OUR GUIDES
Exclusively Blue Badge
PROFESSIONAL EXPERTS & STORYTELLERS
Each guide has their own personal skills and areas of expertise. All love to tell stories and are flexible for last minute changes in your itinerary. They will hand pick locations based on their personal knowledge and give you an unforgettable experience.
You can discuss with your guide what you would like to include or maybe just ask them to take you to London’s hidden corners. All our guides have lived in the area for years, many having grown up here too, so they are very much locals who will know all there is to know about London. They can take you further afield as well, maybe to Oxford or Stonehenge, the Cotswolds or Bath: the list is endless.
Many of our guides speak different languages. Please contact us with your specific requirements and we will help choose the best guide for your tour.
Sophie MALERBA
“Never stick to just the main sites or the main roads!”
I have worked and lived all over Europe, but now guide predominantly in London in English and Italian. I adore the variety of the job, whether it’s guiding a family with young children, whizzing students round the main sights, or escorting corporate groups on “behind closed doors” experiences.
I have worked and lived all over Europe, but now guide predominantly in London in English and Italian. I adore the variety of the job, whether it’s guiding a family with young children, whizzing students round the main sights, or escorting corporate groups on “behind closed doors” experiences.
My style of guiding is to make sure that everyone is having FUN and getting the most out of the day, and if that means slight tweaks to the itinerary and throwing in the unexpected, then all the better. I avoid sticking to just the main sites or the main roads, but delve into the side streets and discover the nooks and crannies that hold the charm to any city, and that’s where you’ll find me!
I love taking guests around the royal sites, as well as the many shops which provide goods to the Royal Family. A real joy recently was a visit to Hampton Court Palace, where I had the unexpected pleasure of being shown an entire suite of rooms that are not open to the public. Propped up around the walls were priceless works from the Royal Collection!
(Languages – English Italian)
Jakob Hartmann
There is history around every corner in London.”
I was born in Denmark, spent my childhood in Iran and this wonderful city welcomed me with open arms more than 30 years ago. Now I’m looking forward to welcoming you – on a guided tour of my London. I have a background in construction and specialise in architectural tours.
I was born in Denmark, spent my childhood in Iran and this wonderful city welcomed me with open arms more than 30 years ago. Now I’m looking forward to welcoming you – on a guided tour of my London. I have a background in construction and specialise in architectural tours.
Westminster Abbey and the Tower of London, both steeped in history, are two of my favourite places to guide. Or we could go off the beaten track and visit elegant 17th century hat and shoemakers in St. James and 20th century illegal drinking and gambling dens in Soho.
My job as a guide has changed over the years and there has been an increase in demand for specialist tours. I have a background in construction and enjoy taking architects, planners, engineers and anyone else who loves the built environment on tours.
London’s social fabric is another interest of mine. Join me on a multi-cultural tour to explore urban issues such immigration, integration, multiculturalism, social conditions, education and the very visual divide between rich and poor from one street to another.
(Languages – English Danish German)
Isabel Wrench
“I’ve been fortunate to live, work and travel in many different countries.”
I’ve been a Londoner for 30 years but originally I’m a country girl from south west England. I’m as happy showing visitors around London as I am around the country lanes and villages of Britain, and especially our great English gardens and stately homes.
I’ve been a Londoner for 30 years but originally I’m a country girl from south west England. I’m as happy showing visitors around London as I am around the country lanes and villages of Britain, and especially our great English gardens and stately homes.
I love to be close to the river. Walking along the banks of the Thames reveals a luminous and theatrical backdrop which recounts our city’s long history. I also love to show off London’s amazing parks, gardens and tree lined squares – did you know 47% of London is green space? And now London is the world’s first urban National Park! Perhaps London’s greatest green space is Kew Gardens.
I advise people not to try and see everything all at once. It’s not all about rushing from one monument to another. Make time to enjoy the journey, savour the views, take a pint in a pub, browse a street market, stroll in a park and take a moment to sit in the shade of a great London Plane tree…
(Languages – English French Italian Spanish)
Leo Heaton
“Some of the best photos and memories might be of the things you least expected!”
Being a guide combines two of my great passions – storytelling through performance and embracing my inner history geek. I tend to specialise in small groups of family tours and I especially love guiding children by bringing history to life in a way that will excite and inspire them.
