Free Self-Guided History Walks around the City of London
As part of our work with local charities and community projects, Eastern City BID recently contributed towards the creation of two free, self-guided audio trails designed for children/families to explore the City of London.
The podcasts are called ‘Time Hunters’ and are roughly 2 – 2.5-hours each, including stops and exploring. Listen along to the podcast, read by an eccentric Professor Horatio Pendulum, visits all the stops, solves the missions and ‘puts right an accidental rift in space time’. Great for all the family and perfect for exploring the City of London over the summer holidays.
How the hunt works:
Print the map. Each trail is a single sheet of A3 that folds down to pocket size — a fractured map of the City on one side, and an activity handbook on the other with a card for every stop. Alternatively, you’ll find printed maps at some of our local visitor attractions and hotels.
Listen to the podcast. Every stop has a riddle, read aloud in the Time Hunters podcast, that points you to the next place on the trail.
Hunt down all 9 stops. There is no route drawn on the map — on purpose. The best ways through the City go down tiny alleys and courtyards, and we didn’t want to give them away. Follow the numbers and explore.
Solve the missions. Each stop sets a mission — a plaque to find, a carving to count, a detail to spot. Grown-ups get a printable answer key to check them.
The map is torn into coloured shards, one for each era: Roman, Medieval, Tudor, Great Fire, Georgian, Victorian and Modern. Cross from one colour to another and you’ve time-travelled.
Download self-guided walks