Ian McDiarmid

Qualified City of London Tour Guide & Lecturer

Qualified City of London Tour Badge

Ian qualified as a City of London tour guide in 2017 and has a particular passion for Roman and Medieval history, having in an earlier incarnation studied history at Cambridge and London universities.

He began working life in the early 80s in the City, and has since written extensively on the share and bond markets as a journalist. He loves talking finance and taking people around the narrow alleys where today’s massive trading centre was born.

When not walking and talking, Ian enjoys pottering about in the garden. His expertise is such that he often spends several hours doing this.

Ian’s private walking tours explore hidden places which many guidebooks simply just don’t cover.

Book your guided walks tickets with Ian

Note: Great Fire of London and Victorian Covent Garden walk may be delivered by another tour guide.

Private Tours with Ian

Explore the City of London's Bloody Past.
Our private Financial London Tour offers a unique and personalized experience of the capital's financial markets. Accompanied by an expert guide, you'll explore historic alleys that witnessed the historic transactions of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, paving the way for London's rise to global prominence.
Embark on a journey through the bustling streets of Medieval London.
Looking for a more personal experience? Get what you really want from your London trip with a bespoke private tour.
Meet your qualified tour guide Ian at Euston before embarking on a 90 minute private tour exploring the hidden histories of the area of King's Cross including an iconic hotel, station and a library.
Discover the history hidden beneath our feet.

Read Ian's Reviews

A fascinating walk round an area that we thought we knew fairly well already. The depth of knowledge and personal insights given by Ian greatly enhanced our understanding of the long history that has contributed to creating London’s Financial district. We’ll definitely be joining more walks in the future. See original review

Brilliant. Hazel was super helpful in booking this tour. What we wanted wasn’t the norm, but she couldn’t have been more accommodating. Our tour guide Ian McDairmid was so interesting, explaining to us various road names, buildings and old laws in such a way you hung on his every word. Our group nearly all worked in the city at some time or another and there wasn’t one of us who didn’t learn something new. We will definitely be booking with London Guided Walks again. Thanks for a really different and enjoyable morning. See original review

July 13, 2022

A fascinating walk round an area that we thought we knew fairly well already. The depth of knowledge and personal insights given by Ian greatly enhanced our understanding of the long history that has contributed to creating London’s Financial district. We’ll definitely be joining more walks in the future.

Ian’s tour of London as a Financial Centre not only is an eye-opening, deeply enriching encounter with the principal financial institutions (and their history) of the City but should be recognized as a public service. It was a remedial education in fundamental urban/national economics for me, and the most edifying 90 minutes I have ever spent. This level of understanding of the role of the financial services industry in London’s (and thereby Britain’s) history and politics should be considered a normative requisite to attaining proper adult/citizen status. At the very least, Ian’s tour should be made into a documentary widely available to schools and the public alike.
The best tour ever! We attended the ‘London as a Financial Centre’ walking tour on a hot July afternoon and absolutely loved it! Our guide Ian McDiarmid was amazing – he met us all at the designated spot, went through the rules, and we set off on the little adventure through the maze of narrow streets, learning so much about historic and contemporary financial London. He had so much knowledge; he was pointing out different banks, explaining origins, development and roles in the overall financial structure; he threw in many anecdotes, curious stories and even origins of some common modern phrases. He easily directed and enchanted a group of 18, and we did not notice how 1.5 hours flew by.
A very knowledgeable guide who led us round many important sites in the development of the financial system that happened in London, which lead the world. He clearly explained the development of bonds, shares etc and we experienced the narrow alleys of London were it all took place and viewed the magnificent architecture of the financial institutions involved. He used a microphone on the walk thus it was easy to hear and went at an easy pace in speech and walk. If you want to know how London has come to be the centre of the financial world this tour is for you. Enjoy.
Ian is an excellent tour guide, very knowledgeable, unhurried and thoughtful. We really enjoyed this walking tour through the City of London on a financial whistle stop tour. We both learned a lot about the inner workings of the City and the importance of our financial status within the world’s economy. Would highly recommend this tour and will be looking at others by the same tour group ‘London Guided Walks’.
October 28, 2021
Ever wanted to know the origins of the phrase ‘hear a pin drop’ or understand the history of underwriting? This tour gave us a brilliant history of London as a financial centre – presented by our guide, Ian, in a very informative, engaging & humorous manner. London has a rich & interesting history and I feel I gained so much knowledge as a result of 90 minutes on this tour. Highly recommended for anyone interested in London, history or finance.

Excellent informative Kings Cross walk with Ian today, learnt loads and Ian is a really pleasant guide with a good sense of humour

July 13, 2022

A fascinating walk round an area that we thought we knew fairly well already. The depth of knowledge and personal insights given by Ian greatly enhanced our understanding of the long history that has contributed to creating London’s Financial district. We’ll definitely be joining more walks in the future.

