Living it Local

I am shocked at how long it is since I last posted here. In mitigation, I have been busy and I have posted on Instagram. Last weekend I had some welcome time off and spent most of it near my home in south London. Friday night I went to the Bussey Building in Peckham to…

The Walking Week

When I first applied to train as a professional guide, and even when I qualified, I don’t think I had any idea how much I should enjoy researching and planning walks. Currently I am working on two walks I have been commissioned to do, one is local and will see me back in Camberwell, the…

This is Walworth! Tour 4th December 2021

The last time the artists’ studios opened to the public here in sunny Walworth was in 2019, but the good news is they are opening again over the first weekend in December. To celebrate, I am offering a guided walk of Walworth, starting at Kennington tube and ending at the studios. This is a chance…

Flower Power

Think of flowers and London and your thoughts probably go in the direction of Chelsea, Kew, maybe St James Park. Not Walworth. But they should. Samuel Curtis had his nursery here. When he acquired the copyright to his brother-in-law’s Florist Directory, he published a series of two very fine coloured engravings of florists’ flowers, including…

Bermondsey – walk and a teeny weeny podcast!

My second public tour since lockdown will be on Thursday 27th August at 10.45. It’s around Bermondsey, and we meet outside the tube station. The cost is £15 per adult, £5 per child. Do listen to the taster – it’s my shortest podcast episode ever! I’d be delighted if you joined me. You can reserve…

It’s all in the name: how a neighbourhood’s name and street names can reveal its history

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-amtqi-e02926 Street names can tell us much about our neighbourhoods’ histories. This podcast is about some streets in my neighbourhood of Walworth, with a brief foray into Camberwell, and how a county cricket club came into being.

A Champion Adventurer

This is my latest podcast, and as the photograph suggests, it’s linked to Denmark Hill and Camberwell. Please listen, and if you enjoy it do please leave a comment here or on Podbean. Many thanks.

Fair Maids and Men

Thanks to Nizan Shaked and the students from CSULB who joined me for a sunny walk about women today.

William Molesworth

I needed a break from paperwork as well as a visit to the local studies library and so took myself out on a walk in the cold air. I was delighted to see the scaffolding had been removed from Borough Road Library and the building open. it’s not been used as a library for many…

Lovely Camberwell in Autumn

Only a stone’s throw from central London, Camberwell and Denmark Hill is a delight. A neighbourhood of contrasts, with one of the best parks in south London (in all London?) gracious terraces of the late Georgian period and a secret wild garden. Add a plethora of great pubs, a great Greek bakery, a sublime chapel,…