Shakespeare’s London - 1 day

Shakespeare's London Walking tour

Shakespeare's London Walking tour will be available as below:

• Tuesday 21st August 10:00-12:00 (morning)
• Wednesday 22nd August 14:00-16:00
• Thursday 23rd August 10:00-12:00 (morning)
• Sunday 26th August 14:00-16:00
• Tuesday 28th August 10:00-12:00 (morning)  

We meet at Sir Christopher Wren's Monument to the Great Fire of 1666, outside Monument tube station, and walk over London Bridge to the south bank. Away from the laws of the City of London and in a different county all together, the south side of the river was always the place to find 'unwholesome' activities such as gambling, bear baiting and theatre.

We enjoy fine views of Tower Bridge and the Thames as we approach Nancy's Steps, although not a part of the novel of Oliver Twist, Nancy's brutal murder occurs here in the musical Oliver! We follow the cobbled streets around Borough Market to where Harry Potter enters Diagon Alley and on to the replica of the Elizabethan ship The Golden Hinde that circumnavigated the globe under Sir Francis Drake in 1577. Here we find Southwark Cathedral where Shakespeare's younger brother Edmund is buried. We can also see the memorial to the 14th century writer John Gower and the Harvard family chapel.

Following the back streets behind the Thames warehouses we see the ruins of the Bishop of Winchester's Palace, the landowner who controlled the theatre sites in Shakespeare's time, past the site of Marshalsea Debtor's Prison where Dickens' father was held for a time and the notorious Clink Prison where political and religious opponents were incarcerated.

We now come across the site of the Globe Theatre, built in 1599 and demolished in 1642, it stood almost next door to The Rose Theatre where most of Shakespeare's early work was performed. But the Globe was his, as shareholder he had a financial interest in its ultimate success and he remained closely linked to The Globe until his death in 1616. Both theatre sites have been sadly built over so we turn our attention to the replica Globe Theatre completed in 1997 (enrty not included). We finish the tour by crossing the Thames once more to the site of Blackfriars Priory, the gatehouse once lived in by Shakespeare's grandaughter, Elizabeth and finish our walk at St Paul's Cathedral.

Please note - The price you are paying is for a guided walk only. No entries are included in the walk