We do the walk in date order as much as feasible, starting with a Tudor building that should be famous for what it is, but is actually famous for something it is not! We also see London’s oldest square, with 17th century houses, followed by the most beautiful of the old legal areas which dates from the 16th to 19th centuries. Then it’s the charm of Queen Anne, Georgian (we tell you how to spot the difference between early and late Georgian properties) and Regency eras, before seeing a fine piece of recycling, where stone from a demolished medieval edifice was used to build the first storey of a 1900 landmark. We then backtrack in time to St Paul’s, before crossing the river to get great views of the City’s skyscrapers (and other interesting historic buildings such as the Faraday Building, the Tate Gallery and the Oxo Tower). You also hear about St Paul’s line-of-sight requirements and Grade Listing. We then head in to The Borough of Octavia Hill, Dickens and impressive Victorian commercial buildings including charming old cottages, a chocolate factory and a very impressive Exchange building. We finish with a fine example of London’s most ubiquitous tenements built by a great Victorian philanthropist.

Start Holborn underground station
Finish Borough underground station
Shorter walk alternative – start Chancery Lane tube, finish London Bridge station