Kings Cross to Blackfriars

Qualified London Guide Debbie Pakulski will take you on a two hour walk following the last part of the largest of London's hidden rivers, the River Fleet. Her infectious enthusiasm for history will bring the journey to life.

You will hear about slums and slaughterhouses, poverty and prisons, and the purgative properties of the famous spa waters. The River Fleet was once the Western boundary of the Roman City of London running sweet and clear. Find out how it degenerated into an open sewer, its banks crowded with the worst slums in London. Stand on the sites of notorious prisons and see the vast Victorian engineering feats including railways and viaducts. We end the tour looking at the spot where the Fleet exits into the Thames and, depending on the water height we may well see the very place!

 
Although the River Fleet is far below ground it can make its presence felt in more ways than one so we will put our senses to the test. You may like to add half an hour to the journey time for light refreshments at a considered half way point by Clerkenwell Green and or at the end of your tour.

Meet at Kings Cross railway station, outside the Euston Road exit of the Tube station.