Private tour in London Maria H
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Maria H.
4.9
Guide rating
19
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Tours delivered
20 hrs
Avg. response time
My passion for the tour guide sector began when I lived and worked in Florence. I loved showing guests around the city staying at the hotel where I worked. Later, I worked at York's Tourist Information and Conference Centre, and enjoyed leading tours around the city. For the past five years I have been guiding and touring with visitors to London, and also showing travellers around Oxford and York, delighted to share the history and culture of three of my favourite cities in London. Recently I studied for a Masters in creative writing, enhancing long held passion for storytelling. I love to find and share the stories in history bringing the past to life with eloquence and sometimes humour! Graded distinction, I continued with my studies as a writer, now a PhD researcher at the renowned King's College London, following in the footsteps of my favourite writers - Virginia Woolf, Hanif Kureishi and Christopher Isherwood! I have previously worked as a teacher, with people of all ages, my powers of communication and experience of pastoral, inclusive and educational values, ensuring my tours are accessible and stimulating for all. Growing up in York stimulated a love of history - Roman, Viking, Tudor and Victorian - the traces of each era of British history very visible to this day in the museums, ramparts, and buildings of the city; York's stories of the past also living on through the legends that are shared at home and school. York is reputedly a very haunted city, so found myself frequently enthralled as a child, by retellings of local ghost stories, soon developing a love of gothic writing! For the last thirty years I have lived in London, and recently developed an extensive knowledge of the local area where I lived for over two decades, Covent Garden. Drawn to its rich theatre history, its street life, markets and the literature that some of our leading writers have written in response to such a varied and stimulating area I immersed myself in research and built my first London walk. Since then my love of touring has found me creating cultural tours across England from London's West End, the City, Kensington and the picturesque Primrose Hill, and beyond, to York, Oxford, Windsor, Bath, Stonehenge and even the Yorkshire Dales! My tour of Covent Garden takes my guests from Seven Dials, through charming piazzas, and markers taking in theatre and film history nearby. On a visual art theme, I offer fashion and vintage based tours including The Victoria and Albert Museum, The Fashion and Textile Museum and West End vintage stores. Studying at Chelsea College of Art, stimulated a love of art, design and architecture which informs all my tours and has also inspired me to offer options to develop portfolios, with tuition along the way. Further options include a tour of some of West London's most lovely wonderlands, Kensington Gardens, the stunning and tranquil Kyoto Garden in Holland Park, the Serpentine gallery, Design Museum and the vibrant Portobello Road. I lead tours exploring key areas in The City, taking in the Old Bailey, the old lanes around Smithfields, the Guildhall, and the glittering, towering financial district. I offer optional visits to the Tower of London, or London's best galleries. And why not include a river cruise and see sites from the Thames? Or perhaps you would like to take a walk exploring London's key film locations along with TV and film history? Enjoy the company, and vast cultural knowledge of an expert tour guide; see museum exhibits, palaces or street life enriched with well chosen anecdotes and literary exerts from some of London's greatest writers. Book a ready made tour or design your own itinerary with my expert help! Explore any area of London you choose, or if you wish to go further afield why not explore the entrancing city of Oxford or York? I have practical skills in first aid, very useful, but hopefully they won't be required! I am adept at arranging the best and most suitable transport when required to connect our key ports of call, and I can provide suggestions for the best food and drink on our excursions. If my guests have any questions they may wish to forward I will always respond as quickly as possible. I am a five star rated tour guide and hope to meet you for one of my tours to share the best of England with you while building wonderful memories to last. * Qualifications and Experience: Selected for the City of Westminster Guiding and Lecturers Association tour guide certificate. Many years' guiding experience in York, Florence and London Masters degree in Creative Writing with distinction, Royal Holloway, University of London, (September 2020) Enrolled for PhD at Kings College London, department of English BA with Honours, Fine Art, University of the Arts, London; BA with Honours, Theology and Philosophy; First Aid at Work qualification (July 2022) validated by: FAIB (The First Aid Industry Body) & QCA (Quality Care Academy) Accredited body) Security and fire safety certificate (July 2022, RB Health and Safety Solutions) Trained in Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and Disability Awareness Transport can be arranged by London cab or the top deck of a London bus, affording excellent city views. Fares and travel cards included.
Have a question or want to customize this tour? Message Maria H.
Enjoy an enriching London tour designed to enhance your understanding of the capital's history and politics while providing you with stunning views, plenty of photo opportunities, and memories to last a lifetime! I will also assist with advice for restaurant reservations, orientation in the city, and ongoing transfers to London's train stations for the Eurostar or UK destinations. The venues we visit across a three-day tour include: St Paul's Cathedral, The Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace, The Victoria and Albert Museum, Westminster Abbey, key sights in Westminster, the London Eye and Covent Garden. Explore the Tower of London's Crown Jewels, ramparts and medieval palace. Take iconic photos of royal palaces. And so much more! Visit Westminster Abbey, scene of coronations, and site of royal burials and memorials for significant figures of British history. Enjoy a circular sightseeing river trip from The Tower of London.
Day 1 4.5 hours - Meet 2:30 pm at hotel Visit the Churchill War Rooms and Museum. Enjoy a walking tour of Westminster sights—Big Ben, Parliament, and Whitehall—to Trafalgar Square and Covent Garden. Day 2 10 am start - 8 hours Attend the Changing of the Guard (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, or Sunday only) and/or the Royal Guard Museum. See Buckingham Palace. (Please enquire for summer entry to state rooms.) Visit Westminster Abbey. 5:30 pm / 6 pm - London Eye. 6 / 6:30 pm - South Bank walk. Day 3 9 am start - 6 hours Morning tour of the Tower of London to see its stunning Crown Jewels, ramparts, towers, and medieval palace. Lunch at the Tower Armouries Café. Walk across Tower Bridge. Explore Elizabethan history at the Thames riverside—focusing on The Globe Theatre and The Golden Hinde ship. Enjoy a circular river cruise departing and returning to Tower Quay.
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The main transport will be a London car with private driver, the black iconic Mercedes as preference, which seats up to six. Private cars seating up to 8 can also be arranged.
Churchill War Rooms, King Charles Street, London, UK
Meet at The Churchill War Museum, King Charles St, London SW1A 2AQ Or contact me to confirm your hotel details for a hotel collection each day. For taxi transfers to tour starts, client will cover travel cost (as recorded on taxi metre or taxi app).
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If your tour is valued over $200 USD and booked at least 45 days before the tour date, you can book with a deposit!
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