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Dark Past of London Walking Tour | Semi Private


Group · 6 Max 2 hrs 30 mins Tower Hill Sundial Refundable booking
Dark Past of London Walking Tour LivTours

On your Livtours Dark Past of London Walking Tour, join a local and stroll through London’s darker side and discover tales of murder and misery in the capital. Wander through the dim dingy and narrow alleyways of the East End. London’s iconic East End is home to some of the most infamous Londoners real and fictitious. Now a cosmopolitan and hip neighborhood, it was once described as the “Hell of Poverty” a foggy and filthy stain on the face of the capital of England where the police dared not go. lying in the shadows of Saint Paul’s this former gigantic slum is now one of the trendiest and multinational parts of the city with a small group tour of less than 6. Join a Londoner and explore the people that make this iconic neighborhood so fascinating and the grim past they endured.

Uncover tales of the Black Death, find where some of the largest Plague Pits in Europe were located, and unearth London in times of famine, war, and superstition. This walking tour will get you off the beaten path and reveal the fascinating dark heart of London city that most tour guides never speak about. Follow your local guide around London’s East end for a gothic glimpse into London’s dark past. Visit an area full of historic murder locations, ww2 bombsights, and neighborhoods once terrorized by gangs. Your 2.5-hour evening stroll tour takes you around the East End, a trendy and young area once famed for poverty, sin, and salacious behavior, a den of vice and villainy, immortalized, and glamorized in pop culture and film.

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  • Travel back in time with an expert guide to a world of murder & misery
  • Follow in the footsteps of murderers, gangsters, villians and heros of old
  • Learn more about the East Enders, Londons most famous Londoners
  • Follow an expert guide on the trail of plague, war, fire and murder
  • Enjoy the stories and anecdotes with a maximum of 6 people in your group
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Semi-Private tours and experiences are guaranteed six participants max.

Our prices always include tickets and reservations fees (no waiting in lines!).

Our tour guides and staff are selected experts and speak perfect English.

Easy to book and prepay your tours with our secure payment system.

Eco-sustainable tourism, designed to respect and support local culture, art and traditions.


Your Livtours Semi-Private Dark Past of London Walking Tour will take you around the characterful East End. A neighborhood so distinct from the rest of the city, it has its secret language, created by the market traders and criminal gangs of this poverty-stricken former slum. From its origins as a sewer ditch to the stinking city of London, the East End became a dumping ground for new groups of immigrants shunned by the city, who formed their own unique identity, producing some of the most famous Londoners’ fictitious and real from The Kray Twins, Oliver Twist to Michael Cane. Just outside the ancient city walls this area was unpoliced, unregulated, and left to rot. Gangs patrolled the dimly lit streets and murderers prowled the prostitute-ridden alleyways and alehouses.

Start your tour by the Tower Hill sundial and wind through hundreds of years of London’s real history, far away from the glitz and glamour of the west end. Learn how the poorest underclass was forced to live while London was the capital of the wealthiest empire in the world. Hear real-life stories of horror and destruction as thousands of bombs fell on the industrial heartland of the city. Imagine what life was like during the greatest outbreak of plague in the city’s history as you stand on the largest plague pit in the country. With groups of under 6, this atmospheric tour will take you to one of the most exciting and eclectic parts of the city to see a slice of the real dark side of London.

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  • Private walking tour of East End
  • Hear stories of WWII blitz
  • Learn about Londons plague pits
  • Fully guided storytelling tour
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LivTours’ group size of max 6 participants is and always has been based on sustainable travel, and we are proud to be at the forefront of change and innovation in the industry.  LivTours is committed to providing travelers with truly sustainable tours with the lowest possible environmental impact, all while supporting the local industries and people of each unique destination. To learn more about how you can actively support sustainable tourism  and how LivTours is contributing, click here.

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All LivTours Semi-Private Group Tours are capped at six guests per tour guide. Our commitment to maintaining this uniquely tiny group size can sometimes be a little tricky, mathematically speaking. For example, we want to ensure that traveling families and friends can tour together, so on rare occasions we may add one or two guests to avoid separating groups. On that same note, you may also find yourself on tour with less than six people! We thank you for your understanding and flexibility.

 

 

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  • Chilling Stories in a Vibrant Neighborhood

    The contrast of modern cafés lining streets once filled with gangs and misery was striking. Christian painted vivid pictures of life in the East End across the centuries and highlighted how the area reinvented itself after waves of hardship. This LivTours experience was gripping from start to finish.

    - Daniela Müller
  • Dark but Completely Captivating

    My teenage son loves history, and this tour was right up his alley. Our guide walked us through the Ripper sites, explained the wartime bombings, and even pointed out remnants of old slum housing. It was educational without ever feeling heavy-handed. We both enjoyed it immensely.

    - Thomas Riley
  • A Side of London Most Visitors Never See

    I booked this as a solo traveler and felt immediately welcomed by the guide and small group. The stories about the old thieves’ cant and the East End’s unique identity were fascinating. Following the twisting side streets made the experience feel genuinely immersive, almost cinematic.

    - Nadia Chen
  • Thought-Provoking and Unexpectedly Moving

    The tour goes far beyond sensational tales—it explores how poverty and neglect shaped generations of Londoners. Standing on the former plague pits really made me reflect on the city’s resilience. I appreciated the balance between dark history and cultural insight.

    - Jonathan Perez
  • Immersive Storytelling in the Heart of the East End

    Gozde brought London’s past to life with vivid descriptions of famine, superstition, and wartime destruction. She pointed out old bomb damage that I would have walked past without noticing. The semi-private size made the stories feel personal and engaging.

    - Claire Matthews
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By selecting Choose Dates Later / Buy as Gift at booking, any tour can be purchased without fixed dates. This is the perfect option if you want to purchase your tour as a gift for a loved one, or if you are in the pre-planning phase of your vacation. After booking, you will receive a Travel Voucher Code and full instructions on how to schedule your tours when ready. Once your travel plans are confirmed, you can easily use the Travel Voucher Code on the LivTours website to formally schedule your tours. You can find out more here.

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