Isobel Durrant

Isobel Durrant

See London differently with a qualified guide who loves showing her city to visitors. I  guide in all the must see sites; places like the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, the British Museum, the Palace of Westminster. You can book me for a specific tour; ask me to create a bespoke one; enjoy a tour with friends and family, or bond with work colleagues, perhaps calling in at a pub or three as we go. I am also a qualified City of London Guide,  an official Mayflower 400 guide and I guide in both English and French. I love creating  convivial, interesting walks around the known and lesser known parts of the capital; the side streets, the hidden places, the areas  not mentioned in the guide books. I have never actually counted how many I do as I am always developing new  tours, but these may give you a taste: Slavery and the City, Royal Westminster,  City of London, Royal London, Southwark and Bermondsey, Eltham Palace, Vauxhall, Kennington, Elephant and Castle, Denmark Hill and Camberwell, Dickens London, Notting Hill, Mayfair, Blackfriars, Smithfield,  Spitalfields, City of London, Mayflower 400 - the City and Bankside, Bermondsey and Rotherhithe. I also guide out of town- Salisbury, Stonehenge, Windsor... In 2018 the centenary of women in the UK getting the vote raised awareness of women's contribution throughout history. I offer four walks about women in different parts of the capital; one in and around Holborn, another from Southwark to Borough, a third tracing the history of women's emancipation in and around Westminster, and a fourth about women in London from Boudicca to Caroline Criado Perez. I am always happy to research an area for a bespoke tour on these or other subjects. I have a background in journalism and education. When not guiding I am a writer, an amateur mosaicist, a keen photographer, an ardent reader of good fiction, and accidental boat owner. @guidedbyisobel http://londonbyguide.wordpress.com Please contact me for more information. I look forward to showing you around London, the best city in the world! This is what some of my clients have said about me:The very first walk I took with Isobel toured the outlines of the London Wall. Witty, knowledgeable, fond of a good puns and bad jokes, but devoted to her subject matter, Isobel the Tour Guide left me ready to follow her to any corner of London she cared to guide. Isobel takes me to parts of London I’ve only read about to hear of stories people I’ve rarely heard of – and brings them to life. In skillfully weaving the fading evidence of London Past into the constantly evolving London Present, Isobel gives me much to savor (and read up on) long after the guiding is over. KathyWe seek out Isobel’s walks before planning anything else for our journeys to London, for we know that wherever she is guiding a walk, she will keep us rapt! Every excursion with her is worthwhile! DonnaWe thoroughly enjoyed Isobel’s London Wall walk. She was extremely engaging as well as clearly so knowledgeable about what she was talking about it seemed as if she were merely scratching the surface of her vast repertoire of facts. I was also particularly impressed at how she regularly read my mind, for example when we paused at a street corner and I wondered to myself why one street was called what it was called, she explained without my asking! Likewise, just as I was wondering who Sir John Cass was, out came her explanation!We thoroughly enjoyed Isobel’s company throughout the afternoon. MikeWe keep an eye open for walks with Isobel – always a great two hours. Isobel takes what she does seriously but herself more lightly. Walk hangs together well, lots of info and special tidbits.Keep up the great work! JaneWe were fortunate enough to enjoy the company and wisdom of Isobel on two London Walks in April. First was the tour of the Bermondsey area, ending near the Shard and the Borough Market. This is a less known part of London, and we previously only knew it from the Bermondsey Antique Market, which had nothing to do with the tour. We also toured the British Museum with Isobel. The museum would have been a daunting experience without Isobel’s guidance. Her enthusiasm for and knowledge of the exhibits is wonderful. We loved Isobel’s dry humor and her knowledge and passion for what she does. Well done!! Josephine We only had one day to sightsee in London so we schedule a private walking day tour with Isobel. It was great to visit Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace and the Tower of London. The river cruise down the Thames was also great!! I really appreciated Isobel’s knowledge and passion for the history of these historical sites including London in general. Isobel is very kind, engaging and we enjoyed our day! LorrieWanted to thank you again for a superb tour of the Houses of Parliament last Saturday afternoon. As my wife is French, it’s sometimes hard for her to follow guided tours in English, but yours was a pleasure for her to listen to, clear, informative and very rich in detail. We live in Paris, but look forward to joining one of your tours when we come back to London next. Steven & VeroniqueWe are involved in a major construction project in the Elephant & Castle and to celebrate National Walking Month, and to provide a Wellbeing event for the team and to connect us with the neighbourhood and community of which we are temporarily a part, we asked Isobel to invent a bespoke walk for us [over two separate evenings]. This proved very successful and interesting and it was great to have cause to stop and look and listen whilst London went about its business. We would happily use Isobel’s services again.Thanks Isobel. Bill

