CAPH52

Verger's Tour or London Walks? Has anyone done both? I'm leaning towards the London Walks tour. But I've read very good things about the Verger's tour here.

Thanks!

jo_ann

I literally dragged my family, kicking and screaming, to the Verger's Tour 2 summers ago - 2 college age girls and my husband saying it was too much time...and they loved the tour. It was the second time for me, with about 15 years between the visits. I've not done the London Walks, and know they're great, too, but for some reason for that particular site, I enjoy the continuity of the personnel who've been focused there for such a long time (our fellow was retired from the Abbey).
Hope that helps!
Jo Ann

Cholmondley_Warner

Both are very good. It's such a wonderful place that you really can't go wrong.

yk

I haven't done either, but just a thought:

According to Verger's tour, they have a limit of 25 people per group. Whereas for London Walk's tour, I assume they don't have a limit?

I probably prefer a group with a limited # of people.

CAPH52

Wow, thank you all for the very quick responses!

CAPH52

I see on the web site that there's a telephone number for confirming bookings on the Verger's tour. But I haven't been able to tell from the mentions I've seen in trip reports, etc. whether most people book them ahead. Since, as yk mentioned, there's a limit of 25 people per tour, would it be best to pre-book in mid-June?

janisj

Yes - it is important to pre-book for busy times. They are very strict about the size of tours. As people enter the Abbey - many head straight to the Verger's tour desk and on a busy day, they can fill up w/ 25 in a matter of minutes.

The lucky late comers can get tickets for a tour later in the day - the unlucky ones are SOL . . . .

ron

yk wrote, "According to Verger's tour, they have a limit of 25 people per group. Whereas for London Walk's tour, I assume they don't have a limit?"

That assumption would be wrong. Tours led by external guides have the same size limits as tours led by internal guides.

3sica

I think London Walks do not have a limit, since they just let people join up with the guide at the nearest Tube station?
Although the website says that each tour seldom exceeds 30 people and if the group gets too large, they will get an extra guide....

CAPH52

Ron, am I right in thinking that you mean that the Abbey imposes a 25 person limit on outside tours as well as their own?

CW, have you actually done the London Walks one? Anyone else?

Again, thanks for the responses!

jamikins

We did the London Walks tour and it was great. They had two guides and split the group in two so they were manageable (and maybe so they were under 25 for each group?). Highly recommend it!

CAPH52

Thank you, jamikins! I really appreciate hearing from someone who's done that one.

historytraveler

jamikins is correct in saying that London Walks have two guides and will divide the group. I've done both and both are excellent, but to insure a place with Verger tours you'll probably want to pre-book,however booking is not necessary with London Walks.

dfr4848

Hi CAPH52 - we thought the Verger's tour was excellent. Very thorough and informative. We were also under the impression that they limited the number on the tour, but maybe not. Regardless, we had a very small group.

ron

CAPH, yes that's what I meant. I have done the London Walks tour, there were fewer than 25 people on it, and it was excellent.

Amongst Fodorites, there seems to be considerable cachet attached to taking a "Vergers" tour. Somehow sounds more impressive than a tour led by a volunteer guide.

CAPH52

Thank you, historytraveler and dfr4848! dfr, unless I have you confused with a poster with similar initials, you were a big help to me with our MN trip the summer before last. And now with London!

As wonderful as the Verger's tour sounds, I think I'm going to save it for another trip and go with the London Walks one. Now that I know that they bring two guides and can split the tour if they have too many people.

Cost is one factor. The London Walks one is cheaper to begin with. And, since we're planning to do several (evening entertainment much better suited to my 19 y.o. son than the theater!), our plan is to get their discount card.

Also, with only three full days, the more things we can "pencil in" rather than actually having to commit, the better I feel. I want to go with a clear sense of what we want to do and how to get there so that we're not wasting time. But I don't want to be so tied down that we have no time for spontaneous experiences. And I realize that striking that balance is not going to be easy!

CAPH52

Thanks again, Ron! Glad to have another positive "review" of the London Walks one!

yk

CAPH52 - Last time I checked (a week or 2 ago?), London Walks is one of the 2-for-1 participants.

CAPH52

Thanks, yk! I saw that but seems to me it was a fairly limited number of tours. I'll double check it though.

flygirl

CAPH52,

The very morning I left London, last month, I saw that there was a Westminster Abbey tour mid-morning that day. I could "maybe" have squeaked it in and made it back to the hotel in time to catch my car to Heathrow, but I reluctantly decided to leave it for the next time. (There is always a next time, with London!)

I have been on many London Walks, a number of them right in Westminster but none actually inside the Abbey. Nonetheless, I have nothing but praise for the company and rank their tours as one of my favorite things to do when I visit London. I don't think you can go wrong with them.