Lesley Walks London

Rosemary Gardens Health & History
2023-04-28 11:00 - 12:30 (Europe/London) | Rosemary Gardens, Southgate Road, London N1 3JP
This walk is one of a series run by Islington Guided Walks in conjunction with Islington Council. They are shorter, gentler walks than my more typical 2 hour plus guided tours and therefore suitable for those with less mobility or stamina. I’m leading this stroll around Rosemary Gardens and there are other walks in Islington green spaces each month for the rest of the year

Details and booking here: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/islington-health-and-history-walks-924289

Canonbury Tower Tour
2023-05-24 14:00 - 15:30
Canonbury Tower near Canonbury Square is a survivor of Islington’s Tudor and even earlier history. It was built in the late 16th century as an addition to an earlier manor house, features beautiful wood panelling in some rooms, was home to several notable people including Francis Bacon and Oliver Goldsmith, and offers a fantastic view from the roof. Courtesy of the seventh Marquess of Northampton, Islington Guides are now offering two tours each month, strictly limited to 10 guests.

Booking link here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/canonbury-tower-tour-tickets-475150296327. Select 24th May for my tour – other dates will be led by equally knowledgeable and charming Islington Guides!

The Regent’s Canal – Islington to Kingsland Road
2023-08-27 14:30 - 16:30 | Angel Station, Islington High Street, London, N1 8XX, United Kingdom
From Islington’s busy Upper Street to a series of canal basins and ending on a Roman road.

This walk winds along the canal through north/north east London from Islington to Hackney. It is varied, picturesque, passes the route of an even older waterway from 1613 and ends at the Roman Ermine Street. We will see busy locks, repurposed factories including film and photography studios, charming canal barges, old horse stables, canal basins and much more. This walk is organised by and in aid of the Inland Waterways Association, then led by volunteer qualified London guides including me! Reservation and more details are here, although you can also turn up on the day – cash and cards accepted.

Canonbury Tower Tour
2023-09-27 14:00 - 15:30
Canonbury Tower near Canonbury Square is a survivor of Islington’s Tudor and even earlier history. It was built in the late 16th century as an addition to an earlier manor house, features beautiful wood panelling in some rooms, was home to several notable people including Francis Bacon and Oliver Goldsmith, and offers a fantastic view from the roof. Courtesy of the seventh Marquess of Northampton, Islington Guides are now offering two tours each month, strictly limited to 10 guests.

Booking link here: https://canonburytower.eventbrite.co.uk

Select 27th September for my tour – other dates will be led by equally knowledgeable and charming Islington Guides!

Clerkenwell's Lost Monasteries
2023-09-30 14:00 - 16:00 | Farringdon Station EC1M 6BY United Kingdom, EC1M 6BY, United Kingdom
Visit the sites of four great monasteries which dominated Clerkenwell for hundreds of years and have left their mark to this day.

This year Bart’s Hospital is celebrating its 900th anniversary on the same site that it was founded in 1123. It was originally part of St Bartholomew’s Priory, founded by a courtier of Henry 1 in thanks for surviving a bout of malaria while on pilgrimage to Rome. St Bartholomew’s was only one of four great religious houses in Clerkenwell that flourished for hundreds of years until Henry VIII closed them down. Come and see what is left of these once rich and influential monasteries and hear their stories – including the priors who lost their heads, the monks who went to war and the secret tunnels. Three of the Priories – St Bartholomew’s, The Charterhouse and the Order of St John – have a flourishing legacy to this day. Our tour does not go inside the surviving buildings but there are free museums that you can visit at both The Charterhouse and St John’s Gate and both also offer guided tours of their historic interiors. The tour meets at Farringdon Tube station. It takes about two hours and finishes with a visit to the Clerk’s Well which gave Clerkenwell its name.

Booking link here – choose September 30th in the drop down if you would like me to be your guide. Other dates will be led by equally qualified and charming Islington Guides!

‘Beating the Bounds’ from King’s Cross to Farringdon
2023-11-12 11:00 - 13:30 | Kings Cross station, Euston Road, London, N1 9AL
A historic walk winding either side of the border between Camden and Islington boroughs – also the route of the now-buried River Fleet

‘Beating the Bounds’ around the borders between parishes, land ownerships and similar is an ancient tradition, where the boundary was literally paced out and marked with stones each year. This walk traces today’s border between Camden and Islington, with detours to explore nearby signs of previous boundaries of parishes, vestries, water conduits and historic landowners.

