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Offered languages
- English
Discover the rich literary history of these fascinating and historic areas of central London on this engaging 2-hour Literary Pub Crawl. Wander through Fitzrovia and Soho, stopping at iconic pubs linked to famous writers and artists. Learn about their lives, works, and the creative atmosphere that surrounded them as you enjoy a leisurely stroll through the streets of the capital. This tour is perfect for literature lovers and those curious about the artistic heritage of London, providing insights that only an expert guide who has grown up in London and has known these pubs over many years, can offer.
- Explore the literary connections of London's historic pubs
- Easy flat walking for approximately 2 hours
- Starts at Goodge Street Tube Station and ends at corner of Greek Street and Romilly Street,
- Perfect for literature enthusiasts and casual walkers alike
What's Included
Meeting and pickup
Meet outside the underground station. Guide will be wearing a blue Westminster Guides lanyard and badge
Itinerary
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1
Julian Maclaran-Ross once called the area a "madhouse", and this Edwardian pub has the history to match. Radicals plotted here, Marx and Lenin were never far away, and in the freezing winter of 1962-3 a young American folk singer gave an important first performance. It's a pub with radical politics, folk-music legend, literary connections, and a witch’s hat, all before your first sip. Start here, and you'll never look at a corner boozer the same way again.
10 minutes • Admission ticket free -
2
"If you haven't visited the Fitzroy, you haven't visited London," declared painter Augustus John, and he knew everyone worth knowing. This is the pub that gave Fitzrovia its name and where Bohemia came to drink. Meet the "Laughing Torso" and the artists and writers who lived life to the full. Dorothy Parker said the Bloomsbury set "lived in squares, painted in circles and loved in triangles". Come and find out who was in which triangle.
10 minutes • Admission ticket free -
3
A pie, a pint and a prophet. This perfectly preserved 18th-century pub is the real-life model for the boozer in one of the twentieth century's most famous (and most chilling) novels. Its author understood proles, power and the pleasures of a proper pub. Discover why this tiny, atmospheric spot, still famous for its pies, inspired a masterpiece. You'll want to read the book again, ideally with a pint in hand.
7 minutes • Admission ticket free -
4
He was a poet of astonishing lyrical beauty and resonance, and also a brawler, a borrower and a barroom raconteur. This is the pub of Dylan Thomas, who wrote half his life's poems before he was 21, met his wife Caitlin here, and was dead at 39. Hear the tales of the man behind the music of “Under Milk Wood”. Expect booze, rapture and plenty of "rage, rage against the dying of the light". Cheers!
10 minutes • Admission ticket free -
5
With one of England's best-loved pub names, the Marquis of Granby has a literary claim to match. This was a favourite of a towering figure in twentieth-century modernism, and where some of his best-known verse was first read aloud to an audience. Find out which poetry-world giant held court here, and what he made of London's drinkers. It's a pub with a name you'll know and a history you won't.
5 minutes • Admission ticket free -
6
Welcome to Soho, a name from the hunting cry of a doomed Duke. Learn how a royal hunting ground became London's most colourful quarter, via Huguenot refugees, rebels and Rossetti. Then meet one of the greatest English writers of the first half of the twentieth century: a complicated, contradictory, sometimes difficult man whose 1946 essay on the perfect pub inspired this tour. Find out what he would have made of this one.
10 minutes • Admission ticket free -
7
Vive la Soho! This tiny pub became the headquarters of the Free French in the Second World War, and General de Gaulle himself may have raised a glass here. Stay for the half-pints, the wine and the glorious cast of regulars: Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud, John Mortimer, painters, poets and the occasional scoundrel. Hear how Gaston Berlemont, born in the pub, served its notable customers for decades, and why a visit here is a rite of passage on the infamous "Dean Street shuffle".
10 minutes • Admission ticket free -
8
Our final stop is one of Soho's most notorious and best-loved pubs. Here, gangsters, actors and journalists mingled, “Private Eye” writers plotted from nearby, and Jeffrey Bernard turned his "Low Life" column into legend. It was also home to "the rudest landlord in London", whose insults were part of the charm. Find out how it measures up against the perfect pub, then raise a glass to the whole literary crawl.
10 minutes • Admission ticket free
Additional info
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Tags
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Cancellation Policy
- For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
- If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
- Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
- This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
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