Westminster - Heart of the Nation

(83 reviews)

London audio tour: Westminster - Heart of the Nation

This is a 1.8mi walking tour

It takes an average of 60 mins to complete.

London

The United Kingdom

$9.99

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About the Tour

This walk covers the great palaces of the monarchs and the Archbishop of Canterbury. We walk from the Golden Jubilee Bridge through Whitehall Gardens to the Banqueting House in Whitehall, the last remaining building from the ancient Palace of Whitehall. From there we walk along the Thames with views of the London Eye and Westminster Bridge, before seeing Parliament Square, the Houses of Parliament and Westrminster Abbey. The walk ends passing the famous Burghers of Calais sculpture by Rodin on to Lambeth Bridge and Lambeth Palace, the London home of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Tour Producer

Brian Cookson

20 tours

After qualifying as a Russian Interpreter during National Service, I obtained a BA in Russian and German at Oxford University. I spent most of my working life as a computer consultant, mainly working for IBM.
When I retired, I qualified as a London Blue Badge Tourist Guide. I lead guided walking tours all over London and have written two books - 'London Waterside Walks' and 'Crossing the River', published by Random House.
I have also given several presentations to members of the London Guild of Registered Guides for their continual development programme.
As can be seen by my two books, I am especially interested in London areas near the River Thames and the amazing collection of bridges from Tower Bridge to Richmond.
I have also been a volunteer guide at the Wallace Collection for 25 years and I also do guided tours ofWriter all of London's major museums and art galleries, including the National Gallery, the National Portrait Gallery, the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert.

Preview Location

Location 10

Whitehall and Banqueting House

Stop here on the corner for a while. I have a few things to show you.

Across the road in front of you are the famous Horse Guards. Here, two mounted troopers of the Queen's Household Cavalry are posted from 10 to 4 o' clock every day. This picturesque guard house was desig... Read More

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Major Landmarks

lastminute.com London Eye
Westminster Bridge
Big Ben
St Margaret's Church
Jewel Tower
The Burghers of Calais
Lambeth Palace

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Getting There

Route Overview

VoiceMap tours follow a route from a set starting point. It’s how we give turn-by-turn directions and tell a story greater than the sum of its parts.

Start location
Embankment Pl, London WC2N, UK
Total distance

3km
Final location
Lambeth Palace, London SE1 7JU, UK
Distance back to start location

1km

Directions to Starting Point

The walk starts at the Embankment Underground Station on the Circle and District Line as you exit the ticket barrier.

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Tips

Places to stop along the way

Banqueting House, view from Westminster Bridge, St Margaret's Church, Jewel House, St John Smith Square, view from Lambeth Bridge, Museum of Garden History.

Best time of day

The walk is best done in daylight. However even in the dark the views are great as major buildings such as Big Ben are well lit.

Precautions

The traffic in London is dense. If you can find pedestrian crossings, I suggest you use them even if it means walking a bit further. Guidance is given where possible.

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“This app has become my go-to app for audio tours. I pretty much use it for every trip and it works wonderfully. I highly recommend VoiceMap for travelers to truly experience cities.”

App Store Review

“Great app. walk around at your own pace, stop where you want, move on or speed up when you want. Read the script before you go or during the commentary, speed it up or replay it. Repeat the tour whenever you like.”