Along the way, we’ll see varied architecture from pretty Georgian and Victorian terraces to old burial grounds, narrow passages that were once slums and restored industrial buildings; see if we can spot historic boundary markers; meet mediaeval monks, Tudor and Victorian philanthropists, a dynasty of 19C architects and builders; and hear of lost wells and pleasure gardens.

Booking link here – there is also an additional date on Wednesday 29th November, choose from the drop down.

The Regent's Canal: the Angel to Hackney
2023-11-22 11:00 - 13:00 | Angel Station, Islington High Street, London, N1 8XX, United Kingdom
A weekday winter’s morning canal walk, strolling east from the Angel and ending near Hoxton

Join me to explore a beautiful canal stretch, passing historic warehouses, canal basins, weirs, locks, canal boats and greenery. The towpath is usually slower and quieter on winter weekday mid mornings, allowing us to better appreciate the changing scenery.

This stretch of the canal has seen much regeneration of old industrial structures as well as new builds, plus recent work ‘re-wilding’ the water near the banks to encourage wildlife. Once into Hackney, we will also pass the section now known as the Haggerston Riviera thanks to the waterside cafes.

We’ll leave the canal after Kingsland Basin and end near The Museum of the Home on Kingsland Road.

Booking link here – there is also an additional date on Wednesday 6th December, choose from the drop down.

‘Beating the Bounds’ from King’s Cross to Farringdon
2023-11-29 11:00 - 13:30 | Kings Cross station, Euston Road, London, N1 9AL
A historic walk winding either side of the border between Camden and Islington boroughs – also the route of the now-buried River Fleet

‘Beating the Bounds’ around the borders between parishes, land ownerships and similar is an ancient tradition, where the boundary was literally paced out and marked with stones each year. This walk traces today’s border between Camden and Islington, with detours to explore nearby signs of previous boundaries of parishes, vestries, water conduits and historic landowners.

Along the way, we’ll see varied architecture from pretty Georgian and Victorian terraces to old burial grounds, narrow passages that were once slums and restored industrial buildings; see if we can spot historic boundary markers; meet mediaeval monks, Tudor and Victorian philanthropists, a dynasty of 19C architects and builders; and hear of lost wells and pleasure gardens. Booking link here.

The Regent's Canal: the Angel to Hackney
2023-12-06 11:00 - 13:00
A weekday winter’s morning canal walk, strolling east from the Angel and ending near Hoxton

Join me to explore a beautiful canal stretch, passing historic warehouses, canal basins, weirs, locks, canal boats and greenery. The towpath is usually slower and quieter on winter weekday mid mornings, allowing us to better appreciate the changing scenery.

This stretch of the canal has seen much regeneration of old industrial structures as well as new builds, plus recent work ‘re-wilding’ the water near the banks to encourage wildlife. Once into Hackney, we will also pass the section now known as the Haggerston Riviera thanks to the waterside cafes.

We’ll leave the canal after Kingsland Basin and end near The Museum of the Home on Kingsland Road.

Booking link here.

The Regent’s Canal – Islington to Kingsland Road
2024-01-07 14:30 - 16:30
From Islington’s busy Upper Street to a series of canal basins and ending on a Roman road.

This walk winds along the canal through north/north east London from Islington to Hackney. It is varied, picturesque, passes the route of an even older waterway from 1613 and ends at the Roman Ermine Street. We will see busy locks, repurposed factories including film and photography studios, charming canal barges, old horse stables, canal basins and much more. This walk is organised by and in aid of the Inland Waterways Association, then led by volunteer qualified London guides including me! Reservation and more details are here, although you can also turn up on the day – cash and cards accepted.

£15 £10 concessions

Walking the Hackney/ Islington border from the Rosemary Branch to Old St
2024-02-03 11:30 - 13:45 | The Rosemary Branch, 2 Shepperton Road N1, London, 3DT, United Kingdom
This boundary walk between Hackney and Islington boroughs weaves around the areas either side of Regent’s Canal, City Rd basin and City Rd.

‘Beating the Bounds’ to mark and confirm the borders between parishes is an ancient tradition, where the border was literally paced out, agreed and marked with stones each year. This is one in a series of walks exploring the borders of today’s Islington, Hackney and Camden boroughs, looking at how these evolved over the centuries due to a mix of changing land ownership, parish church catchments, significance of early settlements and roads, and natural features such as springs and ponds.

There’s a wealth of interest on either side of the border as we walk from the Regent’s Canal to the old boroughs of Finsbury and Shoreditch, and the edge of the City in Moorfields. A varied mix of City Livery Company history, ironworks, canal basins, WWII devastation, the lost hospitals quarter, a natural swimming pool and a mediaeval well.

