Charles Dickens Private Walking Tour

5.0 (23 reviews) London, England
Duration3h
Free cancellationFull refund up to 24 hours before
Instant confirmationYour booking is confirmed right away
TicketMobile or paper ticket accepted
LanguagesEnglish
Private tourOnly your group will participate
Pickup offeredSee the meeting and pickup details below

Overview

This walking tour will take us to places that both inspired Charles Dickens the writer but also those real locations that shaped Dickens the man.  All writers take inspiration from the people they meet and places they visit, and Charles Dickens was no different.  His novels are so successful because he so enjoyed wandering the streets of London and picking up the rich details of everyday life.

Options

A Christmas Carol

2 hour walk + Dickens drinks!: More bang for your bucks. A condensed Charles Dickens Walk with drinks in a famous pub he stayed & wrote in.
Pickup included

5 hour Dickens Extravaganza!

Duration: 5 hours: This tour includes everything in the basic tour but visits numerous extra locations and goes through the old City of London.
Pickup included

Charles Dickens Private Walking Tour

Pickup included

What's included

  • Local guide
  • Private tour
  • Professional guide
  • Hotel pickup
  • London Underground Tube ticket
  • Entrance to Charles Dickens House Museum

What to expect

  1. St George the Martyr
    20m · Admission ticket included
    See locations relating to Little Dorrit and visit where Dickens family were imprisoned.
  2. 10m
    The site of the old debtors prison that so influenced the young Charles Dickens.
  3. Red Cross Cottages & Garden
    10m
    These beautiful and largely unvisited gardens were created by a contemporary pf Charles Dickens and in her own way equally famous social reformer in what was one of the worst streets in London and close to where Dickens lived as a boy.
  4. London Bridge
    5m · Admission ticket included
    Stand on Nancys Steps where poor Nancy met her end
  5. Borough Market
    25m · Admission ticket included
    Visit sites of poverty that inspired Dickens to write. See the places where the pick-pockets operated in Oliver Twist and much more
  6. Shakespeare's Globe Theatre
    15m · Admission ticket not included
    We will pass by this famous theatre and learn about the history and locations nearby.
  7. Old Bailey
    5m · Admission ticket not included
    The oldest court in the western world in effect is next to the notorious old Newgate Prison and site of public executions to Victorians in fact and fiction.
  8. Winchester Palace
    15m · Admission ticket included
    Learn about Winchester Geese and the lives of the poor and forgotten as we follow in the footsteps of how Dickens would walk to work.
  9. St. Paul's Cathedral
    5m · Admission ticket not included
    Find out about an inadvertent impact St Pauls had on the life of Charles Dickens
  10. Temple Church
    15m
    As well as seeing the outside of this very famous church we will visit the legal districts where characters such as Pip would feature. Please note sometimes at weekends, access to this area is closed to the public.
  11. 15m
    Visit the outside of the actual Old Curiousity Shop, perhaps the oldest shop in London and right next to what was then a place of terrible poverty.
  12. Fleet Street
    10m
    The most famous newspaper street in the world which amongst other things not only played an important role in the life of Charles Dickens but the alleys and taverns also feature in his literature.
  13. Lincoln's Inn Fields
    20m · Admission ticket included
    This area is full of Dickensian history especially relating to Bleak House and is also the home to the biographer of Charles Dickens
  14. Pass by
    See some of the pubs that Dickens himself drank in and where characters visited in the novels.
  15. Dr. Johnson's House
    5m · Admission ticket not included
    We visit other literary places along the way, including the outside of the home of the man who wrote the Dictionary.
  16. High Holborn
    10m · Admission ticket included
    Visit the alleyway where poor Krook spontaneously combusted infront of his shop.
  17. Bloomsbury
    20m · Admission ticket included
    Pass through parts of Bloomsbury and see where Charles Dickens lived after he had become successful and enjoy the sumptuous streets of this literary hotspot.
  18. Charles Dickens Museum
    1h · Admission ticket not included
    We finish the tour at the front door of the Charles Dickens Museum, his perfectly preserved house which you'll no doubt want to explore and perhaps have a well deserved cup of tea in the delightful restaurant at the back.

Meeting and pickup

Meeting point

Just outside the entrance next to the newspaper vendor

End point

Please note the museum is currently not open on Monday and Tuesday though the tour ends at the front door. Your guide will happily find you a pub, cafe or nearby tube station if needed!

Pickup details

We can meet you at your Central London Hotel (not just those listed above), otherwise just outside Borough High Street Tube Station where the tour commences.

Additional information

  • Wheelchair accessible
  • Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
  • Service animals allowed
  • Public transportation options are available nearby
  • Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
  • All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
  • Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
  • Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
  • We have earmarked this tour as especially safe during the Coronavirus outbreak due to generally quiet places that we visit where social distancing is generally not a problem. All of our tours are private so it is just you/your family and your guide.  To make it easier and safer for all concerned we would suggest starting this tour a little later than the usual time, perhaps around 10.30-11am which allows us all to miss rush-hour. We are happy to still come to your hotel to meet you but for the moment we would suggest meeting us at the tour starting point.  This allows you to arrive by a taxi or uber rather than public transport. Please feel free to wear masks throughout or at times during the tour.  Your guide will also have a mask with them.

Cancellation policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Reviews

5.0 (23)
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