What sort of tours do you do?
I specialise in small groups, on walking tours or visits to some of London’s great sites or museums, in particular:
- Bermondsey and Rotherhithe
- *Canalside Walk – from Kensal Town to Little Venice
- British Museum
- Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace and St James’s Palace (10:30 to 11am)
- City of London walk – from Romans to High Finance
- Ham House
- Hampton Court Palace
- Imperial War Museum
- Kensington Palace and Kensington Gardens
- Kew Gardens
- *Mayfair’s Unexpected Sights
- National Gallery
- National Portrait Gallery
- St Paul’s Cathedral (not Sundays)
- Southwark riverside
- Tower of London
- Victoria and Albert Museum
- Westminster Abbey (not Sundays)
- Westminster and Whitehall – the Heart of Government
Specialist tours and walks:
- *Legal London – the Royal Courts of Justice and the Temple (not weekends)
- London in the First World War
- The Romans in London
- The Bible in the British Museum
- The Grand Tour in the British Museum
- William Pitt the Younger’s London (not Sundays)
- City Churches (not weekends)
- Arts & Crafts in Chelsea
- The Bloomsbury Group
- Winston Churchill – a Life in London
- The History of the Victoria and Albert Museum
- **Under Your Feet – what you see in pavements (and the history of the London Hydraulic Power Company)
- **An introduction to Heraldry
* These tours can be given virtually, via an on-line Zoom call. If you are interested in virtual versions of other tours, get in touch; I can usually put together a Zoom version in a week or so.
** These tours are virtual only
I can arrange bespoke tours to a particular place or area in London, or covering a particular theme. Just let me know what interests you.
I can also take you out of London for a day trip to:
- Bath
- Canterbury
- The Cotswolds
- Hever Castle
- Oxford
- Salisbury
- Stonehenge
- Stratford upon Avon
- Windsor
What does a typical tour involve?
How long does it last? This is up to you, but for most people, two hours or so is enough to get a proper feel for a particular site and its attractions, without getting too tiring. But a fun day could involve a walk, a highlights tours of a site (the Tower of London, say, or Westminster Abbey) and a museum or gallery (the National Gallery or the British Museum, for example).
Where do we meet? For a museum, gallery or other site, we normally meet at the entrance. For a walking tour we normally meet at a convenient Tube station.
What do we see? On a two-hour tour of a museum or gallery, we will look at around 20 pictures or objects. On a walking tour, we will typically have about 15 stops to look at points of interest. But it’s your tour – you could choose to cover more in less detail, or less in more detail. Look at the Gallery for pictures which I have taken on walks or visits to major sites in London, which will give you an idea of the sort of things you might see.
How do I book you?
Just send me an email ([email protected]).
You can check my availability at https://www.guidelondon.org.uk/guides/rowanfreeland/
How much does it cost?
Morning (max four hours, up to 1:00pm) or afternoon (max 4 hours, after 1:30pm): £250
Full day (max 9 hours): £400
English public holidays – +50%
If you need a car/van and driver, I can obtain a quotation for the cost.
Admission fees, drinks and snacks and other incidentals – and my lunch – are of course extra!
COVID-19
I represented the Institute of Tourist Guiding in arranging for Blue Badge Tourist Guides to obtain VisitBritain’s “We’re Good to Go” accreditation for providing Covid-safe services, and I was one of the first guides to obtain the accreditation. Although as the UK opens up again the accreditation has been discontinued, I continue to follow the “COVID-19 Guidance for Tour Guiding” published by the Institute. You can accordingly be confident that your tour with me will follow Government guidance and industry best practice. I can help you keep the fun in your vacation!
I hope that these answer most of your questions – if not, feel free to contact me directly by email.