This walk starts near the canal and the Rosemary Branch inn, lasts for 2 – 2 1/4 hours and ends near Old Street station.

Pre-booking essential, click here.

Canonbury Tower Tour
2024-02-09 11:00 - 12:30
Canonbury Tower near Canonbury Square is a survivor of Islington’s Tudor and even earlier history. It was built in the late 16th century as an addition to an earlier manor house, features beautiful wood panelling in some rooms, was home to several notable people including Francis Bacon and Oliver Goldsmith, and offers a fantastic view from the roof. Courtesy of the seventh Marquess of Northampton, Islington Guides are now offering two tours each month, strictly limited to 10 guests.

Booking link here: https://canonburytower.eventbrite.co.uk

Select 9th February for my tour in the drop down – other dates will be led by equally knowledgeable and charming Islington Guides!

‘Beating the Bounds’ from King’s Cross to Farringdon
2024-02-10 14:00 - 16:30
A historic walk winding either side of the border between Camden and Islington boroughs – also the route of the now-buried River Fleet

‘Beating the Bounds’ around the borders between parishes, land ownerships and similar is an ancient tradition, where the boundary was literally paced out and marked with stones each year. This walk traces today’s border between Camden and Islington, with detours to explore nearby signs of previous boundaries of parishes, vestries, water conduits and historic landowners.

Along the way, we’ll see varied architecture from pretty Georgian and Victorian terraces to old burial grounds, narrow passages that were once slums and restored industrial buildings; see if we can spot historic boundary markers; meet mediaeval monks, Tudor and Victorian philanthropists, a dynasty of 19C architects and builders; and hear of lost wells and pleasure gardens.

Pre-booking essential – please click here.

Walking the Hackney/Islington border from Dalston to the Regent's Canal
2024-02-11 11:00 - 13:00 | Haggerston Station, E8 4DY, United Kingdom
** CANCELLED DUE TO ILLNESS, APOLOGIES FOR SHORT NOTICE **

‘Beating the Bounds’ to mark and confirm the borders between parishes is an ancient tradition, where the border was literally paced out, agreed and marked with stones each year. This is part of a series of walks exploring the borders of today’s Islington Borough (with Hackney and Camden) looking at how this has evolved over the centuries due to a mix of changing land ownership, parish church catchments, significance of early settlements and roads, and natural features such as springs and ponds.

There’s a wealth of interest on either side of the border, including a leper hospital, almshouses, inns of pleasure and ill repute, market gardens, the Mildmay area, a livestock market, vanished churches, factories and a manor house.

This is a 2 hour tour including a walk through De Beauvoir Town on the Hackney side of the border. Starts at Haggerston Station, ends near the Regent’s Canal and The Rosemary Branch.

Pre-booking essential – please click here.

Thornhill Estate and Barnsbury Wood Health and History walk
2024-04-26 11:00 - 12:30
This is one of a series of free walks developed by Islington Guided Walks for Islington Council. These walks are the perfect chance to stroll at a gentle pace and appreciate some of Islington’s finest green spaces, while hearing about fascinating and inspiring local history. They are therefore shorter and slower than many of my walks and hopefully just as enjoyable in a different way!

On this walk you may encounter a Square that isn’t square, a series of sphinxes, a sporting suffragette, stylish Georgian and early Victorian architecture and a secret sylvan wilderness.

More details and reservations for this and monthly walks in other Islington green spaces here.

Historic Hoxton
2024-05-05 11:00 - 12:30 | Hoxton Overground Station, Geffrye Street, London, E2 8FF, United Kingdom
Hoxton and Shoreditch today are often known as fashionable parts of east London, areas to eat out in and go clubbing. It’s also an area of astonishing contrasts from post war estates and a park reclaimed from bombed houses, through to surviving elegant 18C houses, almshouses, a radical 19C reforming local authority and road layouts dating back to the Romans.

The Gunpowder Plot was unmasked here in 1605, an enterprising gardener successfully created the first plant hybrids in 1729, and the first woman Mayor of Shoreditch was elected in 1936.

This walk is part of the exciting Hackney History Festival in early May https://hackneyhistoryfestival.org – do browse for a fabulous programme of talks, walks and tours.

Booking is absolutely essential and numbers are limited for your enjoyment and safety https://www.tickettailor.com/events/hackneyhistoryfestival/1589843

The walk will start at Hoxton Station, last around 90 minutes and end in Hoxton Street.

