Shakespeare in the City Walk - In Shakespeare's footsteps North of the Thames

Meeting point

Where

Meet me outside the ONLY EXIT at Blackfriars underground station. Blackfriars underground station is on the Circle and District lines. · Open in Google Maps

Departure

11:00 on Fri; scheduled through December 2027 (operator schedule, seats confirmed at checkout)

Return

Right at Barbican underground station on the 1) Circle, 2) Metropolitan and 3) Hammersmith & City lines.

Pickup

No hotel pickup: everyone meets at the start point

Operator

City Secrets Walks; booking and payment are completed on Viator

1. 1
   Shakespeare In The City Walk

   This is the starting point for the 'Shakespeare in the City Walk'. Meet me outside Blackfriars UNDERGROUND Station. Blackfriars underground station is on the Circle & District Lines. (Be careful - do NOT go South of the river to Blackfriars overground station). There is only one exit so you won't miss me. I will be standing metres away from that underground station exit, with a sign on my rucksack featuring Shakespeare's face.

   2 min
2. 2
   A Shakespeare statue most people miss

   Shakespeare's popularity. Why you should ignore the conspiracy theories.

   5 min
3. 3
   The location of the original Blackfriars Theatre, and why you had to be rich to attend; plus how rich Shakespeare himself became10 min
4. 4
   The remaining fragment of the Blackfriars Monastery

   Shakespeare's thematic obessions.

   5 min
5. 5
   A really lovely, hidden quiet location connecting Shakespeare and King James5 min
6. 6
   The site of a Shakespeare house in London, and its fate

   The play likely written here. PLUS, a church with a hidden sculpture of Shakespeare praying, and a very important document. The Researcher who makes Americans proud. The play 'Richard 111' and its connections to the area.

   15 min
7. 7
   An extraordinary hidden totem pole made from a very famous William Shakespeare speech

   You would NEVER find this weird and wonderful monument by yourself! Declan, who used to be a professional actor, gives the entire speech. Next, The College of Arms and the Shakespeare family's coat of arms. Why that honour came two months too late. Plus Ben Jonson's joke at Shakespeare's expense. Also information about Shakespeare's children.

   15 min
8. 8
   On to a plaque revealing Shakespeare's generosity, why you should keep looking in dusty attics, plus the background to Shakespeare's two daughters and their very different fortunes7 min
9. 9
   St. Paul's Cathedral

   To the magnificent St Pauls Cathedral and a breathtaking revelation about it (although we don't go inside). Shakespeare's best ever seller, plus his sonnets and a reasonable interpretation of his sexuality. Declan's favourite words by anyone EVER (clue: it's only 4 words and they are by William Shakespeare. And they are cosmic).

   10 min
10. 10
    Next a section on Shakespeare's amazing vocabulary, and why it just wasn't enough

    The location of a pub he drank in and who else drank there. Plus a section on Shakespeare's religion, and why he was lonely and reclusive.

    12 min
11. 11
    Up next, a bust of William Shakespeare, and the men who honoured him; which plays we would lack without them

    Plus revelations about his writing style. Also why you should NOT get all starry-eyed thinking about Love Lane!

    7 min
12. 12
    The location of Shakespeare's second house, and why Shakepeare ended up in this area

    Plus the full story of how Shakespeare made a marriage and then regretted it.

    7 min
13. 13
    St. Giles Cripplegate

    Finally, at a church he knew, the two best known actors of his age, and the sad case of his brother Edmund. Declan finishes with another complete and hauntingly beautiful speech from Shakespeare's last play, in which Shakespeare gets cosmic again. The speech is perfect because it is about saying goodbye...

    7 min
14. 14
    Declan then walks to Barbican underground station if you want to accompany him to join the underground train system

    Barbican is on three different underground lines: The Circle, Metropolitan, and Hammersmith & City Lines. By the end of this magical tour I promise - and the rave reviews here on TripAdvisor agree - that you will know William Shakespeare, and his London, infinitely better!

    5 min

About this tour, from the operator