Barnet and London Walks, Barnet (2025)

12/01/2025

What a lovely village I've got to show you on Saturday January 18th! MUSWELL HILL is a total delight, and many stars of film, TV and music would agree with me -- they live there. Let's follow in their footsteps: we meet outside East Finchley tube station at 10.40am, from where we'll take a quick bus-ride, or outside the Odeon Cinema Muswell Hill at 10.50am, where the delights begin (photos below). The walk lasts two hours, and costs £15. Bookings and more info (and full programme for 2025 if you don't have it) on [email protected] or 07506 761294. Coming up soon are walks in SWISS COTTAGE, DICKENS IN NORTH LONDON, WOOD GREEN, BOREHAMWOOD AND ELSTREE STUDIOS, and BATTERSEA POWER STATION (photos below), amongst many others. See you soon, I hope. Paul (City of London guide)

08/01/2025

A Happy New Year to you! I'm leading my first BATTLE OF BARNET guided walk of the year this Sunday January 12th, starting at 11am, and I hope you'll be able to join me. It's a fun, informative two-hour tour of the famous battlefield of 1471 (Wars of the Roses). Hear about the day when THREE kings of England (including Richard III, pictured) came to spend the day in Barnet. Discover why the battle took place, and why it happened here, how the fight developed, who won, and how the weather played a major part in the outcome of one of the most important battles in English history. There's some audience participation, so watch out! We meet at the junction of the Great North Rd and Hadley Green Rd EN5 5PP, opposite the Monken Holt pub. £15, which you can pay on the day. And my NEW PROGRAMME FOR 2025 is out, with lots more exciting guided walks around the Borough of Barnet, and the whole of London. Please email me at the address below if you'd like to receive it. Paul, City of London guide. 07506 761294 [email protected]

01/12/2024

I'm leading a special seasonal CHARLES DICKENS IN NORTH LONDON CHRISTMAS guided walk on Saturday December 7th at 11am, and I hope you'll join me for some festive fun. Come and celebrate the great man's many connections in his life and work with Barnet (e.g. Tudor Hall, and the Artful Dodger's first meeting with Oliver in Chapter VIII, pictured), Finchley (Mrs Gamp), Hampstead, Highgate, Hendon, and the rest of North London. And hear about how he celebrated Christmas -- and wrote about it, not just in A Christmas Carol! We meet outside High Barnet tube station booking office. £15, £5 under 12s. Paul (City of London guide) Bookings on [email protected] 07506 761294

25/11/2024

I'm leading my last BATTLE OF BARNET guided walk of the year this Sunday December 1st, starting at 11am, and I hope you'll be able to join me. It's a fun, informative two-hour tour of the famous battlefield of 1471 (Wars of the Roses). Hear about the day when THREE kings of England (including Richard III, pictured) came to spend the day in Barnet. Discover why the battle took place, and why it happened here, how the fight developed, who won, and how the weather played a major part in the outcome of one of the most important battles in English history. There's some audience participation, so watch out! We meet at the junction of the Great North Rd and Hadley Green Rd EN5 5PP, opposite the Monken Holt pub. £15, which you can pay on the day. With Paul Baker, City of London guide. 07506 761294 [email protected]

22/11/2024

Have you ever wanted to be famous? I bet you have. Well, on Sunday November 24th at 11am you can have the next best thing: a walk IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE FAMOUS (and infamous) IN HIGH BARNET AND MONKEN HADLEY. From kings and queens to Prime Ministers, from Samuel Pepys (below) to Dickens, from John Wesley to John Betjeman, from Dickens to Trollope, from Thackeray to Kingsley Amis, from David Livingstone to Spike Milligan (to name but a few), they've all lived or stayed here. Walk with me in their footsteps, meeting outside High Barnet tube station. The walk lasts two hours, and costs £15. Please join me if you can. Paul 07506 761294 [email protected]

24/10/2024

Halloween is nearly here, and I hope you'll join me for one of my HALLOWEEN IN HIGH BARNET GHOST WALKS: Saturday 26th, Sunday 27th, Wednesday 30th, and Thursday 31st October. We'll be exploring ghostly goings-on in High Barnet, and Monken Hadley, the second most haunted village in England. It's a fun and informative guided walk, ideal for all ages, though parental discretion is advised if you have young children -- we'll be walking through a churchyard (Pirate's Grave in photo). There's some audience participation, so watch out! And you're invited to dress up in costume. We meet at 7.30pm outside High Barnet tube station, and the walk finishes by Monken Hadley church. £15, £5 under 12s. More info and bookings on [email protected] or 07506 761294. See you soon, I hope! Paul (City of London guide)

