There is an article in Time magazine this week on walking tours in London. <BR>Who can share any experiences with these tours?

The ones at http://www.walks.com/ <BR>are very good. The legal and Dickens ones are very good although they overlap a little. I've heard that the Jack the Ripper one is very good although I've not been on it.

Hello Jay, we did the Westminster tour of London Walks, it was wonderful, EXCEPT there were too many people in our group, for the Sunday crowd. Our guide could not get another to help lead another group, but he said if we were not happy with the tour he would willingly refund our money. We were, and he did not. FYI, Judy

The walks were probably the best or one of the best aspects of our London visit. We did 2 pub walks (which are more or less history/geography lessons, with short stops at choice pubs along the way. We also did a general crime walk, which was interesting, but seemed a lot longer than the other walks and no break.

The London Walks are great! You can pick up the brochure at your hotel desk (they ALL have them). Make sure you use the "Original London Walks." We especially enjoyed the Jack the Ripper walk hosted by Donald Rumbelow--a premier expert on the Ripper (author of the definitive book). Be warned, however: His hosted walks are hugely popular. We went on a Monday night in March to avoid the Friday crowd and about 500 people showed up! It was difficult to hear a few things, but still great, cheap fun. I highly recommend it for a week night evening out.

If you want a break from London, try the walking tour in Bath. It's put together by the big London walking tour people. Richard is the guide and he's GREAT!

I second the recommendation for Donald Rumbelow's Jack the Ripper walk. We loved it. We also took a day trip with them - would highly recommend this company! <BR>

About 10 years ago, we took the legal walk and one other, maybe the village of London. The legal walk did not have too many other people, and was very interesting (I was a graduating law student at the time). Any lawyer, or any person interested in law or crime/detective novels would appreciate that walk. The other walk was not quite as good, in part because there were quite a few other attendees.

London Walks web site is <BR> <BR>http://london.walks.com/index.html <BR> <BR>Not sure if it is the same as mentioned in Time, but wonderful guides and subjects--probably the best bargain to be had in London.

My sister and I were in London in March, and did the London Walks "Day in the Life" Beatles tour. Thoroughly enjoyed it. I wish we had time for more walking tours. Maybe next time...

I too reccomend the Jack The Ripper tour. I went on it last March, it was very cold but very interesting. I don't remember the name of the host but he was very intriguing. We had a great time at the pub that I think all the tours stop at. About 100 people turned out for the tour so they split the groups up and started at different points.

I try to do a couple of the walks whenever I am in London, they are great. I did the New Years Eve pub walk last year, it was great, except for the rain. I'm sure you will enjoy them.

As Mel stated above make sure to take the "Original London Walks". We have taken several and they have all been excellent.

I also took London Walks tour of Jack the Ripper with Donald R. There were a lot of people on the tour but he was a fantastic tour guide. If you do the Jack the Ripper tour, you should take it after dark for maxiumum effect!! (PS: I never knew that royalty was one of the suspects that might have been doing the Ripper crimes. The things you learn on a walking tour!)

Historical Walks of London are our favorites because they cost the same as London Walks but because their bright yellow brochures are hard to find they draw smaller groups. John Muffty leads ghost walks, Jack the Ripper, great pub walks,etc. He is most informative and amusing! Tele.0181 668 4019 <BR>E-mail- [email protected]/