Greater London might be 671 Square Miles but comparatively few people visit the City of London which is just 1 square mile. This is the original London. The London of the Romans and those who lived before them. The Vikings, Anglo-Saxons and Normans. Money, finance, big business and science mixed with Great Fires, Plagues. poverty, crime, executions and the Blitz.

In this walk we will see almost all of it. The modern skyscrapers, the Roman ruins and everything in between. Leave the Big Bus tours behind; many of the places we go, don't even have roads. This is the real, authentic London with medieval lanes not the busy tourist sites in Westminster.

We guarantee you won't have seen this side of London because that's what even Londoners have told us.


Duration: 3 to 4 hours.

From medieval murders to modern-day financial scandals, the City of London has seen it all. On this tour, we'll wander down alleyways and stop by famous execution sites while exploring the shocking history of the Square Mile.

Along the way, we'll discover the real-life "walk of shame" – the inspiration behind that scene in Game of Thrones; raise a glass to history's dodgiest doctor; and step back in time at the City's most notorious prison.
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes.

You will have a time-travelling adventure navigating between 4th, 12th, 17th and 21st century.

Highlights

• Explore the ruined site of the ancient cult where Romans had sacrifices
• Discover conspiracies behind the astrological clock
• Explore hidden London Devils
• Discover how British spies hired an astrologer during World War II to write horoscopes
• A bird's eye view of St Pauls
• Explore the oldest haunted church in London


Duration: 3 hours.

Discover the significance of American culture in London from the comfort of a private London Black Taxi. I have been a London Taxi Driver since 1994 and I am also a qualified taxi guide. 

See parts of London you may not have known about. Be amazed at just how much American influence there is to be seen in London and discover hidden gems that time has forgot.

The tour focuses on two broad areas.

• The Thames in the east of the city features the beginnings of the 13 colonies from 1606: On the south side, we will visit the iconic Mayflower and travel around London’s Blackwall, Rotherhithe and the pretty Shad Thames moving to the other side of the river to explore trendy Wapping and the City.

• St. James’s and Mayfair in the West highlight the beginnings of the nation of the United States from the 1770s. We will visit the former home of one of the Founding Fathers, Benjamin Franklin. I will show you where the ratification of the Treaty of Paris was signed, and so much more.


Duration: 6 hours.

This tour visits the poignant Memorial to Heroic Self-Sacrifice in Postman's Park which remembers dozens of everyday people who lost their lives saving family, friends, and complete strangers.

We will visit locations where people lived and died who are commemorated in the memorial and visit parts of London other tours don't come close to seeing as we explore what life was like in Victorian times and remember some of the most tremendous acts of bravery imaginable that are now sadly all but forgotten.

We will also learn about the poverty of the times and how the sacrifices of these heroes helped bring about change that finally ended the suffering of these poor but brave and dignified Londoners.

Postman's Park is one of the spots in my Secret Gardens of the City of London Walk, a #1 ranking tour and book.

This new tour is connected to my latest book Angels of Postman's Park which is out in the Spring of 2023.
Duration: 3 hours.

Unearth the hidden stories of London’s most iconic landmarks and secret sites on this fascinating walking tour. Perfect for history buffs, culture enthusiasts, and curious travelers, this tour reveals the rich tapestry of resilience, faith, and courage that shaped the city. Step beyond the surface and discover the lives of saints, martyrs, and ordinary people whose extraordinary stories are etched into London’s past.

What to Expect:
This 2.5-hour walking tour takes you through a captivating journey of London’s lesser-known history, blending compelling storytelling with visits to some of the city’s most atmospheric sites. You’ll gain a new perspective on London’s enduring legacy and its hidden narratives.

Why Choose This Tour?
• Discover Hidden Gems: Uncover London’s secret historical treasures.
• Engaging Narratives: Bring history to life through vivid storytelling.
• Intimate Group Setting: Small group sizes ensure a personal and interactive experience.