Being a guide combines two of my great passions – storytelling through performance and embracing my inner history nerd. I tend to specialise in small groups of family tours and I especially love guiding children by bringing history to life in a way that will excite and inspire them.
Every little corner of London has something special to offer. St Paul’s Cathedral though is somewhere I particularly love: the architecture is majestic, and if you can face the climb (all 528 steps!) to the top of the dome, you are rewarded with spectacular birds’ eye views of the City. Shoreditch and Spitalfields on the east side of London are also real gems – full of quirky boutiques, street food, world-class graffiti art, and a thriving hipster culture. My biggest tip would be to try not to cram too much into one day. Allow yourself the time to browse that interesting looking shop; wander off along that hidden side alley with the cute little back-street pub at the end or pop into that unusual looking church. Some of the best photos and memories might be of the things you least expected!
Michael Whalley
“It is as much about fun as about facts.”
I have worked pretty much all over Europe but am based in London and have guided professionally since qualifying in 1995. There are so many iconic, historical and inspiring places in and around London and it is a great privilege that I am allowed to share them with guests.
I have worked pretty much all over Europe but am based in London and have guided professionally since qualifying in 1995. There are so many iconic, historical and inspiring places in and around London and it is a great privilege that I am allowed to share them with guests.
After studying musical theatre I performed professionally in a number of West End musicals including Les Misérables, Pirates of Penzance, and Annie. I love the variety of being a guide. Every day is different with bookings on huge corporate programmes with hundreds of guests down to specialist tours with just one person. It’s fantastic to meet so many wonderful people from all over the world and from every background.
I particularly enjoy presenting military sites (Churchill War Rooms etc.,) but can get equally excited about a Food Tour, a Rock and Pop Tour or even just a walk around the Old City. My most unusual request was a tour of the Houses of Parliament with a gentleman who was both blind and deaf. I had to communicate via an interpreter who used a code on his palm. It was a remarkably humbling and gratifying experience.
(Languages – English Swedish
Alfie Talman
“London’s attractions deserve to be given a good, unrushed, exploration.”
Before becoming a guide I worked in concierge and before that trained and worked as an actor, and this absolutely plays in to how I am as a guide. Ensuring that clients are well looked after and capturing their imagination with a well told story are what it’s all about for me.
Before becoming a guide I worked in concierge and before that trained and worked as an actor, and this absolutely plays in to how I am as a guide. Ensuring that clients are well looked after and capturing their imagination with a well told story are what it’s all about for me.
I try to keep my work varied – from small families to large groups and from young school kids to seasoned travellers. I mostly guide in London, sometimes taking visitors to nearby locations such as Windsor, Stonehenge, etc. My walking tour exploring the history of the Gin Craze of the 1700s is currently my favourite – it
wanders through a really fun part of London and so reveals the hidden history behind streets people normally just enjoy for eating and shopping, and also is jam-packed full of fascinating and funny stories.
I encourage people to take their time. it’s tempting to cram as much as possible in to one’s itinerary but it’s an equally rewarding city to just take a stroll around and all of its attractions deserve to be given a good, unrushed, exploration.
(Languages – English)
Photography by Miranda Parry
www.mirandaparry.com
07771 824488
THERESA HUNT
“I love to point out the British quirks and conventions!
What I love most about being a guide is the variety. In London, my tours include sightseeing trips by coach for groups of students, bespoke tours for families or busy executives in chauffeur driven cars, good old walking tours through various must-see neighbourhoods.
What I love most about being a guide is the variety. In London, my tours include sightseeing trips by coach for groups of students, bespoke tours for families or busy executives in chauffeur driven cars, good old walking tours through various must-see neighbourhoods.
Born and raised in Bavaria, Germany, I said goodbye to my homeland over 20 years ago to make my childhood dream come true and live in London. I am familiar with British life and the English mentality and I love to point out their quirks and conventions to my guests! From the English class system to food, to their obsession with politeness and the weather, you will learn it all.
One of my biggest passions is to bring London’s mesmerising art galleries closer to my guests. You will never look at the National Gallery, Tate Britain or Tate Modern in the same way again.
I also particularly love all things royal. There are so many stories to be told: from William the Conqueror’s coronation in 1066 that ended in a massacre by mistake, to what the Queen has in her handbag, to my favourite royal – Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Queen Victoria’s beloved husband.
As much as I love London it’s sometimes good to escape. I also accompany groups through England’s beautiful countryside and fabulous country estates.
(Languages – English, German)