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London Guided Walks » Great Fire of London Walk

Great Fire of London Walk

Discover the journey of destruction of the Great Fire in 1666.

Follow in the footsteps of Londoner Samuel Pepys
Meet other adventurous souls
Qualified City of London guide

Book with confidence:

Join us on a fascinating journey back in time to the year 1666, where we’ll delve deep into the events that shaped London’s history. Witness the aftermath of a devastating fire that broke out in a bakery on Sunday, 2nd September 1666, leaving three-quarters of the city in ruins.

As we navigate through the narrow streets of the City of London, our expert guide will take you on a historical walk, explaining how the fire started and how it quickly spread, creating unprecedented destruction in its wake. Discover who was held responsible for the fire and hear stories of those who bravely fought to save the city.

Learn how the Great Fire of London led to the development of modern building restrictions that transformed the city’s architectural landscape forever. Listen to tales of people who were impacted by the event and how some took advantage of the situation. Experience the emotional toll of watching your hometown burn to ashes, with no certainty of ever returning home.

This guided walk is perfect for history enthusiasts, architecture aficionados, and anyone looking to learn more about London’s rich cultural heritage. Join us on this fascinating walking tour and witness the transformation of the City of London from the ashes of a great tragedy.

Start: Monument Station
End: St Paul’s Cathedral
Suitable for all age groups.

Your Guide: Susan Baker

Your Guide: Ian McDiarmid

Great Fire of London Walk Reviews

Albert

Susan managed the smallish group well. She was full of interesting information and took us to interesting places in the City. A little longer in distance than expected (perhaps I’m getting old) but an enjoyable hour and a half. Historically very interesting.

Helena

Susan is a wonderful guide, we had a very nice audience of young and old and the youngest member whom we worried might find it boring was so excited she wants to do it again! Isn’t that the best compliment one can give? The subject is fascinating and Suzan took us on a very pleasant walk through downtown London which most of us seldom see pointing out details and telling us the story behind it, each one more fascinating than the last. A wonderful way to spend a couple of hours!

Jessica and Sam

Very informative. A good pace, not to fast and not too slow. My daughter joined me as she will doing The Great Fire of London as part of her schoolwork. Susan was great at engaging the children and they had a little activity to follow along with, which kept them entertained. My daughter felt confident asking questions. She thoroughly enjoyed it, and she has already asked to sign up for another one. We found it really interesting. And a big thank you to Susan our guide, not only for a great tour, but also for helping direct us to the nearest public loos after the tour had finished!

Norma

Fantastic walk, Susan was really interesting and very informative. A most enjoyable afternoon. Highly recommended.

A lovely leisurely walk with our informative and cheerful guide Susan. recommend for all ages.

was full of interesting information and took us to interesting places in the City. A little longer in distance than expected (perhaps I’m getting old) but an enjoyable hour and a half. Historically very interesting.

Suzan is a wonderful guide, we had a very nice audience of young and old and the youngest member whom we worried might find it boring was so excited she wants to do it again! Isn’t that the best compliment one can give? The subject is fascinating and Suzan took us on a very pleasant walk through downtown London which most of us seldom see pointing out details and telling us the story behind it, each one more fascinating than the last. A wonderful way to spend a couple of hours!

Something different to do in London on a Saturday afternoon, learning tidbits of information. My 12 yrs old recently read Pepys and Farriner’s diaries at school and the tour brought a different perspective to what she read. Even my 6yrs old, who is not an attentive listener by any measure got something out of the tour – – He will remember the silly man who buried his cheese.

Meryl

“Susan our guide was very informative and the walk extremely interesting . It was a cold day so as the walk is at a slow pace you need to wrap up well. I love these walks around London as even though I live in Earls Court generally i wouldn’t go wandering around the city etc and signing up to an organised stroll you find out so many things you didn’t know about the history of London. It really is a great City of the world”

Peter

“The meeting place was easy to find and our guide, Susan was already there. After we were given our instructions we set off it flowed very well and Susan seemed to know where everyone was. As it was a Sunday the streets in the City were not busy. There were many stops where Susan explained the fire. We had two young boys on our walk who had studied the fire at school and she was very good with them, answering all their questions. It was a long walk which took time and a lot of the information may have been known to the walkers. All in all a good way to spend a couple of hours on a Sunday afternoon.”

