GoFundMe! Help Me Become A Certified Guide!

I have applied to the Camden Tour Guide Association's tour guiding course. I have started a GoFundMe page to help raise the money for the course fees, £850.
Anyone who donates to my cause will get a free tour!

https://www.gofundme.com/camdentourguide

The Legendary Castle Pubs of Camden

Starting in June, until September, I will be doing a pub crawl around the legendary castle pubs of Camden...the Dublin Castle, the Edinboro Castle and the Pembroke Castle...also included in the tour is the Hawley Arms which is near where the Caenarvon Castle was located near Regent's Canal.

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Private Tours

I offer several private tour itineraries to choose from.
If the tours are three hours or longer, we will stop for food and refreshments along the way.

£75 for a 4 hour tour

The Tate Britain to the Tate Modern.
This tour consists of a leisurely stroll along the Thames River starting at the historic Tate Britain & finishing at the spectacular Tate Modern. Along the way we will view the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, we will then cross over the river to walk along the Southbank and see the London Eye. We finish off at the breathtaking Tate Modern. If desired we can continue a long the river to Borough Market and London Bridge.

£75 for a 4 hour tour

This tour celebrates the music history of Soho and Camden Town. Starting at the world famous Denmark Street, we make our way through the streets & alley ways of Soho. We will see the locations of the recording studios used by David Bowie, Queen, Elton John etc. We finish off at the location of the famous Ziggy Stardust album cover before heading up to Camden Town. In Camden we will go to the pubs where Britpop started and Amy Winehouse hung out. We will also see world famous music venues like the Roundhouse & the Electric Ballroom.

£75 for a 4 hour tour

You don't need a time machine to see things from another time period in London. This tour spans the centuries...from 1000 to the 1800s. See the oldest museum, the oldest church, the oldest dwelling. We'll also see the monument to the Great Fire of London and a monument to local heroes. We finish off at the oldest market in London.
Along the way we can stop off at several historic pubs including Ye Olde Mitre, Cittie of Yorke, the Princess Louise, The Viaduct Tavern (a haunted pub!) and The George Inn.


If none of these tours interest you I can plan a private customised tour just for you.
Private customised tours are available on upon request, a minimum of two weeks in advance.
We can  communicate through email and also have a Skype/Facetime chat to go over what your interests are so I can plan the tour.
The price for private customised tours is £20 per person per hour.
The tour can be anywhere from three (minimum) to nine (maximum) hours.

Please contact me at: djalicat@gmail.com

Legendary Londoner: David Bowie

David Bowie was born in Brixton and grew up in Bromley. He found himself in the alleys of Soho. He found his mentors, bandmates, rivals, partners in crime in London. Has been and always will be an inspiration and an influence on everything around us. He changed music and fashion obviously...but he also changed nightlife...The Blitz started off as a Bowie tribute night, it was one of the first club nights to happen on a week day. Without Bowie and the Blitz there would've been no Trash, a club night that I worked at, which would finish every night with Rock n Roll Suicide.

Besides Londonphilia Tours, I also do tours under the name Rock n Roll Camden Walking Tour...through that I have been doing a Bowie themed tour of Soho, Sound & Vision: David Bowie's Soho, since 2014 when the V&A was doing their Bowie exhibition. I will now be doing it the first Sunday of each month starting on February 7th. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to a cancer charity.

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London A-Z: C is for Camden Town

Now I'm gonna be honest...I am completely biased when it comes to Camden. I do a walking tour of Camden, Rock n Roll Camden Walking Tour, because I love Camden so much. The first time I went to Camden on vacation back in the 90's I knew I was home. Camden is full of freaks, geeks and weirdos...goths, punks, mods, cybergoths/punks, trustafarians, rockers, hippies, crusties, b-boys, drag queens, rock-a-billys, death metallers and emos.

I can show you where this was taken.

Camden is the home of Britpop, Madness and Amy Winehouse. The Clash had their rehearsal space in Camden. Prince has played several 'secret' shows in Camden. Amy played pool at one of the pubs...I don't want to give too much away because I want you to come on my tour!
As a Camden local, I stay away from Camden Market on the weekends...Camden is the fourth biggest tourist attraction in London...millions of people come to Camden, usually on the weekends. If you're going to visit, do it during the week, the stall holders will probably appreciate it more. The best way to see the market is to take the Northern Line and get off at Chalk Farm, not Camden Town, it's just a short walk from Chalk Farm Station to the Stables Market. Easy, peasy.

Camden Lock Street Food Market

The street food market in Camden Lock Market is amazing. There is food from every country on the planet...if you can't find something to eat, you're not hungry!

Legendary music venue KOKO

Down on the other end of Camden is Mornington Crescent and KOKO. KOKO started life as The Camden Theatre in 1900 and then was renamed The Camden Hippodrome in 1909. Charlie Chaplin regularly performed there. After a couple other name changes it became the Music Box and the home to several legendary punk shows including a four day residency by The Clash in 1978.
In 1982 it became Camden Palace and Madonna played her first UK show there.
Camden Palace closed in 2004 and reopened as KOKO in 2005. If you have the chance to go to a gig there, you should definitely take it!

