'For walking tour guide Mary Tucker, 25 December is one of the busiest days of the year.
Mrs Tucker, who together with her husband David runs the small firm London Walks, will be leading no fewer than five two-hour Charles Dickens Christmas Day Walks.
Starting from Trafalgar Square and aiming to follow in the festive footsteps of the famous Victorian author, the walk will wind its way through the Covent Garden area.
Between 30 and 40 people are expected to join each time, paying £9 a head.
Mrs Tucker says the tour has a special resonance on Christmas Day, due, of course, to Dickens's famous novel A Christmas Carol.
"Dickens almost invented Christmas as we know it today," says Mrs Tucker. "It's fun and people are appreciative. It's very appropriate, too, because of Dickens's connection to Christmas, and also because he was a great walker as well."
She says that London Walks decided to start organising walks on Christmas Day several years ago, and found they were more popular than they'd anticipated.
"For my family it's not difficult because my husband's one of the guides too," she adds. "When we have Christmas at my mum's in the evening, we really feel we've earned it."'
Full details of the Christmas Walks can be found at www.walks.com. A London Walk costs £9 – £7 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.
