London with a Local Tours

A family-owned London walking company

London with a Local Tours runs its own walking tours in London, both free (tip-based) and private, with its own team of guides. The about page describes "a family owned team of passionate storytellers, historians and lifelong London enthusiasts", and tells the founding story in a few lines: "Boy meets Girl. Boy and Girl fall in love. Boy starts working as a tour guide. Girl starts working as a tour guide. Boy and Girl start their own tour guiding company." The footer adds that it is "an award-winning walking tour company" and that "Since 2018, we have welcomed thousands of visitors", though it does not name the award.

All tours are in London, starting from central points such as the Clermont Hotel by Charing Cross, Tower Hill, the Transport Museum, Golden Square in Soho, Piccadilly Circus, Shoreditch High Street, Camden Town and Cleopatra's Needle on the Embankment. The site shows "7000+ 5 Star Reviews" and calls itself "Top rated on Google & Tripadvisor for tours of London".

The free tours

The free tours page lists each walk with its meeting point and length:

• Royal Westminster Tour, 2.5 hours from the Clermont Hotel, "from Buckingham Palace to Big Ben".
• Historic City of London Tour, 2.5 hours from Tower Hill, from "Roman trading port to the most powerful financial district in the world".
• West End Theatreland Tour, 2 hours from the Transport Museum.
• Jack the Ripper Tour, 2 hours from Tower Hill, about the "Autumn of Terror 1888".
• Street Art of Shoreditch Tour, 2 hours from Shoreditch High Street.
• Harry Potter Wizarding Tour, 2 hours from the Palace Theatre.
• Rock and Roll Soho Tour, 2 hours from Golden Square.
• Sherlock Holmes & the Art of Deduction Tour, 2 hours from Piccadilly Circus.
• Camden Town Tour, 2 hours from Camden Town ("Punks not included").
• Queer & LGBTQ+ History Tour from the Clermont Hotel.
• Ghosts, Ghouls and Ghastly Murder Tour from Cleopatra's Needle.

The menu also lists a Christmas in London Tour, and the History of Espionage & James Bond Tour is marked "Private Tour Only".

2 tours have their own detailed pages. The LGBTQ+ History Tour starts at 11am, runs 2.5 hours on its own page (the list says 2), goes from Charing Cross to Soho Square, and takes in Trafalgar Square, the Admiral Duncan pub and Piccadilly Circus; the site says it "is always led by a member of the community". The ghost tour starts at 6.30pm and lasts 1.5-2 hours, through Westminster to Great Scotland Yard and Banqueting House, the site of Charles I's execution; the page says it is "not designed to scare you out of your wits, but to entertain, educate and shock!" Its stories include the Thames Torsos, which the page calls "the 'other' killer who terrorised London in the 1880s", and the legend of the men who died moving Cleopatra's Needle to Britain. The LGBTQ+ walk, for its part, runs from Roman and medieval London through the Molly Houses, Oscar Wilde and Virginia Woolf to the AIDS crisis and the history of Pride.

Guides and the day itself

The guides are the selling point. The about page says "Our guides are historians, philosophers and architects, but more interesting than that, they are performers and storytellers who can bring London to life! They are actors, musicians, cabaret performers, comedians", and the ghost page adds that "All of our guides come from a performance background". The about page introduces the team by first name, each with a favorite tour and a London tip: Ash, Becky, Ben, Bobby, Colin, George, Hannah, Jamie, Kevin, Lily, Mark, Nathan, Rob, Sam and more.

The LGBTQ+ page gives the fullest meeting instructions: the tour "begins outside the Clermont Hotel, Charing Cross, right next to Charing Cross Train Station", the guide "will be stood at the meeting point holding a red umbrella", and guests should arrive 10-15 minutes before the start. The ghost tour meets "next to Cleopatra's Needle, just around the corner from Embankment underground station". The LGBTQ+ page lists the language as English. The homepage FAQ covers booking ahead, rain, what to wear, dogs, finding the guide, big or school groups and running late.

Paying, booking and private tours

The free tours are tip-based: "There is no booking fee for our free tours, and no payment is required before the tour begins." Tipping "is always voluntary and our guides will never pressure you into it, but this is their job so if you have had fun, we ask that you take a moment to consider what it was worth to you." The about page puts it more simply: the company works "with everyone's individual budget, whether it's £5 or £500." Free tours are booked online through the site's calendar.

Private tours are aimed at "offices, couples, families, school trips, language schools, and groups". Guests can "choose one of our most popular tours, tour inside London's most iconic sites, tell us exactly what you want to do and see or trust us to craft you something from scratch". Named private options include a Private London Landmarks Tour, a Private Westminster Abbey Tour, a Private Tower of London Tour and a Private Street Art & Graffiti Tour. "All private tour bookings are handled personally by our team", and the about page says "Even our private tours are competitively priced." Enquiries go through a form, by phone on +44 07709 703 141 or by email to admin@londonwithalocal.com.

What the site leaves open

No private-tour prices are published, so every private booking starts with an enquiry. The free tours page shows no start times, only "See Calendar", except for the 2 tours with their own pages. The LGBTQ+ and ghost tours are each given 2 different lengths. The LGBTQ+ page raises the question "Do I need to make a booking? Or cancel if my plans change?", but the tour details do not state a cancellation rule or a maximum group size, and accessibility for wheelchair users is not addressed.

For visitors who want an entertaining introduction to London from performers and local guides, and a wide choice of themes from royal Westminster to Jack the Ripper, Sherlock Holmes, street art and LGBTQ+ history, this is a strong option at a price the guest sets. Groups wanting inside access to Westminster Abbey or the Tower will need the private route and a quote.