Rock n Roll Camden Walking Tour recommends:
The Dublin Castle pub on the Parkway is my favorite pub in Camden. It's the official Madness pub after they did a year long residency there back in the 70's. There are pictures of Madness all over the

Nelson the pub cat at Tapping the Admiral

pub and it has the best jukebox in Camden.

Tapping the Admiral pub is probably on eof the best pubs in North London. It has won 'Pub of the Year' from CAMRA several times. It has an amazing selection of real ale and craft beer. And it has a pub cat named Nelson.
It's kinda hard to find though, it's on the borders of Camden and Kentish Town but actually just a quick walk from Kentish Town West Station.

Starting in February!

 

I can't wait to start doing Londonphilia tours in February! 

I've got so many tour ideas that I hope people will come on and enjoy!

Tours in 2016!

I'm so excited about 2016! I've come up with loads of really fun and entertaining tours! Here's just a small preview of some of the tours I have planned for next year! The tours will be starting in February!

Doctor Who's London: The Doctor spends a lot of time in London, though the show is actually filmed in Wales. This tour takes you on a trip around some of the the London locations from the TV show. We might even see a TARDIS or two!
Date to be determined

The Camden Railway Pub Crawl: There are several lovely and historic pubs along the railway going through Camden. This pub crawl takes you through history from a Victorian Gin House to a local Camden Town Brewery.
Date to be determined, but will probably be on a bank holiday weekend.

The Famous Castle Pubs of Camden: In Victorian times Camden built four (or five depending on who you talk to) castle pubs...only three of them still exsist as pubs.
Date to be determined, but will probably be on a bank holiday weekend.

 The Crazy Cat Lady Tour of London (gentlemen also welcome): On Valentine's Day, I will be giving a tour of cats of London! From Dick Whittington's cat to Nelson the pub cat.
Date: Feb 14th, 2016 at 5pm.

Hair of the Dog: A dog friendly pub crawl
Dogs like walking tours too!
Dates to be determined, if the first one goes well I will be doing multiple ones.

Keep checking back on the website to see when the tours will be taking place!

Photos from around Borough Market

Southwark Cathedral

Southwark Cathedral

The Thames River

The Golden Hind

Lee Brothers Potato Mer

London A-Z: B is for Borough Market

When I'm not doing walking tours, I work for a bakery, Bread Ahead. Bread Ahead's main bakery is in Borough Market next to London Bridge station. I've lived in London for fifteen years and until I started working at Bread Ahead I never really went there...I know, crazy! But it is south of the river and I'm a die hard north London girl. Borough Market has been around London Bridge, in some form, for almost 1,000 years!
Borough Market has dozens of stalls selling artisan foods like cheese, bread and meat. There are also fruit and veg stalls. There's a street food market next to Southwark Cathedral. I could go on and on about the amazing variety of stalls underneath the railways arches...but you really have to go there and see for yourself.
There are a range of pubs around the market, some of them hundreds of years old, where you can have a pintor two after a day shopping in the market.
I recommend:
Bread Ahead -for sour dough bread and donuts
Turnips - for fruit and veg
Fish! - for fish n chips

Pubs:
Boot & Flogger
Gladstone Arms
The Royal Oak

Related articles

• The Best Views in London as Old Meets New
• The beautiful stations of rail's golden age
• Bompas and Parr to serve up museum of food to follow Willy Wonka-style creations

Reading List

Over the next couple months, I will be doing a lot of reading for the tours I'm planning to do next year.
Hopefully, I can get through most, if not all of them! I'd like to try & read one a week.
Nairn's London by Ian Nairn
The London Compendium by Ed Glinert 
London Calling by Barry Miles
Capital Crimes by Max Decharne 
Underword London by Catherine Arnold
City of Sin by Catherine Arnold

Londonphilia Tours update...

Over six months ago I decided to try and expand my walking tour business, Rock n Roll Camden Walking Tours, into Londonphilia and do other tours, not music related, around London. The last couple months have been a bit stressful for me, I left one job where I was unhappy for another one where I am happy. Getting your footing in a new job can take some time, and with the coming holiday season, I work in retail, I will be very busy at my 'proper' job.
I also realised that I need more time to research and write the tours I'd like to do. I am going to be doing Londonphilia tours but I won't be doing any tours until 2016. I will continue to blog about London and my favorite things about London!