19/10/2024

I hope you'll join me for one of my HALLOWEEN IN HIGH BARNET GHOST WALKS, Saturday 26th, Sunday 27th, Wednesday 30th, and Thursday 31st October. We'll be exploring ghostly goings-on in High Barnet, and Monken Hadley, the second most haunted village in England. It's a fun and informative guided walk, ideal for all ages, though parental discretion is advised if you have young children -- we'll be walking through a churchyard (Pirate's Grave in photo). There's some audience participation, so watch out! And you're invited to dress up in costume. We meet at 7.30pm outside High Barnet tube station, and the walk finishes by Monken Hadley church. £15, £5 under 12s. More info and bookings on [email protected] or 07506 761294. See you soon, I hope! Paul (City of London guide)

29/09/2024

I'll be touring PENGE on Wednesday October 2nd, 1.15pm, and there are still two spaces. Come and see a beautiful south London suburb, with two lovely sets of almshouses, some of the best street art in London, and a couple of very dark stories indeed. Then there's a tour of TERRIFIC TOTTERIDGE -- one of the wealthiest and loveliest of all London suburbs -- on Sunday October 6th at 11am. And that's followed on Tuesday/Wednesday October 8th/9th by a tour of KENSAL GREEN CEMETERY, the biggest and arguably the best of the Magnificent Seven Victorian cemeteries. Finally, if you're still in the mood for spookiness after that, you've got my HALLOWEEN IN HIGH BARNET ghost walks to look forward to, on October 26th, 27th, 30th and 31st, all at 7.30pm. A pot pourri of photos of all four walks below. All walks last two hours, and cost £15. Bookings on [email protected] or 07506 761294. See you soon, I hope! Paul (City of London guide)

17/09/2024

I'm having a little break, but I'm bouncing back in PENGE on Tuesday/Wednesday October 1st/2nd at 1.15pm. You don't know Penge? It's a beautiful south London suburb, with two lovely sets of almshouses, some of the best street art in London, and a couple of very dark stories indeed. Then there's a tour of TERRIFIC TOTTERIDGE -- one of the wealthiest and loveliest of all London suburbs -- on Sunday October 6th at 11am. And that's followed on Tuesday/Wednesday October 8th/9th by a tour of KENSAL GREEN CEMETERY, the biggest and arguably the best of the Magnificent Seven Victorian cemeteries. Finally, if you're still in the mood for spookiness after that, you've got my HALLOWEEN IN HIGH BARNET ghost walks to look forward to, on October 26th, 27th, 30th and 31st, all at 7.30pm. A pot pourri of photos of all four walks below. All walks last two hours, and cost £15. Bookings on [email protected] or 07506 761294. See you soon, I hope! Paul (City of London guide)

03/09/2024

On Saturday September 7th I'll be leading a guided tour around WINCHMORE HILL, which is not well known, but I promise you is delightful. The village remained remote for many centuries, and its old centre around the Green remains an area of great charm. And we'll also walk through the delightful Grovelands Park. We meet at 2.05pm outside Highbury & Islington tube station -- or you can meet us outside Winchmore Hill station at 2.40pm. The walk is circular, and costs £15. Bookings on [email protected] or 07506 761294. See you soon, I hope! Paul (City of London guide

28/08/2024

I bet you'd like to know the identity of JACK THE RIPPER, wouldn't you? Well, so would I. I can't tell you, but I can certainly tell you the story, in a novel and original way, on Saturday August 31st, meeting at Whitechapel tube station at 6.30pm. I'll be honouring his first victim, Mary Ann Nichols (that's another victim, not Mary Ann, in the photo below). It's an anniversary commemorative walk: no gimmicks. Of course, I'll be telling the rest of the story too. And, unlike almost all Jack the Ripper guides, I'll be showing, as best I can, all five murder sites in chronological order. The walk lasts about two hours, and costs £15. The walk is not for children. And by way of total contrast, there'll be a guided tour of WINCHMORE HILL the following Saturday September 7th, meeting at Highbury & Islington tube station at 2.05pm (£15). Hoping to see you soon! Paul (City of London guide) 07506 761294 [email protected]

21/08/2024

I'm hugely excited about my brand-new walk on Sunday August 25th: GREEN LANES. It's an all-day walk (£20), which we'll spend walking the entire length of the aptly named GREEN Lanes, seeing a succession of green spaces: Newington Green, Ducketts Green, Beans Green, Elses Green (have you heard of those two?), Wood Green, Palmers Green, Winchmore Green, and also Clissold Park, Finsbury Park and the New River. We meet at Highbury & Islington tube station at 10.40am. I hope you'll bring a picnic and join me. And by way of contrast I'm following that up on Saturday August 31st with a COMMEMORATIVE JACK THE RIPPER WALK, meeting at Whitechapel tube station at 6.30pm (£15). It's the anniversary of the death of his first victim, Mary Ann Nichols (photo is of the second victim, Annie Chapman). Paul (City of London guide) 07506 761294 [email protected]

