This past summer we booked a pretty big journey across several European countries and added a quick stop in London. We only had two days to explore this world-famous British city and a great way to see cool sites on a time crunch is by booking some walking tours.
We had already done a fantastic food tour of London, but this time the main course of our tour was focused on London’s darker past and haunted sites with a London Walks tour.
London Tours
London Walks has a fantastic variety of affordable walking tours! I loved them because they had a few specific ghost tours and if we had time, you can be sure we’d have shown up for their Harry Potter tour! They also had an intriguing Jack the Ripper tour that we might have to do next time we’re in London!
We booked their two-hour West End Ghost Walk that starts Thursday nights at 7:30 p.m. at the Embankment Station. It was a great starting time as we had just finished our own self-guided tour of the Embankment and stopped for a glass of wine at Gordon’s Wine Bar – a must-do in London!
This walk shares eccentric stories of hauntings as we pass impressive buildings and squeeze through a narrow alley. There’s even the story of a ghostly dog that likes to scare today’s citizens by running out in traffic. We had a few families and kids on our tour, so they’re not supremely scary or gory stories. The tour is definitely fun for all ages and gives just enough details to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand.
The tour ends near another tube station, making it super easy to get to their tour meeting points and back to your accommodation.
Ease of booking
Their ease of booking is so simple! They don’t need reservations, you simply show up at the meeting point at the time of the tour to join the fun.
Tour guide
Our tour guide, Andy, was welcoming, a good storyteller, and always made sure everyone could see and hear him as he shared the history of the neighborhood we were exploring. He really knew his stories but didn’t recite them as if had memorized them. It was like a friendly conversation about some of the most haunted sites in the city.
Pace
The pace is easy-going and we stopped and stood outside of buildings or in little alleys to hear the stories. For a London walking tour, here wasn’t a ton of walking and we might have covered a mile, if that. Like I noted earlier, they also make sure their starting and stopping points are near tube stations.
Price
The tours are only £10, which is a steal for how much information and history you get! Obviously it’s cash-only as you pay when you join the tour, but that’s easy enough.
Overall, it was a great London ghost tour, and we’re already picking out a few tours to join when we head back to London in 2020!
