A CITY & VILLAGE TOURS JAM BUSTER DAYTRIP

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LONDON'S

BURNING

& TALES OF THE CITY

Today we tell the story of 2000 years of the Square Mile with the Great Fire of 1666 as the turning point in our tales of the City. We are off the coach throughout the day and without walking huge distances we really get to the heart of the matter with visits to a secret rooftop, the Guildhall Art Gallery and whenever possible a beautiful Wren church and the Great Hall of Guildhall.

Start at St Paul’s Cathedral at 10.30am with time to buy morning coffee and go home at 4.15pm or start at midday with free time at St Paul’s to buy lunch, enjoy all the elements of the day and finish with a fish & chip tea going home on the tail end of the rush hour at 6.30pm.

10.30am to 4.15pm day

After time to buy refreshments in the Cathedral Crypt we are on foot to see the only City gate still in the Square Mile, a secret rooftop with tremendous views across the city rooftops and spires and the narrow lanes of the old city. We will break for time to buy lunch within the sound of Bow Bells on Cheapside. After lunch we focus on Guildhall, the civic and ceremonial heart of the City. We visit the Guildhall Art Gallery which documents London’s landscape, people and dramatic history over the past 500 years. We also see the Roman amphitheatre where early Londoners sat on tiered wooden benches in the open air to watch wild animal fights and the execution of criminals.

We explain the unique City government and trace the origins of the Livery Companies and world famous Mayoralty. We’ll reveal ancient customs and traditions and tell tales of state banquets and the trials of traitors. Subject to access on the day (it is after all a working town hall!) we’ll take you inside the Great Hall of Guildhall. At the end of the afternoon we go inside the Wren Church where the city fathers worship and sit in the pews with a cup of tea to round off our day before heading home at 4.15pm.

If you start with time to buy lunch at midday we’ll enjoy the walk and visits as described with a break midway and then retire to a pub for a fish & chip tea while the rush hour does its thing and head home on emptier roads at 6.30pm.