Languages

EnglishFrench

Top 5 Specialities

London Southwark & South Bank Tour

The City of London Tour

Westminster Abbey Tour

Tower of London Tour

British Museum Tour

Guide Calendar Last Update: 4th of March, 2020

March 2024

MONTUEWEDTHUFRISATSUN
AM
PM
EVE
 
 
 
 
1
2
3
AM
PM
EVE
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
AM
PM
EVE
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
AM
PM
EVE
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
AM
PM
EVE
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

April 2024

MONTUEWEDTHUFRISATSUN
AM
PM
EVE
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
AM
PM
EVE
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
AM
PM
EVE
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
AM
PM
EVE
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
AM
PM
EVE
29
30
 
 
 
 
 

May 2024

MONTUEWEDTHUFRISATSUN
AM
PM
EVE
 
 
1
2
3
4
5
AM
PM
EVE
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
AM
PM
EVE
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
AM
PM
EVE
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
AM
PM
EVE
27
28
29
30
31
 
 

June 2024

MONTUEWEDTHUFRISATSUN
AM
PM
EVE
 
 
 
 
 
1
2
AM
PM
EVE
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
AM
PM
EVE
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
AM
PM
EVE
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
AM
PM
EVE
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

July 2024

MONTUEWEDTHUFRISATSUN
AM
PM
EVE
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
AM
PM
EVE
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
AM
PM
EVE
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
AM
PM
EVE
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
AM
PM
EVE
29
30
31
 
 
 
 

August 2024

MONTUEWEDTHUFRISATSUN
AM
PM
EVE
 
 
 
1
2
3
4
AM
PM
EVE
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
AM
PM
EVE
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
AM
PM
EVE
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
AM
PM
EVE
26
27
28
29
30
31
 

September 2024

MONTUEWEDTHUFRISATSUN
AM
PM
EVE
 
 
 
 
 
 
1
AM
PM
EVE
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
AM
PM
EVE
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
AM
PM
EVE
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
AM
PM
EVE
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
AM
PM
EVE
30
 
 
 
 
 
 

October 2024

MONTUEWEDTHUFRISATSUN
AM
PM
EVE
 
1
2
3
4
5
6
AM
PM
EVE
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
AM
PM
EVE
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
AM
PM
EVE
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
AM
PM
EVE
28
29
30
31
 
 
 

November 2024

MONTUEWEDTHUFRISATSUN
AM
PM
EVE
 
 
 
 
1
2
3
AM
PM
EVE
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
AM
PM
EVE
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
AM
PM
EVE
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
AM
PM
EVE
25
26
27
28
29
30
 

December 2024

MONTUEWEDTHUFRISATSUN
AM
PM
EVE
 
 
 
 
 
 
1
AM
PM
EVE
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
AM
PM
EVE
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
AM
PM
EVE
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
AM
PM
EVE
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
AM
PM
EVE
30
31
 
 
 
 
 

January 2025

MONTUEWEDTHUFRISATSUN
AM
PM
EVE
 
 
1
2
3
4
5
AM
PM
EVE
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
AM
PM
EVE
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
AM
PM
EVE
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
AM
PM
EVE
27
28
29
30
31
 
 

February 2025

MONTUEWEDTHUFRISATSUN
AM
PM
EVE
 
 
 
 
 
1
2
AM
PM
EVE
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
AM
PM
EVE
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
AM
PM
EVE
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
AM
PM
EVE
24
25
26
27
28
 
 
Green
means Guide is available,
Red
means Guide is unavailable

Simply put your name and email address in the form below, together with a brief message for the Guide, and hit the green 'Send' button. The Guide concerned will then reply as quickly as possible to discuss your requirements.