London Walks

A London walking tour company run by its guides

London Walks runs its own guided walking tours in London, led by its own team of guides, and also sells live virtual tours over Zoom. Almost everything it offers is on foot in the capital: the walks are grouped by neighborhood and theme (Classic London, The City Walks, Village London, By the Water Tours, Canal Walks, Pub Walks, Foodies London, Jack the Ripper, Spies London, The London Camino), with a Further Afield section, a featured Cotswolds walk and, according to the why-us page, a selection of day trips to destinations near London. The contact details are a London phone number, 020 7624 3978, and a PO Box in London NW6, and the only price on the why-us page, for children, is in pounds.

The about page tells the company's history in the words of its owner, David. It says London Walks "was founded half a century ago by Keith Baverstock, an Australian", passed to Ian, a City of London banker, who ran it with his wife Pat until 1990, and was then taken on by David and Mary; David says he had been a London Walks guide since 1980. The page is clear about how it works: the owners own it, but "it's essentially run as a guides' cooperative", on a "share the proceeds basis: a larger slice to the guide, a smaller one to London Walks". The company calls itself the oldest urban walking tour company in the world and quotes the USA Tour Guide Convention calling it "Without a doubt the premier walking tour company in the entire world."

The walks and the guides who lead them

The why-us page puts numbers on the catalog: 800 London Walks, of which 500 are "shoe-leather-on-pavement walks" and 300 virtual tours, led by 82 guides with 1672 years of guiding experience between them, 365 days a year. Its short answer on format, repeated in the header of every page, is "Walks Last 2 Hours" and "We go rain or shine". The homepage promises live outdoor walks every day and live online tours on some days.

The guides are the selling point, and the about page pairs walks with the people who lead them. An MP's Westminster is guided by a former Member of Parliament, Legal London by a barrister with an MBE, Medical London by a doctor, Magna Carta Tours by a criminal defence lawyer, Urban Geology by an award-winning professional geologist, and Brunel's London by the founding director of the Brunel Museum. Shakespeare's London is led by Royal Shakespeare Company actors, Theatreland by a Tony-nominated actor, Fleet Street by a national journalist and Photograph London by a professional photographer and magazine editor. The Jack the Ripper walk is guided by a crime historian the page describes as "internationally recognised as the leading authority on Jack the Ripper", and Rock 'n' Roll London by a musician who plays a live 20 minute set on the stage of a historic venue. The why-us page adds that the team includes 5 Guide of the Year award winners, a former Museum of London archaeologist, a University College London geologist, a composer and the author of The Lonely Planet Guide to London, alongside Blue Badge guides.

The homepage features The Ultimate London Walk, which it likens to "the first Everest ascent", and Gin Lane, a walk on William Hogarth and the Gin Craze through Covent Garden and St Giles with Ronnie, described as a former Time Out editor.

Music tours with Adam

Music is the most fully scheduled strand. The music page says guide Adam, a finalist in Visit England Tourism Superstars 2022, built his repertoire up to 22 walking tours during lockdown and has added new ones every year since. The 2026 and 2027 schedule includes A Complete Unknown: Bob Dylan in 60s London, David Bowie in 60s Soho (with 2 special walks for what would have been Bowie's 80th birthday), Beatles Anthology I and II, The Kinks in North London, The Rolling Stones In 60s Soho, The Great West End Record Store Crawl and a 6-part History of Rock & Pop running from Soho to Chelsea and Camden. Rock'n'Roll London runs on Friday afternoons. Musical Statues, a look at London's public art, is now paired with a new tour, Face The Music, at the National Portrait Gallery, and The Music of Royal London returns to the schedule, running from Handel's coronation anthem to Madness on the roof of Buckingham Palace. The page says the Dylan walk, a small group tour, sold out every outing in 2025, and that every music tour can also be booked privately.

Virtual tours on Zoom

The virtual tour page says the online program started during the lockdowns of the early 2020s and has hosted viewers from the United States, Canada, India, Japan, Australia and Europe. Booking goes through Eventbrite, and the page says an online tour "lasts about an hour" and is "interactive with a Q & A afterward". The Sunday tours start at 7 pm, and a guide the site calls Richard IV leads the ones on Sherlock Holmes, Alfred Hitchcock in London, P G Wodehouse in London and spies and spymasters. Adam hosts The Monday Night Music History Club at 7.30 pm, with themes such as punk and the music of World War II.

Booking, prices and who comes

The why-us page keeps booking simple: "Search by day and book your walk directly on our website or contact us if you have any questions", then turn up at the meeting place and time given for the walk. The same page says "No walks are cancelled because there aren't enough walkers booked in it." The menu organizes walks by day of the week and by date, and links to a "Do we book? Or just turn up?" page, a Prices of Walks page, FAQs and a Frequent Walkers Card.

The why-us page gives prices only for children: "£5 for kids of 8 to 15 years old. Free for kids under 8." The why-us page lists couples, families, friends, co-workers looking for team-building, school groups and private parties among its walkers, and says that in normal times 50 percent of its walkers are Londoners. Private tours are offered, and the music page says any of its tours can be booked for a party, event or special occasion.

What the site does not settle, and who it suits

The adult fare is kept on a separate Prices of Walks page rather than on the overview pages. Those pages give no maximum group size, although the Dylan walk is billed as a small group tour, and meeting points are left to each walk's own listing. Cancellation and refund terms, accessibility and step-free routes are not covered there, and the Frequent Walkers Card is named without its terms.

London Walks suits visitors and Londoners who want a 2-hour walk on a specific subject with a guide who works in that field, from law and medicine to rock music, and who like the idea of a family-owned company that shares its takings with its guides. The daily schedule and the rule that walks run regardless of numbers make it easy to fit one in on short notice. Music fans get a dated schedule that runs into mid-2027, and people who cannot travel can join a Zoom tour from home.