Ian’s tour of London as a Financial Centre not only is an eye-opening, deeply enriching encounter with the principal financial institutions (and their history) of the City but should be recognized as a public service. It was a remedial education in fundamental urban/national economics for me, and the most edifying 90 minutes I have ever spent. This level of understanding of the role of the financial services industry in London’s (and thereby Britain’s) history and politics should be considered a normative requisite to attaining proper adult/citizen status. At the very least, Ian’s tour should be made into a documentary widely available to schools and the public alike.
The best tour ever! We attended the ‘London as a Financial Centre’ walking tour on a hot July afternoon and absolutely loved it! Our guide Ian McDiarmid was amazing – he met us all at the designated spot, went through the rules, and we set off on the little adventure through the maze of narrow streets, learning so much about historic and contemporary financial London. He had so much knowledge; he was pointing out different banks, explaining origins, development and roles in the overall financial structure; he threw in many anecdotes, curious stories and even origins of some common modern phrases. He easily directed and enchanted a group of 18, and we did not notice how 1.5 hours flew by.
A very knowledgeable guide who led us round many important sites in the development of the financial system that happened in London, which lead the world. He clearly explained the development of bonds, shares etc and we experienced the narrow alleys of London were it all took place and viewed the magnificent architecture of the financial institutions involved. He used a microphone on the walk thus it was easy to hear and went at an easy pace in speech and walk. If you want to know how London has come to be the centre of the financial world this tour is for you. Enjoy.
Ian is an excellent tour guide, very knowledgeable, unhurried and thoughtful. We really enjoyed this walking tour through the City of London on a financial whistle stop tour. We both learned a lot about the inner workings of the City and the importance of our financial status within the world’s economy. Would highly recommend this tour and will be looking at others by the same tour group ‘London Guided Walks’.
October 28, 2021
Ever wanted to know the origins of the phrase ‘hear a pin drop’ or understand the history of underwriting? This tour gave us a brilliant history of London as a financial centre – presented by our guide, Ian, in a very informative, engaging & humorous manner. London has a rich & interesting history and I feel I gained so much knowledge as a result of 90 minutes on this tour. Highly recommended for anyone interested in London, history or finance.
November 15, 2019
Coffee, Cash and Commerce Walk – Excellent

I think this is a new walk. As usual, it was informative, entertaining and well worth attending. Ian, the guide, is extremely knowledgeable about financial matters and was able to explain complex issues in a plain, straightforward way to a financial ignoramus like me. It also had a lot of human interest and social history aspects underlying the subject. Highly recommended.

October 10, 2020
Serious and fun

You always learn so much with these walks, with Ian who is good in transmitting his encyclopaedic knowledge. I’ve been so many times in Greenwich, thought I knew everything about it. And yet, discovered plenty of places. All tours are wonderful, and I’ve been in almost all of them. More than willing to returning…

November 25, 2022
Financial London

Ian, our tour guide, was very knowledgeable and responded to all our questions. He far exceeded his allocated time and not one person left on time as we were all enthralled and gripped with the knowledge that he provided about cash, coffee and commerce. A must for all to have a greater understanding of financial services, the traders and how they are governed and how the success of London impacts on our everyday lives.

September 23, 2022

Euston to Kings Cross Walk

Ian’s stories illuminated more about the history of the area around Euston Station and Kings Cross than I was expecting and have inspired me to return to visit the locations again when the weather is a little warmer. It was nice to meet other people on the tour also, and there was time to chat as we strolled around. Although we didn’t cover a huge distance, I think a comfortable pair of walking shoes is a must.

October 22, 2021

Euston to Kings Cross Walk

Ian, our guide, was very informative. I thought I knew the area quite well but there are hidden areas that are just delightful. He covered the history of the area. It’s amazing how you can walk around an area on your own and actually miss these ‘gems’. Well worth doing. Not a strenuous walk at all. Would recommend.

January 17, 2020

Wonders of Whitehall Walking Tour

Although the Wonders of Whitehall Guided Walk was down to be presented by its designer, Hazel, this particular outing was done by Ian McDiarmid. Despite this being Ian’s first gig guiding the Wonders of Whitehall it was immediately clear he was not only a very experienced guide but a highly qualified ‘domain’ expert on many aspects of English political and social history.

After the usual run-through of the standard dos and don’ts of an urban guided walk we were off. Ian set a sensible pace for the size of our group (about a dozen or so) and demographic. This was later proved when we completed our Tour of Whitehall’s Greatest Hits bang on time! 1000 years of selected history highlights in a mere 90 minutes is no small achievement. Not a minute was wasted.

His accompanying commentary was a well-judged mixture of facts (historic events, dates and leading personnel), anecdotes and (some) opinion. Fire featured a lot!

His delivery was clear and the content consistently engaging and focussed. Ian was also happy to chat (generally and specifically) to the various members of the group and answer questions (there weren’t many) as we walked.

I liked the way we sometimes had to use not just our eyes but our imagination. The sheer size and scale of the Palace of Whitehall took a great deal of imagination! Also, considering its unique significance, I’d have liked just a little bit more on the execution of Charles I, but, hey, maybe that’s just me.
Anyway, Hazel can relax. The Wonders of Whitehall Guided Walk is in safe additional hands with Ian.

Brigette
May 6, 2022
Ian was very welcoming. The meeting point was easy to find, and we set off on time. Length of tour 1 1/2 hrs is perfect. Ian is extremely knowledgable and I learnt quite a bit about the area/history.
May 8, 2022

Very enjoyable walk. I was born in the area but there were a couple of places that Iain took us to that were new to me. He is extremely knowledgeable on the subject of architecture and history.

Would have liked to have seen more of the old impoverished parts but really enjoyed what we saw. Thank you.

May 11, 2022

Ian was most welcoming and encouraging, with a very solid knowledge of the subject that was presented in a way engaging and entertaining. He demonstrated a concern for both traditional interpretations and what new archeology and historical interpretations have brought into the student Londinium and the period that followed. I would recommend this tour for anyone seeking a grounding in the origins of London and to understand the long impacts of Rome’s empire on the shaping of the city and of Britain more broadly.

The tour both satisfied our immediate curiosity and introduced us to new questions in the work being done to piece together the history of Roman London. Well done.

This was an excellent experience for us.

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