alyap35

I will be in London at the beginning of February. Has anyone experienced one of those Jack the Ripper walking tours? I did some research and it seems that they do offer them during the winter.

Should I purchase tickets in advance? Or will I be fine purchasing tickets when I am already there.

janisj

You don't purchase tix in advance - you just show up. They don't turn anyone away. And in Feb they might not be as crowded as the massive hordes they get most of the year.

But me personally - I wouldn't bother, There is virtually nothing from the time of the murders left in the area. You walk through a dingy re-developed part of the city hearing the guide say things like "here was the . . . ." and "this car park is the site of the . . . . "

If you want to take some London Walks there are many that are a LOT better than the Ripper walks . . . . .

xyz123

Some of the tour companies such as Evan Evans have a Jack the Ripper tour which includes a quick walk through the area, some drive by London illuminations and finally stop at the Albert Pub where you can buy a drink or purchase a fish and chips dinner. It costs around 20 quid...

The London Walks tour is a fan favourite; especially on Sunday night when Donald, one of the world renowned Jack toe Ripper experts does the walk. During the summer as many as 200 people will show up and what they do is bring another guide, not as knowledgeable as Donald and try to send off the first group with that guide..most people who have done their homework wait and want to go with Donald.

And he does know his stuff and yes there is very little left of the original area and Donald's descriptions of the murders are very vivid...the tour used to end at the pub where the Ripper eyed one of his victims but the pub's ownership has changed and now ends a couple of blocks away...Donald tells you where the pub is and also where to catch the tube (the end is right near Liverpool Street station Underground)...is it worth it? Well the walks all cost 6 quid and it's almost part of the mandatory thing one does when visiting London.

janisj

&quot;<i>t's almost part of the mandatory thing one does when visiting London.</i>&quot; Not for most people it isn't. The &quot;famous Donald&quot; Rumbelow now seems more interested in flogging his books than the quiality of the walks.

nona1

Expect a lot of hostility from the local inhabitants as well, they are fed up with crowds of noisy tourists invading them every evening.
There is also an ethical issue here. I know it happened a long time ago but would you feel comfortable going on a tour of a serial killer's murder sites in the US? How do you think the neighbours would feel about a horde of people outside every night lapping up every gory detail?

ChevyChasen

i did the walk in winter with one of donalds collegues.he was very gripping and was very knowledgable &amp; had a sense of humor.i think we were 50pax.i dont think i would bother to follow a crowd of 200.

we did not notice any hostility.nor any neighbours. in fact there wasnt even a mouse stirring at that hour.

if it wasnt for the walk tourists would never visit the east end.lots of pubs make their living serving tourists.

the tower of london,concergerie of paris, and colleseum of rome offer equally morbid tours.

janisj

Maybe - but at the Tower, Concergerie, and Colleseum you don't stand under people's bedroom windows at 10:00 p.m. hearing a man talking (shouting really) about women being disemboweled.

It has just gotten to be a tacky sideshow . . . . .

Pegontheroad

Nona1:

That's an interesting ethical question. Reminds me of the time that my sister for a similar reason refused to go to the red light district in Amsterdam where there are prostitutes in the windows. When I thought of it, I realized she was right.

nona1

I know there are equally gory/whatever tours elsewhere. But these tours are not in tourist areas. Go on one if you want, I'm not saying don't, but don't stick your head in the sand and deny that you are causing a disturbance for the residents, because you are. These are small residential working class streets, and the tours go on till late at night. Kids are bed, people are trying to relax for the evening, listen to music, read books, watch their tvs, or sleep, and you get hundreds of people tromping down your street to listen to someone shouting about murders. so the pubs get more custom, does that benefit the residents?
Anway here's a link to an article about the tours and their effects http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1623386.stm.
Also this comment from a ripper tour guide who has started limiting numbers on his tours to only 35 people from 2005 as he says: &quot;It wasn't and isn't fair on local residents, many of whom had had their evenings made a misery by these huge groups standing on or near their homes as guides struggled to be heard, sometimes even being so irresponsible and uncaring about local sensibilities as to use amplifiers or loud hailers to address their groups.&quot;
So a guide himself admits these tours make life a misery for the local inhabitants. See http://www.london-walks.co.uk/54/jac...r-walk-2.shtml.