Duration: 2 hours 30 minutes.

I’ve walked the streets of London for over 20 years as a police officer and tour guide. I love helping people get the most from their visits to London and England and showing them secret and unusual places as well as the traditional popular sites.
My police Sergeant role in Westminster since 2007 means you can rest assured you will be in safe hands, fully first aid and safety trained. I can share many stories of my time on the beat, including policing Royal Weddings, meeting Prime Ministers, sneaking a prince out of a nightclub and escorting Michael Jackson from a theatre.

Walking Tours:
Some of my ready-made tours include Smithfield Market (6:30am weekdays), City of London highlights , student insights to Oxford and Cambridge, Cotswolds rambles, city highlights in Bath, Canterbury, Hereford, Salisbury, Stratford upon Avon, Winchester and Windsor, Royal Westminster and On the Beat, patrolling Soho and Westminster.
Duration: 3 hours 30 minutes.

This tour will cover a number of neighbourhoods, all of different characteristics & historical time periods. Starting in the East End where The Krays famously & violently ruled the roost in the heart of the old East End.

Not too far away you will go back in time almost a century and retread the footsteps of Jack The Ripper & his victims whilst visiting and learning about the feared Workhouses that so many lived in and so many were trapped in. Then towards Smithfields, home of many a famous & bloody execution. Stopping briefly at the beautiful St. Bartholomews church before visiting the shrine of William Wallace (Braveheart) where he was put to death in one of the most horrible ways imaginable.

Then to old Newgate prison where people awaited their trials & deaths for centuries before standing on the spot where many of the executions were enacted. The notorious Clink Prison awaits us... then the maze of alleys around Borough Market & the poverty stricken neighbourhood of Charles Dickens.
Duration: 3 hours.

Step through the veneer of London's surface and there is a world of hidden temples, forgotten rivers, ancient churches, cobbled stairways that speak of the ruins of a thousand years and stories of lost memories, love, heartache and humour. With your guide and driver you will go where tourists do not - through old alleys in the oldest part of the city. Meet the legends of London - from literature to ghosts, from the forgotten Londoner making ends meet to the doomed aristocratic lovers who were forever lost. Touch an ancient wall, see a lost Roman amphitheatre, a knights temple, the Queen's tea trader and so much more. We do not want to reveal too much for now - what is hidden stays hidden - but on this private tour, you get a once only pass to see what lies behind the looking glass - all is not quite what it seems. Join us.
Duration: 3 to 4 hours.

London is an ancient city with over 2,000 years of wars, invasions, plagues, fires, squalor, murders and executions.  This spooky tour takes us around the maze of Roman, Viking and Medieval Streets, Georgian passageways and old Victorian slums.

Taking place almost entirely within the original old City of London, this 2-3 hour walking tour will show you parts of London with dark history and verified haunting spots of ghosts from the Middle Ages right up into the 21st Century.

Normally we don't even see any other tourists on our route which as far as possible with ghosts, put authenticity over the implausible tales on other ghost walks.
Duration: 2 hours 30 minutes.

The old street markets are one of London`s most enduring characteristics and on this daily 3 hour tour with guide Sandra Shevey you will visit three different markets across 33 boroughs from a remit of 15 traditional London street markets.

The tours run every day but at different times to showcase the markets both at night and during the day.  The Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday tours run at 6pm and end 9pm while the Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday tours run 11am - 2pm.  

The Christmas Eve Day tour is great inasmuch as we capture a bit of the traditional meat market auction that features in Dickens`s `A Christmas Carol`

.Sandra Shevey`s documentary on heritage London street markets has been shortlisted for  awards and is screened regularly at film festivals, most recently at the London Socialist Film Co-op (president Ken Loach) where it received a good response/

Sandra Shevey`s blog `Markets and Market Towns` was shortlisted for the UK 2017 Business Travel Journalist.
Duration: 3 hours.