Literary Footprints

The lovely people at Footprints of London are doing their annual Literary Festival from October 8th till the 25th. Over forty literary themed walking tours covering authors like; Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, Shakespeare, Geroge Orwell, Virginia Woolf, Samuel Pepys...and many more interesting topics.
Last night I went to the launch night at the Hoop & Grapes in Farringdon. Dr. Matthew Green the author of London: A Travel Guide Through Time gave an eductional and entertaining talk. His book is about what you would see, hear and experience if you travelled back in time, like a time traveller, to different periods of London...the time of Shakespeare and Queen Elizabeth, Medieval city life, the plague, the coffee houses, the reign of Queen Victoria and during the Blitz.
Dr. Green talked about London during Shakespeare's time...gruesome bear and bull baiting pits, the theatres and the tabacco house...which out numbered the pubs. It was a fun talk that got the room, filled mostly with other tour guides talking about which time period they would travel to, if they could.
There's so many intersting walks happening over the next two weeks, I can't decide which one to go on! I might have to get the season pass!

 http://footprintsoflondon.com/other-events/literaryfestival/

Disappearing Soho Tour

Soho has always been an ever-changing area of London since the 17th century...but since the 1980's it has been changing at a faster rate then most people like.
Last year I did a tour of Soho based around David Bowie, as I did the tour I realised that most of the venues I was talking about had disappeared. Many of the  historic venues had been closed or are being demolished and replaced with luxury flats or chain restaurants.
This tour will help celebrate and memorialise these legendary venues...including: Madame Jojo's, The Marquee, The 12 Bar, The Intrepid Fox, The Astoria, Billy's...and Denmark Street.
One pound from every ticket will be donated to Save Soho.

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The Historic Sam Smith's Pub Crawl is now for sale on Eventbrite!

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Londonphilia Events Calendar

Historic Samuel Smith Pub Crawl

There are over thirty Sam Smith's pubs in London.
This tour will take you to six of them...including:

*one of the oldest pubs in London

*one of the most beautiful Victorian pubs in London

*one of the most bohemian pubs in London, a pub that Charles Dickens drank at and mentions in The Tale of Two Cities.

Obviously, this tour is 18 and over only!

Price: Only £10, so you have more money to spend on beer, though Sam Smith's are quite cheap for London.

Days & Time: The fourth Saturday of each month at 5pm, starting on July 25th, and running until November 28th, 2015.

The meeting spot is outside Goodge Street Tube Station on the Northern Line.

We will be going to a total of six pubs.
We recommend only having a half pint at each pub, eating something before the pub crawl and remember to pace yourself. Don't ruin everyone's good time by getting too drunk and acting in a disgraceful manner.

We are your guides not your babysitters.

If you are interested in coming on this fun and informative pub crawl please contact me at djalicat@gmail.com.

Disappearing Soho

Soho in London is one of the most interesting, creative, bohemian parts of the city. It started off as a
hunting ground and then became the Red Light District and is now the home of the UK film industry.
Everyone from Oscar Wilde to Dylan Thomas to David Bowie to Elton John have lived, worked and played here.
Sadly, some of the venues that these influential people used have been lost to regeneration.
This tour will take you around Soho pointing out and telling the history of these lost venues...including:
Madame Jojo's
The Intrepid Fox
The Marquee (all three located in Soho)
The Astoria
Central Saint Martins
The 12 Bar and soon to be lost Denmark Street.
Also included is a brief history of Soho.

This tour will be on the third Saturday of each month starting on July 18th until November 21st, 2015.
Please meet me in Soho Square at the Tudor style building in the center of the square.
The price is £10 per person. £1 from the ticket price will be donated to Save Soho.

If you are interested in coming on this tour please email me, Alison, at djalicat@gmail.com.

http://savesoho.com

Coming soon...Sister Suffragettes Tour!

We're clearly soldiers in petticoats
And dauntless crusaders for woman's votes
Though we adore men individually
We agree that as a group they're rather stupid!

Cast off the shackles of yesterday!
Shoulder to shoulder into the fray!
Our daughters' daughters will adore us
And they'll sign in grateful chorus
"Well done, Sister Suffragette!"

From Kensington to Billingsgate
One hears the restless cries!
From ev'ry corner of the land:
"Womankind, arise!"
Political equality and equal rights with men!
Take heart! For Missus Pankhurst has been clapped in irons again!

No more the meek and mild subservients we!
We're fighting for our rights, militantly!
Never you fear!

So, cast off the shackles of yesterday!
Shoulder to shoulder into the fray!
Our daughters' daughters will adore us
And they'll sign in grateful chorus
"Well done! Well done!
Well done Sister Suffragette!"

Related articles

• Emma Watson calls on fans to spend International Women's Day with her
• International Women's Day 8th March
• Celebrating the Women Who Move Us

Coming soon...Twee London!

Twee London...Afternoon Tea, Twinnings Tea Museum, Walk along the Thames, St. Paul's, Doctor Johnson's House, Charles Dickens Museum...

Related articles

• Lamplighters keep London's history burning
• The Thames: Sights You've Probably Not Noticed and Facts You May Not Know
• A Stroll Along The River Thames With The NX1

Coming Soon!

I run the popular Rock n Roll Camden Walking Tour in Camden Town. Now I don't just love Camden...I love London! 
I want to share my passion for all things London with people. This is where all the tours, that aren't to do with Rock n Roll or Camden, will be located!

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