SeaUrchin

Yuck, who would want to see where women were disembowled or cut into pieces? Aren't there better ways to spend ones time in London?

ChevyChasen

what can i say? residents definately deserve peace &amp; quiet.

i think the best solution would be for some of the money earned to go directly into embellishing the areas used e.g. playgrounds/gardens/more lighting.now I realise the walks/pubs people have made quite a lot of money without the residents feeling anything has improved for them.in fact the area looks as creepy as it was 100 years ago (in fact it wouldnt have occured to me that people lived over the ripper route!).

nona1

That's actually a very good idea.

nona1

If anyone wants a taste of 'creepy' Victorian London I thoroughly recommend going to Wapping tube station out of rush hour. I've only been there once and was very glad I had someone else with me.

The tunnel is tiny. The platforms are miniscule (only a few feet wide). It's all dark filthy brickwork. To leave the platform and get up to ground-level we had to walk up an ancient cast-iron spiral staircase full of cobwebs. Then you come out in a very Dickensian looking street of old warehouses near the docks. (If you look inside these buildings mind, you'll find out that the whole area has been seriously yuppified, but the streetscene is still very atmospheric).

Viajero2

I took the London Walks- Jack the Ripper- Donald Rumbelow leading. I love it because I stayed very close to Mr. Rumbelow so I could hear clearly the explanations. I also didn't have any false expectations as to how the sights would appear on the 21st Century. He did take out his book at the end, nowhere near pushing the book; said it once and that was it. He spent a lot of time at the end making sure people knew which train and route to take back to their hotels. Very nice man, very interesting tour, not expensive at all (what is the big deal, is not like you are paying 100 Euros...) ; take it for what is worth: a fun experience if you prepare for it.

Zeus

And they should also close down the Tower of London since so many grisly events occured there. Actually, we shouldn't even visit Europe because of all the wars, genocide, mistreatment of women and exploration of the New World which killed so many Native Americans and resulted in the enslavement of so many others.

I just love political correctness.

LEANNA

Well I did the tour a few years back and LOVED IT!!!! We hit the pub...The Ten Bells that they are frequented and I still use my tacky wonderful leather book mark to remind me of a fun nite! I was part of a small group, no one seemed to notice us and we ended up at some other pub for fish and chips!

nona1

Zeus,

It's nothing about political correctness. I love a good gory story myself. I've been to the Tower of London and lapped up the stories, I've been to the London Dungeon etc...

I just think that those who take these tours through a RESIDENTIAL area, not a tourist attraction, should be aware of the effect they are having.

Josser

What is this American fascination with Jack the Ripper?
I may be wrong, but I think that most British people just assume that the murders were the act of a pimp keeping the women in order. Personally. I don't give two hoots.
It's one of those subjects that seem to appeal to the mentally fragile, like the author of Shakespeare's plays, the Marie Celeste etc.
Also, why on earth would an upper-class or middle-class man go to the East End to pick up a poor worn-out toothless whore when he could have his pick of attractive young women in the Haymarket?

walkinaround

it seems strange that many posts imply that this is a poor area. &pound;500-&pound;1m+ properties lie behind the grimy exteriors.

i'm certainly not implying that this means the residential quality of the streets should not be respected....i just want to correct some incorrect assumptions of this area.

one positive aspect of these tours is that they might open some tourists up to the east end. it seems for most visitors to london, this is their only foray into the east end (besides the tower of london, which hardly counts). this area is one of the most vibrant in the london and should not be missed. just a shame that the area is seen through the lens of a ripper tour....especially when you see impressions like this:

&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;
in fact the area looks as creepy as it was 100 years ago (in fact it wouldnt have occured to me that people lived over the ripper route!).
&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;


yes, chevy (if you're still with us)...people do live over the route (and pay handsomely for the privilege) because this is a great area to live, work and play. many people who live here are bankers/traders/lawyers in the nearby City firms and can live anywhere. others are artists and writers who enjoy the area for the same reason.

businesses in this area make their money from the City trade during the week. what is probably the greatest concentration of financial firms in the world lies just steps away (and, in fact intermingled in this area). this is the very centre of global finance that raised more IPO dollars than wall street last year. the pubs and restaurants do not rely on tourists on these ripper tours (frankly, a silly assumption). many businesses here don't even bother to open at the weekends or at night.

does anyone really think that ripper tours are the main flow of money into this area?