The historical area of Fitzrovia, London, has a rich medical past and fascinating stories attached to its former hospitals and workhouse.

This walk starts outside Warren Street Underground Station. It explores the medical associations of the Fitzrovia area, including the first private hospital in London, a number of smaller hospitals that occupied grand houses in Fitzroy Square, the story of the birth of family planning, a major nurses home established by the famous Astor family, a Georgian workhouse known by Charles Dickens, and ending with a short tour inside the beautiful Fitzrovia Chapel which was part of the famous Middlesex Hospital.

The walk is presented by Camden Tour Guides together with the Fitzrovia Chapel. Your guide will be Richard Cohen. He will be wearing a Camden Tour Guides Association badge.

To sign up for this walk follow this link:-  https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/medical-walk-of-fitzrovia-tickets-61527253672

There is a half marathon going on which takes in some of the most famous buildings in London.  It is a major charity event.  Huge amounts will be raised for many different charities.  There are free History tours taking place in Westminster and in the City of London run by trained guides.

To find out more follow this link:- 

https://www.llhm.co.uk/guided-history-tours

SUNDAY 7 APRIL 2019 at 11:00 am

CITY OF LONDON COMMEMORATION WALK FOR AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

Meet at the Kindertransport Memorial outside Liverpool Street Station

Address:     Hope Square Liverpool Street Station London EC2M 7QH

This walk is part of a series of fundraisers for Amnesty.  The walk takes about 90 minutes and there will be plenty of places to enjoy refreshments afterwards.  Book through Eventbrite or turn up on the day.  The contribution is £10 per head.  Here is the link for bookings:-

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/city-of-london-commemoration-walk-tickets-57382995083

Join our wonderful walk to see some of the lovely gardens along the Outer Circle of Regent’s Park this weekend. We meet at Great Portland Street station at 11:00 am on Saturday 17 June and at 2:00 pm on Sunday 18 June. We finish near Camden Town after a walk that takes about 75 minutes. Our walk takes in the lovely gardens of the Royal College of Physicians which contain world class collections of medicinal plants, the open spaces of Regent’s Park and the extraordinary garden of St Katharine’s Danish Church which traces its origins back to the Middle Ages.
For further details about the many walks available in this wonderful programme visit:
http://www.opensquares.org/activities/guidedwalks.html

Glad to be Gay: Camden’s LGBT Heritage
A walk marking 50 years since homosexual law reform 1967 – 2017
Saturday 10 June 11:00 am
Thursday 22 June 6:00 pm
Saturday 24 June 11:00 am
Saturday 1 July 11:00 am
Starting at Goodge Street Station this walk led by Camden Tour Guides takes in places in Fitzrovia, Bloomsbury and King’s Cross which are part of Camden’s rich heritage of sexual diversity. We will visit pubs which were notorious watering holes for the Bohemian demimonde of the 1920s and 1930s.
We will pass a theatre which was in the vanguard of lesbian and gay theatre and a bookshop which has been at the heart of the LGBT community now since 1979. We will visit the homes of the writers and artists of the Bloomsbury Set who challenged Victorian codes of behaviour and see the house where the great genius of polari Kenneth Williams was brought up. We will hear about how the LGBT community rallied together to respond to the HIV/AIDS crisis of the 1980s and end our walk at Camden Town Hall where some of the first Same Sex weddings were joyously celebrated.
The walks are free but you must book online on Eventbrite:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/glad-to-be-gay-camdens-lgbt-heritage-tickets-33955440637

Themed Tours around the University of London Campus

This is a fantastic series of tours organised by Camden Tour Guides Association. You can learn about the beautiful squares of Bloomsbury or get an update on the fantastic buildings of London’s Knowledge Quarter or its Medical Powerhouse in Fitzrovia. You can learn about the street art and sculpture of the area or be informed about some of the wonderful clocks that grace this part of London.

These tours are offered by qualified Camden Guides and should be really interesting and informative.

To book visit www.camdenguides.com

This offers a fantastic range of events to celebrate over-65’s all over Central London and further afield.
I am running my “Explore the Secret Gardens of Regent’s Park Walk” at 2:00 pm starting at Great Portland Street tube station and finishing at Baker Street tube by 4:00 pm.
To check the events have a look at this site:-
https://issuu.com/westminstercitycouncil/docs/westminster_plus_magazine_sept_16_w

There are lots of great things to do. Have a go!

Saturday 8 October:
Explore some of London’s most interesting , provocative and dramatic works of public art in the company of local guides. Walks last up to 60 minutes and start on the hour every hour from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Just turn up!
Camden
City of London
Clerkenwell and Islington
Greenwich
Westminster
www.locallondonguidingday.com
@FreeWalksLLGD

This is to recommend the fantastic exhibition currently on at the Building Centre on Store Street (London WC1E 7BT). Catch it soon as it closes on February 24. It is a comprehensive show documenting with great lucidity the story of how London’s road system grew through history from Roman times until the Twentieth century. It also deals with the challenges London faces in the future with growing numbers, new modes of travel. Well worth catching!
Here is the website for more information:-
http://www.buildingcentre.co.uk/exhibitions/streets-ahead-the-future-of-london-s-roads

Following David Cameron’s recent visit to Jamaica where he offered them the dubious asset of a new prison and pointedly refused to make an apology for British slavery saying “Let’s Move On” the subject of the impact of slavery on the development of the British economy and society is highly relevant. This series of lectures addresses many of these issues. It is run by the Conway Hall Ethical Society http://conwayhall.org.uk/ and supported by the Socialist History Society http://www.socialisthistorysociety.co.uk/
The lectures are on Tuesday evenings and run from 6 October until 8 December.
Here is the link for the next lecture on William Beckford: –
http://conwayhall.org.uk/event/first-prime-minister-of-the-london-empire/