Jessica

“I took my children and they loved the great fire of London talk. They said that they had covered it before but they loved how interested and excited the host was and how much more detail she gave. Also they loved seeing all the places that they were learning about. It was a wonderful walk and we are already looking into the others that you offer!”

Robert

“Highly recommend, the guide was very well informed, the tour moved at a suitable pace for everyone, and we visited some little known streets, alleys and sights. Plenty of time to ask questions, and no question was silly. Finished the tour at St Paul’s.”

Shirley

“Easy to locate meeting point and coffee shop directly opposite. Very interesting walk-more walking distance covered than previous walks attended.”

Tamas and Kinga

“It was excellent”

Gareth

“A very pleasant and informative walk through the City of London, with a knowledgeable guide pointing out useful facts beyond the Great Fire itself.”

Claudine

“As usual this walking tour was very interesting. Looking forward the next tour!”

Alan

“It was a very pleasant and informative walk through parts of the City of London. Our guide Susan made us all very welcome and proved a knowledgeable guide pointing out useful and interesting facts about the Great Fire itself and about some of the influential characters of the time. A most enjoyable afternoon. Thank you Susan.”

Gill

“Great Fire of London Walk’ from Monument Station- as with all of these walks, learned much from Susan, our extremely well informed guide. I think I know much about our great city until I come on one of these. Highly recommend for anyone who wants to know fabulous details about how much these 4 days changed the face of the City.”

Julie

“Interesting, well-paced guided walk with lots of nuggets of historic information. The guide related well to the varying ages and particularly involved the younger audience members. I would definitely go on another walk.”

Margaret and Patrick

“This was a group walk, and there were only 9 in the group which made it easy to hear what was going on. The guide was very knowledgeable about the Great Fire. The timings were slick, my train was delayed so texted to alert them that I may be late, I was welcomed on arrival. The hour and half walk was good, and we ended at St Paul’s Cathedral. We walked down little alleys that I did not know about. Definitely worth going to.”

Diane

“Fascinating walk and well-delivered. Only issue was the pace which I struggled with sometimes…I have a mild mobility issue. Would recommend these walks to local people as well as visitors. Always something new to learn.”

Ian

“Another excellent walk with Ian. How he manages to retain so much information amazes me. I learnt so much about the fire and its aftermath and could see how parts of London have been reconstructed. Ian is always engaging and informative and was pleased that we moved quite swiftly from one place to another and covered a lot of ground from the Fire of London Monument to St Paul’s cathedral. It is always a pleasure to see old alley ways to get a glimpse of London in the past. To keep to schedule Ian touched on some places such as the churches which I should like to visit on other occasions. Everyone should try at least one of these walks as you are thoroughly entertained and educated for the full 90 minutes m. The timing is always spot on and just right. Looking forward to my 10th walk in a couple of weeks.”

Helen

“An interesting walk with Ian, a knowledgeable guide. I enjoyed seeing the interesting architecture and hidden signs down the narrow roads he takes us. Despite living in London, every walk reveals new facts and unknown places. Thank you.”

Jo and Klemens

“Taking part in ‘The Great Fire of London Walk’ was a real joy and a great opportunity to discover hidden gems of London. Led by a highly knowledgeable guide, it was possible to learn about the background and consequences of the fire, and gain an insight into the social, political and economic context of the 1660s. Tracing the route where the fire had originally spread and some fine buildings erected in the wake of the reconstruction effort, drew one’s attention to the role of architecture in shaping human life – both in terms of material conditions and aesthetics. Highly recommended.”

Cora

“This was a really interesting walk, the tour guide was pleasant and very well informed. The walk took us to some great places that I did not know about previously. I would highly recommend this walk.”

Cindy

“Lovely informative afternoon stroll, we were most inspired and followed up our walk with a visit to the Museum of London after lunch. Susan answered questions from my curious 7-year-old patiently and made it a fun educational trip!”

Phillipa and Tim

“Ian our guide was so knowledgable – it was a very informative, interesting walk which we all enjoyed, despite Storm Jorge’s attempts to spoil the day!”

Susan

A lovely leisurely walk with our informative and cheerful guide Susan. recommend for all ages.