City Secrets Walks (NB The address given below is a contact address - NOT where the walk goes from!)

Profile

WHO I AM: I am Declan McHugh, the researcher, and since 1999 the acclaimed Tour Guide of two London walks: the very popular cult horror London walk 'The Blood and Tears Walk' (see www.shockinglondon.com for that one), and the one I'm going to concentrate on here, 'The Shakespeare City Walk'.

WHAT THE WALK IS ABOUT: This 90 minute leisurely tour does not go to the Globe Theatre (because everyone already knows it), but instead uncovers lesser-known monuments and locations in the City of London with connections to Shakespeare's life, his friends, his loves and his work, etc.

Tour Highlights
• Visit the only two exact locations in London of Shakespeare houses
• See the monument created from one of Shakespeare's best-known speeches
• Go to the site of the Blackfriars Theatre, the lost sister theatre to the Globe
• See the spot where we believe Othello, King Lear and Macbeth were written
• Discover what Shakespeare was like as a man, including his complicated personal life
• Visit Church locations Shakespeare knew
• Hear some sublime Shakespeare speeches. I am a former professional actor and so I
illustrate what I talk about with Shakespeare's own immortal words. This is a feature of
this walk that people especially love.

VISITORS BOOK QUOTES: From my visitors' book here are just a few of the rave reviews I have received over the years for my 'The Shakespeare City Walk'.

"I liked this tour much better than other Shakespeare Tours" - Gunmilla Thorsson, Sweden.

"Magical Tour" - Renata.

"Enthusiastic, personal, inspirational" - Ylva, Sweden.

"Highlight of trip" - Christine O'Grady, Australia

"Loved the speeches from Shakespeare himself" - Nicoletia, Italy.

"Magnificent eye-opening tour" - Kevin Connell

"Declan is the best guide in London" - Manfred and Heidi Gloag, Germany

"An absolute highlight of my travels to date...incredible insight into the world of Shakespeare" - Kylie Sandover, Australia

"Best thing I've done in 5 years of London living!" - Gemma Clarke

"Excellent - the highlight of my trip" - Geraldine Murphy, USA

"Thank you for this superb, history-filled and inspiring experience" - Elizabeth Vandepaer, USA.

"The most enthusiastic, friendly and interesting tour together with first class acting on the side" - Magnus, Sweden.

"very informative, entertaining, charmingly presented" - Stelyana, Russia.

"Excellent - his passion for London and for the history of the stage shines through in his every word. A must-see in London. No Shakespeare enthusiast should be without" - Lauren, Canada.

"Declan is a true expert on Shakespeare" - M. Robert

"Informative, entertaining - all that we wanted. Patient with questions, clearly enjoying very much what he's doing. Wonderful!" - O. Royal

"Exquisite knowledge base. Phenomenal job!" - S. Cote

"Best thing in London - probably for the whole trip. Fantastic!" - A. Jones

"Brilliantly researched and very informative. Your work, expertise, and love of Shakespeare really shone through. Thank you!!" - C. Martin

"A complete delight, Thank you, Declan" - J. Hurley

Mission

*STOP-PRESS* *STOP-PRESS*

'The Shakespeare City Walk' is one of only five walks recently recommended by The Independent newspaper as 'The Grand Tours' of London. Cut and paste this entire line into your browser to read what they say:

http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/uk/london-revealed-the-grand-tours-898761.html

MEETING TIME AND PLACE: 'The Shakespeare City Walk' takes place on both MONDAYS and FRIDAYS at 11am. NB The meeting place is now outside Temple tube station because there is no longer access to Blackfriars underground station. Look for the sign with Shakespeare's head on my rucksack when you emerge from Temple station. Temple is on the Circle (yellow) line and also the District (green) line.

*** W A R N I N G *** Before you set off to come to your walk, I very strongly suggest that you add an extra 15-20 minutes to your travel time to compensate for possibly getting stuck in one (or more) of London's extremely frequent tube train delays. Unfortunately, people who turn up late will miss their walk since I simply have to start the walk with the people who turn up on time. To repeat, if you miss the start of the walk, you miss the entire walk since you won't be able to find me in the side-streets.*** W A R N I N G ***

HOLIDAYS: There will be no Shakespeare walk on Monday 31st August 2009. I recommend that you always ring the number given at the bottom of this page 48 hours before the walk you are coming to, to check that it is on - I will always know at least two days before a particular walk whether it is taking place. Please do ring the number since unforeseen circumstances can happen once or twice a year which mean that a particular walk cannot take place.

PRICE AND DISCOUNTS:

Price for adults is £7, price for children (aged 12-14) is £5. You can obtain a further discount if you are willing to book online. To do so go to either of the following two SECURE internet sites:

Either copy and then paste this link into your web browser, followed by Enter:

http://www.365london.com/attractions.cfm/attractId/267

Or you can copy and then paste this link into your web browser, followed by Enter:

http://www.londontown.com/sightseeing/index2.phtml?prodcateg=50102&prodid=459&themeid=280

PRIVATE WALKS:

If neither of the two public times given fit your needs, you can always email me or give me a call at the number given below and we can discuss a private tour. I'm sometimes willing to do private tours on my days off. The price is just £9 per person with a minimum of 15 people per walk OR the equivalent value if there are less than 15 people ie 15 x £9 = £135

ALWAYS CHECK THE MESSAGE: NB Updated details of times, engineering works and other underground line problems, are always given on the message at the telephone number given below.

FINALLY: I really look forward to meeting you soon and providing fresh insights for you into the wonderful world of the genius William Shakespeare.

DECLAN McHUGH

Contact Information

Address:

City Secrets Walks (NB The address given below is a contact address - NOT where the walk goes from!)
31 Dibdin House,
Maida Vale,
London
W9 1QE
UK

Phone Number:

(from London) 07905 746 733

Fax Number:

Email Address:

decmchugh@yahoo.com