De Beauvoir Town - royal hunting ground to 19C residential estate￼
2024-05-08 11:00 - 12:30 | Haggerston Station, E8 4DY, United Kingdom
De Beauvoir lies in today’s London Borough of Hackney and is still sometimes called ‘Kingsland’ because Henry VIII hunted here. It is distinct from but nestled up close to Dalston, London Fields, the Regent’s Canal, Shoreditch, south east Islington and Mildmay. It is also known locally as ‘the jam between the Islington and Hackney sandwich’!

This walk explores the origins of the area, including a grand manor house from the 1600s which eventually became a ‘mad house’, then legal wrangles leading to extensive 19C residential development of pretty streets and a stunning square. We will also hear of lost churches, a canal basin with wharves that supplied much of the building material for today’s houses, a factory powered by tall windmills, the significance of horse stabling and much more.

This walk is part of the exciting Hackney History Festival in early May https://hackneyhistoryfestival.org – do browse for a fabulous programme of talks, walks and tours.

Booking is absolutely essential and numbers are limited for your enjoyment and safety https://www.tickettailor.com/events/hackneyhistoryfestival/1187747

The walk will start at Haggerston Station, last around 90 minutes and end near the canal and Southgate Road.

Canonbury Tower Tour
2024-05-10 11:00 - 12:30
Canonbury Tower near Canonbury Square is a survivor of Islington’s Tudor and even earlier history. It was built in the late 16th century as an addition to an earlier manor house, features beautiful wood panelling in some rooms, was home to several notable people including Francis Bacon and Oliver Goldsmith, and offers a fantastic view from the roof. Courtesy of the seventh Marquess of Northampton, Islington Guides are now offering two tours each month, strictly limited to 10 guests.

Booking link here: https://canonburytower.eventbrite.co.uk

Select May 10th for my tour in the drop down – other dates will be led by equally knowledgeable and charming Islington Guides!

Canonbury Tower Tour
2024-06-14 11:00 - 12:30
Canonbury Tower near Canonbury Square is a survivor of Islington’s Tudor and even earlier history. It was built in the late 16th century as an addition to an earlier manor house, features beautiful wood panelling in some rooms, was home to several notable people including Francis Bacon and Oliver Goldsmith, and offers a fantastic view from the roof. Courtesy of the seventh Marquess of Northampton, Islington Guides are now offering two tours each month, strictly limited to 10 guests.

Booking link here: https://canonburytower.eventbrite.co.uk

Select June 14th for my tour in the drop down – other dates will be led by equally knowledgeable and charming Islington Guides!

Health and History walk in Rosemary Gardens
2024-07-26 11:00 - 12:30 | Southgate Road N1 3JP, Inside park gates near bus stop
This is one of a series of free walks developed by Islington Guided Walks for Islington Council. These walks are the perfect chance to stroll at a gentle pace and appreciate some of Islington’s finest green spaces, while hearing about fascinating and inspiring local history. They are therefore shorter and slower than many of my walks and hopefully just as enjoyable in a different way!

This gentle walk explores leafy Rosemary Gardens and the surrounding streets and buildings. We will stroll past grassy and wilder woodland areas, see planting to encourage wildlife, a tree that grows beans and a football training pitch opened by Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger!

Centuries ago, archery was a popular sport here, then the local inn’s pleasure gardens and country air attracted visitors from the City until a lead factory was built on the site. We will also learn more about the intriguing local history, including the nearby canal, houses and warehouses.

More details and reservations for this and monthly walks in other Islington green spaces here.

Angel Canal Festival
2024-09-01 11:00 - 16:00
Not a walk, but a community festival celebrating the Regent’s Canal, City Road Basin, Graham St Park and surrounds. Loads of stalls, games, music and much more – and memories of Crystal Hale who campaigned to save the canal from being filled in back in the 1960s, then founded both the Islington Boat Club and this annual festival.

Islington Guided Walks will have a stall where we can chat with you about our organisation and upcoming events, plus we’re running a local ‘Location, location’ quiz. There will also be the opportunity to take short boat trips along the canal with some of our guides (including me) pointing out sights and talking about local history.

Head for the canal towpath via the ramp from Duncan Terrace, N1 8PZ approx. postcode.