16/08/2024

Final call: on Saturday August 17th at 11am I'm offering a brand-new guided walk around KENSAL GREEN CEMETERY, the first and largest and arguably the greenest and loveliest of the Magnificent Seven 19th-century cemeteries. We meet at Kensal Green station (on the Bakerloo and Overground lines), and the walk ends there. It lasts two hours, and costs £15. And on Sunday August 25th there's another new walk I'm very excited about: GREEN LANES. It's an all-day walk (£20), which we'll spend walking the entire length of the aptly named GREEN Lanes, seeing a succession of green spaces: Newington Green, Ducketts Green, Wood Green, Palmers Green, Winchmore Green, and also Clissold Park, Finsbury Park and the New River. Please bring a picnic. We meet at Highbury & Islington tube station at 10.40am. Please join me on one or both walks. Paul (City of London guide) 07506 761294 [email protected]

11/08/2024

On Saturday August 17th at 11am I'm offering a brand-new guided walk around KENSAL GREEN CEMETERY, the first and largest and arguably the greenest and loveliest of the Magnificent Seven 19th-century cemeteries. We meet at Kensal Green station (on the Bakerloo and Overground lines), and the walk ends there. It lasts two hours, and costs £15. It's a beautiful walk, and involves a list of famous (and infamous) people, often with uplifting or tragic lives, as long as your arm. I hope you'll join me. Paul (City of London guide) 07506 761294 [email protected]

03/08/2024

Are you interested in Barnet? And its churches? And its pubs? Then I've got just the thing for you: a guided walk around BARNET CHURCHES AND PUBS -- the sacred and the profane. We'll be looking at nearly 1000 years of how and where the people of Barnet have worshipped ... and made merry. We meet outside High Barnet tube station on Sunday August 11th at 2.30pm. And advance notice that on Saturday August 17th at 11am I'm offering a brand-new guided walk around KENSAL GREEN CEMETERY. Both walks last two hours, and cost £15. A few photos below of the two walks. And if you'd like my full programme up to the end of December, please email me. Paul (City of London guide) 07506 761294 [email protected]

01/08/2024

Lights, camera, action! We all love the cinema. And we all love a bit of nostalgia. So would you like to see somewhere synonymous with cinema, and cinema nostalgia? If you would, you're in luck, as I'm giving a guided walk in BOREHAMWOOD & ELSTREE this Saturday August 3rd, meeting outside Elstree & Borehamwood railway station at 11am. (If you're coming from the Barnet area, you can get the 107 bus all the way.) We won't be able to go into the studios, but you'll hear a huge amount about them, and about the history of cinema, and lots of world-famous actors and directors who worked there. And of course, I'll be sharing some anecdotes about their experiences filming here. The tour costs £15. And advance notice that on August 17th 11am I'll be leading a new walk in KENSAL GREEN CEMETERY. Please book on [email protected] or 07506 761294. Paul (City of London guide)

23/07/2024

We all love the cinema. And we all love a bit of nostalgia. So would you like to see somewhere synonymous with cinema, and cinema nostalgia? If you would, you're in luck, as I'm giving a guided walk in BOREHAMWOOD & ELSTREE on Saturday August 3rd, meeting outside Elstree & Borehamwood railway station at 11am. (If you're coming from the Barnet area, you can get the 107 bus all the way.) We won't be able to go into the studios, but you'll hear a huge amount about them, and about the history of cinema, and lots of world-famous actors and directors who worked there. And of course, I'll be sharing some anecdotes about their experiences filming here. The tour costs £15. And advance notice that on August 17th 11am I'll be leading a new walk in KENSAL GREEN CEMETERY. Please book on [email protected] or 07506 761294. Paul (City of London guide)

15/07/2024

I've got a lovely walk coming up on Sunday July 21st -- a stroll along the NEW RIVER, WOODBERRY WETLANDS, CLISSOLD PARK, STOKE NEWINGTON, AND ABNEY PARK CEMETERY, five treats rolled into one. It's a largely rural walk with guaranteed gorgeous summer colours, as well as a beautiful river and reservoir. We'll also have a walk down the delightful Stoke Newington Church St. We meet at 2.30pm at Manor House tube station, for a two-hour stroll, all for £15. Please book on [email protected] or phone/text 07506 761294. Or you can reply here. See you soon! Paul (City of London guide)

Barnet and London Walks