“Mews-it” on a guided tour with a difference

London is buzzing with organised walks

It’s difficult to go far without coming across a group of people in flat shoes and raincheaters, eagerly following their ‘expert’ guide as he or she holds forth about the murders of Jack the Ripper or Charles Dickens’ favourite haunts. The capital’s mews streets – often tucked away out of sight in the midst of popular and exclusive areas – are rarely included in these tourist tours. That’s why we were amazed to come across a guided walk that actually sets out to stroll past some of London’s prettiest mews properties.The “Thread the needle” walk offered here promises a route from Earl’s Court to Kensington that turns its back on main roads and busy streets, threading its way through a maze of mews streets where peace and quiet reigns. We’re delighted to hear that the walk is not just treated as a clever way to avoid traffic – tour guides Hilary (OBE) and Stephanie are serious about their mews history, promising to tell tourists all about “What they were for, how they came about, who they served”. At Lurot Brand we agree that they mews streets are “crucial pieces in the social puzzle of 19th century London.” We could run our own tours, but we’re too busy showing clients pretty mews properties in Notting Hill, South Kensington, Hyde Park, Chelsea and elsewhere. If you’d like to view some “eye candy” mews houses (to quote www.walks.com) then call us. We’d be delighted to walk you round some picturesque mews enclaves that even Stephanie and Hilary haven’t managed to discover.

You can side street-it. Alleyway-it. Best of all, mews-it. Pretty maids all in a row. Well, not in a row – rather, strung along Steph’s thread-the-needle route. But yes – BIG YES – pretty-as-a-picture mews cottages. Lots of them pastel-splashed. Lots of them decked with flower boxes. Urban coves, havens of 19th-century tranquillity.

Website URL: http://www.walks.com/our-walks/classic-london-mews-hidden-passageways