FUN LONDON TOURS: EXPERT INTERVIEW

There's nothing better than being able to explore London with the assistance of an expert guide who can provide you with knowledgeable information! Fun London Tours host an array of intriguing tours to witness the bustling city of London and we've asked them a few questions to gain a further insight!

I spent some time deliberating over the name of my tour company. Eventually I reduced the shortlist to a few, with names like ‘Unique London’ and ‘Unusual London’ but when I sent the list out to friends, Fun London Tours was the one which drew most support, and felt the most memorable and catchy to me. I also spent an evening with a couple of friends designing the logo, it was so much fun!

Every time I go overseas, I tend to join a walking tour, and have found many of them really bring a city to life. This is the kind of experience I want travellers to London to have, and to create tours which people living in London can enjoy as well. There’s nothing better than seeing your own city brought to life in a new way. The most common phrase I hear locals say when they join one of our walks is ‘I’ve come here many times, but I’ve never noticed that before!’

Before I created the tour company in 2013, I had been working with an open top bus company for a year, and although I enjoyed the experience, I felt that it was rather impersonal and corporate with no real regard for the customers. I also went on tours led by other companies and believed there was space for a tour company which led fun, historically accurate walks. All my tours are designed by myself, so are completely unique, and I believe this desire to dig out the more unusual and quirky historical anecdotes sets our tours apart. We are a small group of guides and although I run the company I also lead tours, and this means that we really do care a great deal about the experience people have with us.

I love all the aspects of leading tours. The interaction between myself and my guests is always life affirming – I always meet interesting people, and to see how much people love to learn about London really makes me feel great about what I do. Telling unusual stories and revealing hidden spots is always fun. And I also love the research and design which goes into all of my walks – this can sometimes take months and is a real labour of love.

I personally hope to continue to guide for many more years, but I will continue to employ the most passionate and amazing tour guides in London to deliver the walks that I have already created. And every year I will keep adding to our selection of walks. As Samuel Johnson said, ‘When a man tires of London, he tires of life itself.’

Our tours are always enjoyable and led by guides who love to engage with their guests. We allow anything between 4 and 20 people per tour, and these generally smaller group sizes means that there is lots of interaction and opportunity for questions along the way. It really is a personal experience and people will always leave with a few stories and anecdotes to tell their friends!

We'd like to say a massive thank you to Matt from Fun London Tours for giving us some fun insight into the world of tour guides! We hope we can come and enjoy some more tours with you soon!