A watery wander around King's Cross and St. Pancras
2024-10-16 11:00 - 13:15 | Kings Cross station, Euston Road, London, N1 9AL
An almost-circular walk around King’s Cross and St. Pancras stations and the extraordinary, vibrant redevelopment of what was a semi-derelict wasteland of railway lands. The area originally had a plentiful supply of water from the now-hidden River Fleet and associated lost springs and wells, then the man-made Regent’s Canal supplied more water from the early 1800s.This walk explores how all things watery have influenced the development of the area, from lost pleasure gardens and an ancient church by a riverbank, to canal locks, steam engines and gas storage holders, then today’s inspiring water features and a tranquil nature reserve.

This walk starts outside King’s Cross Station, lasts 2 – 2 1/4 hours and ends near St. Pancras Station. Pre-book only via Eventbrite, click here to choose your date.

King's Cross to Hitchcock's Hackney
2024-10-20 14:30 - 16:30, 2024-12-30 14:30 - 16:30
We start this walk where some scenes from Hitchcock’s classic film ‘The 39 Steps’ were filmed and end at the studios where he first made his name. Along the way we pass through the ever changing and vibrant King’s Cross redevelopment, join the Regent’s Canal then glimpse the ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ as the canal passes under central Islington. We explore a historic street market and cross the route of an even earlier waterway, then rejoin the towpath to walk east. Unfolding canal scenes of locks, basins and restored industrial buildings end at Gainsborough Studios in Hackney.

I lead this walk on a voluntary basis in support of the Inland Waterways Association. Please book online and I will take payment on the day (cash or card) to pass to them.

Canonbury Tower Tour
2024-10-23 14:00 - 15:30, 2025-03-14 11:00 - 12:30
Canonbury Tower near Canonbury Square is a survivor of Islington’s Tudor and even earlier history. It was built in the late 16th century as an addition to an earlier manor house, features beautiful wood panelling in some rooms, was home to several notable people including Francis Bacon and Oliver Goldsmith, and offers a fantastic view from the roof. Courtesy of the seventh Marquess of Northampton, Islington Guides are now offering two tours each month, strictly limited to 10 guests.

Booking link here: https://canonburytower.eventbrite.co.uk

Select 14th March for my tour in the drop down – other dates will be led by equally knowledgeable and charming Islington Guides!

A watery wander around the Angel Islington
2024-10-27 11:00 - 13:15, 2024-11-06 11:00 - 13:15 | Angel Station, Islington High Street, London, N1 8XX, United Kingdom
A circular walk from Angel tube, exploring the influences of water sources. Islington and Clerkenwell developed around a hilly area with an abundance of water from natural springs, wells and the River Fleet, all now more or less hidden. The New River – an astonishing early 17C waterworks scheme with engineering and reservoirs – and the early 19C manmade Regent’s Canal and basins followed. Meanwhile, some of the springs had been turned into risqué pleasure gardens and a famous theatre, then the residential boom of Georgian and Victorian squares and streets sprung up.

This walk traces all things watery, tells of an eccentric estate owner, an evangelical Countess and a lost cricket ground.

The walk lasts 2 to 2 1/4 hours, starts at the Angel station and ends in a historic market near the start.

Pre-book only via Eventbrite here

A watery wander around King's Cross and St. Pancras
2024-11-03 11:00 - 13:15 | Kings Cross station, Euston Road, London, N1 9AL
An almost-circular walk around King’s Cross and St. Pancras stations and the extraordinary, vibrant redevelopment of what was a semi-derelict wasteland of railway lands. The area originally had a plentiful supply of water from the now-hidden River Fleet and associated lost springs and wells, then the man-made Regent’s Canal supplied more water from the early 1800s.This walk explores how all things watery have influenced the development of the area, from lost pleasure gardens and an ancient church by a riverbank, to canal locks, steam engines and gas storage holders, then today’s inspiring water features and a tranquil nature reserve.

This walk starts outside King’s Cross Station, lasts 2 – 2 1/4 hours and ends near St. Pancras Station. Pre-book only via Eventbrite, click here.

Regent’s Canal – King’s Cross, Granary Square, St. Pancras
2025-04-20 14:30 - 16:30
A wander around the Regent’s Canal as it ambles through the stunning new developments around King’s Cross and St Pancras stations. We’ll explore the amazing architecture from the 1850s onwards as the age of steam trains ushered in the construction of this vast interchange between road, rail and water transport. Hear about grain stores, coal drops, gas generation, canal boats, basins and locks, and the many horses who laboured along with people. The walk starts near King’s Cross station and ends near St Pancras station, so the route is almost circular and easy to access.

I lead this walk on a voluntary basis in support of the Inland Waterways Association. Please book online and I will take payment on the day (cash or card) to pass to them.
