history

St Albans Tour Guides

Founded in 1964, the City of St Albans Tour Guides provide local guided walking tours in and around St Albans, Harpenden, Redbourn and Wheathampstead. Guides are fully trained to have both historical knowledge and practical guiding techniques. They offer a range of themed walks year round, together with discovery talks at local museums.

Most walks take 60 to 90 minutes and cost £4 per adult and £2 for children aged 5 to 15. Some are free and/or require pre-booking - see their website calendar of events for details.

Two themed children's trails are also available: 'I spy with Clarence' is for younger children and 'Historic St Albans' for older children. They are 50p each from the Tourist and Information Centre, where the trails start and finish.

Supported by St Albans City and District Council

Overview

Venue Type:	Tourist information
Hire information:	Private tour booking service operates throughout the year. Choose from any walk or a combination of walks, or separate talks/slide presentations. Groups can be any size and guides are allocated on the basis of one per twenty visitors.

Contact details

Business Name:City and District of St Albans Tour Guides
Address:c/o Tourist and Information Centre, The Old Town Hall, Market Place
Town:St Albans
County:Herts
Postcode:AL3 5DJ
Telephone:01727 864511
Email:pauline.king@stalbanstourguides.co.uk
Email:tic@stalbans.gov.uk
Web:www.stalbanstourguides.co.uk
Map: View Map

Recent reviews

+ write your own reviews

A fascinating morning spent in the company of travelling kings, Benedictine monks and corrupt politicians!

When a Texan friend came to visit last year and the most I could tell him was that 'Romans once lived here' and 'we've got the oldest pub in Britain', I thought it high time to finally get to grips with the history of our great town. As a born and bred St Albans resident, I have been on a number of obligatory school trips to the Abbey and of course whiled away many hours in Verulamium Park (almost as many hours as i've spent shopping in the Maltings!) but I can't say that i've ever dug too much into the Town's fascinating historical past.

So one sunny morning in early August, I joined a small party of tourists on the Historic St Albans walking tour. There are a number of different walks focussing on a variety of topics such as Crime and Punishment and The War of the Roses, but for a general overview of the history of the City, I think this one would be hard to beat. We started off in Market Place and took a while to look closer at some of the buildings that even though I’ve walked past hundreds of times, I have never really taken in their detail. Ever noticed how bowed the wooden beams are along the side of W.H. Smith? Well, that building used to be a prison. The left hand side housed the men and the women were on the Whittards side. Apparently they ran out of wooden beams for this part so they are just painted on the outside! Almost every building has a story to tell – from travelling kings to Benedictine monks and corrupt politicians (nothing changes!), St Albans has housed them all.

The tour takes in French Row, George Street, Romeland, The Abbey Gateway, Sumpter Yard and a small area of Holywell Hill before the final stop at Waxhouse Gate. I won’t recount all the fascinating facts and fables I learned as I probably wouldn’t be able to do them justice anyway – will leave that to the accomplished tour guides! Suffice to say, it was a thoroughly enjoyable 90mins and a total bargain at £3 per person. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend to tourists and local residents. [Aug 10]

by 17awhile

See all reviews