Hello, I am Sue Hyde - The Guide!

Welcome to London.

I am a people person and it’s very important to me that you have a great time on my tours whether we are together for half a day or a week. Before becoming a guide, I taught English as a foreign language overseas and then I worked in international business for 20 years. This has provided me with the skills and experience to plan an itinerary tailored to each group large or small; to deliver a winning story; to know that listening is as important as talking and to put customer care first – you are important to me!

There is so much to do on a visit to London and the UK. 2019 is no exception with lots going on and some great movies that show off amazing locations. So what kinds of things can you do with Sue Hyde The Guide?

Royal London

Palaces and castles that tell the rich history of our royal families up to the present day from Windsor Castle – Hampton Court - Kensington Palace – the best place for photos at the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace – St James’s Palace and all the stories from the Tower of London.

Are you ready for The Crown Series Three? It is released in 2019! If you are a fan, let me take you on a Crown walk around some of the fascinating locations behind the stories of the life of Queen Elizabeth II. She turns 93 this year.

Some of the scenes for the unconventional film 'The Favourite’ about the lesser-known monarch, Queen Anne are based in and around London at Hampton Court and Kensington Palace. Not forgetting ‘Mary Queen of Scots’, the movie that is also proving a bit hit in 2019. I can guide you around these palaces and the magnificent royal coronation church of Westminster Abbey where so many kings and queens are buried, including Scottish Mary, Anne and Queen Elizabeth I.

Churches and Cathedrals – commemorations and celebrations

St Paul’s Cathedral for dramatic architecture, famous weddings, funerals and stunning views of the City of London.

St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle where Prince Harry married Meghan Merkle in 2018.

Westminster Abbey is also where we commemorate so many famous British scientists, musicians, politicians, poets and writers.

Walks around London

If you love Shakespeare, I can take you on a walk around the London that Shakespeare knew. Don’t miss the movie All is True about Shakespeare’s final years after he made his fame and fortune in London.

What other walks can we do? Food and drink in London – Hidden London – Gay London – The river Thames Walk – The Square Mile or old City of London – London Architecture Tour – Legal London – Royal Parks - Bloomsbury Squares – Rebels’ London in Clerkenwell – Immigrant London in Spitalfields

Family Fun in London

If you and your kids were enthralled by Mary Poppins, let’s make a day or two in London especially fun for the younger members of your family. Here’s some suggestions:

Catching the royal guard change outside Buckingham Palace; so many parks to run around in and get an ice-cream; a flight on the London Eye or a cable car over the famous river Thames or a boat trip along the river; messy but delicious street food; looking for weird stuff and animals in the British Museum; making your own street art in a graffiti tunnel; riding on the top-deck of a famous red double-decker bus; learning how to navigate around the famous London Underground system; pretending to drive a train on the driver-less trains around the Docklands; pretending to sail the oceans aboard ships like HMS Belfast, the Golden Hind or the Cutty Sark in Greenwich and whilst we’re in Greenwich let’s take a photo on the time line or learn how to steer a ship into port on the simulator at the Royal Maritime Museum….endless of opportunities!

Museums and art galleries

I can bring to life London's rich pickings of museums and art galleries: the history of European art in the National Gallery; Twentieth Century art wonders in Tate Modern; the wonders of civilisation in the British Museum including huge Egyptian statues and the famous mummies, powerful Assyrian art or beautiful marble sculpture from Ancient Greece; let me reveal gorgeous treasures of art and design in the Victoria and Albert Museum and tell the story of how London became London in the Museum of London.

World War II and Churchill

2019 marks the 75^th anniversary of D-Day and the Normandy Landings so if you are fascinated by Winston Churchill, let me guide you around the place where he directed the war – the secret underground control centre known as the Churchill War Rooms as featured in the 2018 movie The Darkest Hour.

Outside London

Want to see what is outside London? Not a problem as Britain is truly great! Let’s visit magnificent royal palaces by the river Thames at Hampton Court or the Queen’s favourite weekend home at Windsor Castle.  Let’s drive past the rolling green fields of England on the way to the stunning cathedrals of Canterbury or Salisbury, the ancient spiritual site of Stonehenge, historic Bath, academic Oxford and not forgetting Shakespeare’s Stratford-upon-Avon.

I can design a tour to match your group’s special interest such as food, art, literature, a special commemoration etc. Why not consider a guided tour as a personalised gift for a family member or friend?

You are in safe hands with me. I'm a Member of the Institute of Tourist Guiding (ITG), the Guild of Registered Tourist Guides and the Association of Professional Tourist Guides (APTG).

Come – let me show you London and beyond!

Here are a few comments from some of my tours:

"We had such a wonderful experience with you!!!  Weather aside, we got so so much out of our time with you.  Touring the Tower of London solo would have been nowhere close to as memorable of an experience.  We got back to the US on Sunday and girls went to school on Monday.  On Monday morning in N’s (13 yr old) History class, they were speaking of Rome’s relationship with London, etc and N said she knew more than the teacher!!!  She actually corrected him and her teacher asked her after class how she knew all of this, and she said Sue Hyde!!  She was thrilled!!!!"  Karen - Nov 2018

"Thank you for inspiring Ava and Sara and delighting and informing us for a day....Your capacity for storytelling and turning history into a fascinating mystery to be solved enhance their interest in what otherwise might have been a dull day. Juliette also was delighted and deepening her interest in an area that already interested her greatly." Judith - July 2018

"Sue. Thanks again for spending time with my Mom yesterday. She had a fantastic time seeing Westminster Abbey and the V&A with you and thoroughly enjoyed the day." Branden from Denver via London May 2018