HobNob Tours
Exclusive Private Walking Tours

St James', otherwise known as 'London’s Royal Village', has entertained both Royalty and the gentry for hundreds of years and exploring this historic neighbourhood is a delight.  Everything for which St James' is famous is included on this tour: St James' and Buckingham Palaces, St James' and Green parks, the gentlemen's clubs and the exclusive shops which served royalty and the gents alike, not to mention the possibility of pageantry.  If you're looking for a right royal extravaganza, you have come to the right place!

 

Henry VIII, the most notorious of the Tudor monarchs, built St James' Palace for the son who turned in to a daughter!  This palace has been the splendid setting for some of the most important events in Royal history. Buckingham Palace was the brainchild of one of the most extravagant monarchs ever to take the throne of England, George IV.  It has been the home of the monarch when in London for over a century and you see the world famous balcony where the royals stand to mark special occasions.   The parks were the cumulative result of the creativity of four monarchs and St James' is arguably the most beautiful of the eight Royal parks in and around the capital. 

 

Our tour passes the historic gentlemen's clubs, some of which still do not admit women as members, before arriving at St James' Square, the centrepiece of Henry Jermyn's housing estate for the aristocracy which became one of the most fashionable residential addresses for over 150 years.

 

St James' is home to some of the most exclusive shops in town and the much coveted Royal Warrants, recently granted by King Charles III, are proudly on display outside some of them.  As we wander along Jermyn Street (yes, it was named after Henry!), we pass shops set up to provide the gentlemen with everything they could possibly want.  Some of them began life as market stalls over 300 years ago but how they have changed since then!  The wonderful Paxton & Whitfield is a good example; a cheese emporium like no other - with close to 100 artisan cheeses on display, it is a shop not to be missed.  And then there's Floris, originally set up as a barbers shop, but now selling the most exquisite perfumes including James Bond's favourite fragrance and a perfume made to celebrate the late Queen's platinum jubilee.

 

The Changing of the Guard ceremony is Royal pageantry at its very best.  We watch this extraordinary event from two or three different places - the timings don't always work but it is fun trying to move quickly from one spot to another!!  Watching the soldiers marching, often accompanied by their band, in a ceremony that is over 350 years old, is quite an emotional experience.  But how can you tell one regiment from another?  Join me on a Hobnob tour to find out. The Changing of the Guard ceremony is not on every day - it is always a morning event so, if you're keen to see some of the ceremony, I'll check the schedule before we finalise a date for your tour.  But don't hold your breath - it can get cancelled at the last moment so the ceremony can't be guaranteed!

  

If that is not enough, there's more!  During our tour we see Clarence House, home to King Charles and Queen Camilla when in London, Horse Guards Parade where two ancient ceremonies take place and the smallest square in London where the last duel was said to have been fought.  As we follow in the footsteps of the royals, the gentlemen and the politicians, you will hear some fun facts about them all from across the centuries.

London's history is evident wherever you look on this tour so don't miss out! 

 

The meeting place for St James' private walking tours is  under the Colonnade of the Ritz Hotel, Piccadilly next to Green Park underground station.  This is the starting point for many tours in London so it can get busy; I will meet you about halfway along the Colonnade under the sign attached to the wall which reads: 'Ritz Club'.

 

If you would like to make this a longer tour, why not book a combined tour of St James' and Mayfair so you can hear how the aristocracy created Mayfair a few decades after the Royals had developed St James'.  Alternatively, link it in with Westminster so you can see even more of Royal London.  The combined St James'/Westminster tour allows us to enjoy three of the most iconic buildings in London, all with Royal connections: Westminster Abbey, Westminster Hall and the Houses of Parliament; these tours last between 3.5 - 4 hours.