This walking tour will take us to places that both inspired Charles Dickens the writer but also those real locations that shaped Dickens the man. All writers take inspiration from the people they meet and places they visit, and Charles Dickens was no different. His novels are so successful because he so enjoyed wandering the streets of London and picking up the rich details of everyday life.
What's included
- Local guid
- Private tou
- Professional guid
- Hotel pickup
What's not included
- London Underground Tube ticke
- Entrance to Charles Dickens House Museum
Additional information
Wheelchair accessible
Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
Service animals allowed
Public transportation options are available nearby
Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
We have earmarked this tour as especially safe during the Coronavirus outbreak due to generally quiet places that we visit where social distancing is generally not a problem. All of our tours are private so it is just you/your family and your guide. To make it easier and safer for all concerned we would suggest starting this tour a little later than the usual time, perhaps around 10.30-11am which allows us all to miss rush-hour. We are happy to still come to your hotel to meet you but for the moment we would suggest meeting us at the tour starting point. This allows you to arrive by a taxi or uber rather than public transport. Please feel free to wear masks throughout or at times during the tour. Your guide will also have a mask with them.
We can meet you at your Central London Hotel (not just those listed above), otherwise just outside Borough High Street Tube Station where the tour commences.
Please bring your ticket with you to the attraction.
Be aware that operators may cancel for unforeseen reasons.
You need to be 18 years or older to book or be accompanied by an adult.
Operated by Ye Olde England Tours
Itinerary information
Stop at: St George the Martyr
- Admission ticket included
See locations relating to Little Dorrit and visit where Dickens family were imprisoned.20 minutes
Stop at: The Marshalsea Prison
The site of the old debtors prison that so influenced the young Charles Dickens.10 minutes
Stop at: Red Cross Cottages & Garden
These beautiful and largely unvisited gardens were created by a contemporary pf Charles Dickens and in her own way equally famous social reformer in what was one of the worst streets in London and close to where Dickens lived as a boy.10 minutes
Stop at: London Bridge
- Admission ticket included
Stand on Nancys Steps where poor Nancy met her end5 minutes
Stop at: Borough Market
- Admission ticket included
Visit sites of poverty that inspired Dickens to write. See the places where the pick-pockets operated in Oliver Twist and much more25 minutes
Stop at: Shakespeare's Globe Theatre
- Admission ticket not included
We will pass by this famous theatre and learn about the history and locations nearby.15 minutes
Stop at: Old Bailey
What's not includedAdmission ticket not included
The oldest court in the western world in effect is next to the notorious old Newgate Prison and site of public executions to Victorians in fact and fiction.5 minutes
Stop at: Winchester Palace
- Admission ticket included
Learn about Winchester Geese and the lives of the poor and forgotten as we follow in the footsteps of how Dickens would walk to work.15 minutes
Stop at: St. Paul's Cathedral
- Admission ticket not included
Find out about an inadvertent impact St Pauls had on the life of Charles Dickens5 minutes
Stop at: Temple Church
As well as seeing the outside of this very famous church we will visit the legal districts where characters such as Pip would feature. Please note sometimes at weekends, access to this area is closed to the public.15 minutes
Stop at: The Old Curiosity Shop
Visit the outside of the actual Old Curiousity Shop, perhaps the oldest shop in London and right next to what was then a place of terrible poverty.15 minutes
Stop at: Fleet Street
The most famous newspaper street in the world which amongst other things not only played an important role in the life of Charles Dickens but the alleys and taverns also feature in his literature.10 minutes
Stop at: Lincoln's Inn Fields
- Admission ticket included
This area is full of Dickensian history especially relating to Bleak House and is also the home to the biographer of Charles Dickens20 minutes
Pass by: Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese
See some of the pubs that Dickens himself drank in and where characters visited in the novels.
Stop at: Dr. Johnson's House
- Admission ticket not included
We visit other literary places along the way, including the outside of the home of the man who wrote the Dictionary.5 minutes
Stop at: High Holborn
- Admission ticket included
Visit the alleyway where poor Krook spontaneously combusted infront of his shop.10 minutes
Stop at: Bloomsbury
- Admission ticket included
Pass through parts of Bloomsbury and see where Charles Dickens lived after he had become successful and enjoy the sumptuous streets of this literary hotspot.20 minutes
Stop at: Charles Dickens Museum
- Admission ticket not included
We finish the tour at the front door of the Charles Dickens Museum, his perfectly preserved house which you'll no doubt want to explore and perhaps have a well deserved cup of tea in the delightful restaurant at the back.
1 hour
Location
Departure point
Borough, Borough High St, London, SE1 1JX
Just outside the entrance next to the newspaper vendor
Charles Dickens Museum, Doughty St 48-49, London, WC1N 2LX
Please note the museum is currently not open on Monday and Tuesday though the tour ends at the front door. Your guide will happily find you a pub, cafe or nearby tube station if needed!
