Published on Feb, 2025

Highly recommended walking tour. The knowledgeable guide brings history alive through the stories of the people who lived and died in the city. Pausing at the Jewish Soup kitchen we are shown a photograph of a young man who remembered being a child refugee from Ukraine, a story told to our guide by the man himself. An alleyway which housed the Sikh who in 1940 assassinated the man who ordered the Amritsar massacre. Spanning centuries whilst being relevant to today this tour is an absolute joy. Learn about London and its long history of commerce , immigration and community. See beautiful buildings and be transported back in time. And complete this amazing tour with a free cup of tea and a delicious cake at the Townhouse Spitalfields, a Georgian gem of a place.

Published on Dec, 2024

I am a long time subscriber to The Gentle Authors daily blog, which is always a great read at the start of each day so was excited to book this walking tour. The tour follows the stories of real people through history who have lived here. The Gentle Author is a skilled storyteller who brings the area to live. Despite being familiar with the area, I learned so much today. I would highly recommend this walking tour as a refreshing antidote to the more lurid tours focussing on crime and murder.

Published on Nov, 2024

I thought I knew quite a bit about this fascinating area but was intrigued enough to book. Turns out I knew about 1%, and the other 99% was delivered with style, aplomb, great story telling skills and an impeccable ability to link the past with the present. His manner was always empathetic to, and culturally respectful of, the characters whose lives, existences and deaths he drew for us in magnificent detail . What’s more, I could hear him, which was a challenge on a busy Saturday afternoon. I was totally engrossed, charmed and fascinated by the whole experience, which ended with tea and cakes and follow up notes by email. Can thoroughly recommend this activity and can’t wait to try the walking tour of the City.

Published on Nov, 2024

Great walking tour, with a focus on stories and social history. Our guide was warm and friendly and we learned lots about this diverse area of London

Published on Oct, 2024

This was a really fascinating and moving tour of the Spitalfields area. The Gentle Author populates the streets with the people who lived here over the centuries, some gathered directly from the people he’s talking about. It’s not stuck in a cosy past though, and the stories showed the continuing changes in the area (many not for the best!) - a real social history tour. I have nothing much to compare it to - I wouldn’t normally do a walking tour like this, but The Gentle Author is a Spitalfields resident and expert and it’s my favourite part of London, the tour really lived up to my expectations and more. Obviously I also enjoyed the tea and 18th century cake at the end! I’d definitely recommend it to anyone visiting London as well as already living there.