Christmas Day & Boxing Day Walks

Being out and about in the big city on Christmas Day is an experience worth treasuring and the old romantics at London Walks want to bring all the hushed magic of the sleepy streets to us. They say themselves that it's the only day of the year when they've got the streets to themselves and so they put on their scarves and gloves and a generous sprinkling of Christmas cheer and plug into London's rich past. For Christmas Day there are two free walks, which follow in the footsteps of Samuel Pepys and Charles Dickens. The Pepys route 'Christmas Morning 1660' (meet at 11am) explores Whitehall and the St James's district, which tell of the great diarist's royal connections, paying particular attention to the 'old palace quarter' where time runs backwards and the London of 1660 comes alive. The afternoon 'Christmas Day Charles Dickens' walk (meet at 2pm) delves into the alleyways off the Strand and Covent Garden, scouring this patch for the novelist's literary inspirations and popular haunts. If you needed any more convincing that this will be a glowingly festive thing to do post-church or pre-pub or both, the meeting point is the Christmas Tree on Trafalgar Square - ask Father Christmas to send some real-life snow and the picture will be complete. No booking required, just turn up on Christmas Day. There are also three Christmas Eve walks and a whole host of Boxing Day walks, including a tour of Mayfair, a Sherlock Holmes Christmas mystery walk, an Olympic Park walk and a jaunt around Jack the Ripper's old bloodcurdling haunts. For more information please visit www.walks.com.

Christmas Eve - Saturday December 24th

11am: Old Westminster - 1,000 years of history
Meet Westminster tube stop, exit 4
2.30pm: Charles Dickens Christmas Carol and Seasonal Traditions
Meet Tower Hill tube stop
7.15pm: The Christmas Eve Pub Walk - Christmas Lights and Seasonal Cheer
Meet Embankment tube stop

Christmas Day - Sunday December 25th11am: Christmas Morning 1660 - Samuel Pepys' London
Meet in Trafalgar Square by the Christmas tree
2pm: The Christmas Day Charles Dickens' London Walk
Meet in Trafalgar Square by the Christmas Tree

Boxing Day - Monday December 26th

10.30am: Old Mayfair, "the best address in London"
Meet Green Park tube stop, north exit (on the corner)
11am: Cross-tuned Camden Town Stables to Ska, Roundhouse to Winehouse
Meet Chalk Farm tube stop
11.30am: Darkest Victorian London, "peeling forbidden fruit"
Meet Monument tube stop, Fish Street Hill exit
12 noon: The Sherlock Holmes Christmas Mystery walk
Meet Tottenham Court Road tube stop, outside exit 3
1.45pm: The Olympics Walk
Meet West Ham Tube stop
2pm: Charles Dickens' Christmas Carol and Seasonal Traditions
Meet Tower Hill tube stop
2pm: Legal & Illegal London - the Inns of Court
Meet Holborn tube stop
2pm: The Royal Wedding Unveiled
Meet Green Park tube stop, the Green Park Exit, by the fountain
2.30pm: London's Secret Village
Meet St. Paul's tube stop, exit 2
7pm: The Old Westminster by Gaslight Pub Walk - "Ok, Try to Top This!"
Meet Westminster tube stop, exit 4
7.30pm: West End Ghost Walk
Meet Embankment tube stop, River Exit
7.30pm: Jack the Ripper Haunts
Meet Tower Hill tube stop