SHERLOCK HOLMES WALKING TOUR: STAFF REVIEW

Last week, Maddie and I made our way back up to London for the much-anticipated Sherlock Holmes Walking Tour. We arrived at Picadilly Circus, where we were met by our friendly tour guide, Craig. It’s safe to say Craig is a real Sherlock boffin, and he greeted us with huge enthusiasm!

Our meeting point was the Savini at Criterion, just outside Picadilly Circus Station, where Holmes and Watson first met. Whilst we waited for the rest of the group to arrive, Craig told us about the surrounding buildings and the way period films and TV shows have been filmed in these iconic locations.  We split into two groups and, when everyone was ready, set off on our tour.

Now, we won’t give too much away, but stops included a highly prestigious Gentlemen’s Club, The London Library, Waterloo Bridge, Somerset House and Trafalgar Square. Each location had connections to the books, films or Sherlock TV show, and it was very exciting to stand in the exact spot where Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman stood during filming.

Our favourite fact we learnt (one of many) is that the BBC seldom closes roads for filming – choosing instead to film among the general public. We were even shown a few stills from the TV series in which we saw people in the background looking directly at the camera!

We finished at the famous Sherlock Holmes pub, in which we learnt that they have a private Sherlock exhibition upstairs (unfortunately it was shut when we got there). The exhibition houses real extracts of Conan Doyle’s scripts and props from his acting days playing Sherlock on stage.

All, in, all, we had a wonderful few hours exploring London – who knew there were so many fun Movie facts! Thank you to Brit Movie Tours for having us and Craig for being our great, enthusiastic tour guide!