Every Sunday we’ll pluck just one walk from the vast London Walks repertoire and put it center stage.You can check out the full schedule at www.walks.com.
But if you only take one walking tour this week, why not make it…
The Christmas Day Charles Dickens London Walk
2pm on Friday 25th December meet by the big tree in Trafalgar Square
Merry Christmas Everyone! "I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me [Charles Dickens]"
Our afternoon walk is all about the man who some think invented Christmas - he didn't! He re-invented it! Before Dickens and his stories came along Christmas was a rather small celebration on the Christian calendar. It was Dickens whose words plumped, fluffed and sprinkled Christmas all over the world. So on Christmas afternoon we celebrate him, his words, his life, his London and his Christmas. A Christmas before Cola turned Santa red. A Christmas in the gaslight. A Christmas in London - Dickens' London. The Charles Dickens Christmas Day walk starts at 2 pm.
The meeting point is by the big Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square. (How appropriate is that?)
We set our course by his life and books and influences and of course Christmas and Christmas traditions in the magic lantern of his town, his London. It's a delightfully Dickensian and detailed look at - an exploration of - the alleyways and Victorian hideaways off the Strand and Covent Garden districts, places rich in Dickensian lore and associations. Great Expectations, David Copperfield, Oliver Twist, Pickwick and co. all take their turn on this stage.
Other highlights include London's finest Georgian alleyway and its sole surviving fragment of Victorian underworld (a dark and mysterious subterranean place "where one could easily be murdered with the placid reputation of having merely gone to the seaside"). A very special walk topped off by the fact that it's the one day of the year when there's virtually no traffic, meaning we have the streets to ourselves!
Guided by David, Mary, Richard III, Simon, Mark and Paul. N.B. the walk ends in Covent Garden, very near the Strand and Trafalgar Square. And yes, there are some cafes and restaurants in the area that will be open on Christmas Day. A London Walk costs £10 – £8 concession. To join a London Walk, simply meet your guide at the designated tube station at the appointed time. Details of all London Walks can be found at www.walks.com.
