Sherlock Holmes London Locations Walking Tour

As it has always been, the health & safety of our guests and team members remains our highest priority. We are doing everything we can to ensure you travel safety and provide maximum flexibility as the situation around Covid-19 continues to evolve. We have officially been given the green light and Good to Go accreditation by Visit Britain & Visit England, so we can now operate safely keeping you & our team healthy throughout. WE have a detailed plan to do so, issued below:

Brit Movie Tours recognises their responsibility to ensure that staff & suppliers (as well as guests) comply with health & safety legislation and maximise the safety of our clients & staff in relation to Covid-19.

In brief, we are making sure that all vehicles are cleaned to the highest standards, that all staff are trained (and re-trained when emerging or evolving information determines) and are provided with the right knowledge and equipment to carry out their duties effectively. Our new protocols to keep you healthy during our tours include:

• Flexible booking options
• Full internal sanitation/cleaning of all coach and taxi vehicles used on our tours
• Social distancing rules & guidelines for walking tours
• Complete staff & guide training to implement new protocols
• Guides will ensure they are familiar with the most up-to-date public health guidelines and will adhere to these for the duration of the tour.
• Guides will maintain government-recommended social distancing between themselves and clients at all times. On tours where the group includes different households, guides will encourage and help clients to adopt appropriate social distancing between each other too.
• When guiding groups from different households, guides will follow government guidance to determine the maximum possible group size.
• Guides will avoid shaking hands or any other physical contact with clients.
• Guides will apply rigorous hygiene practices, including thoroughly cleaning and waiting for hands to dry before guiding, and use a personal hand sanitiser when this is not possible.
• If requested, guides will consider wearing a mask or visor.
• Guides will know where public toilets/hand-washing facilities/hand sanitiser points are available.
• Guides will ensure they are fully aware of sites’ visited on tour and any specific Covid-19 requirements and comply with them.
• Guides will be familiar with more crowded areas and will make best efforts to negotiate them, or if appropriate, avoid them.
• Where appropriate, guides will liaise with coach companies and private vehicle companies and drivers to ensure vehicles have been thoroughly sanitised.

The result is a sanitised attraction but certainly not a sanitised experience! You are here to enjoy our fabulous tours, discover new places & experience an authentic destination. We believe that our new introductions to hygiene/cleaning will allow you to enjoy your visit to the full.

We feel it vitally important to have a strict cleaning protocol in place and that this is transparent.

• See where John Watson first hears of Sherlock Holmes from his friend Stamford
• Visit locations featured in the BBC Sherlock series with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, as well as the big screen adaptation with Robert Downey Jr
• Find existing locations from the Conan Doyle books including The Illustrious Client, The Bruce Partington Plans, A Study in Scarlet and other Sherlock stories
• Join other fans of the great detective making it a collectively enjoyable experience

Discover where it all began, and how the city created an icon.

Your tour begins at St. Bart’s Hospital, a fitting start to any exploration of Sherlock Holmes. It is outside this hospital, the oldest-standing in England, that Holmes and Watson meet for the first time. This chance meeting forges a partnership that brings them through numerous exciting adventures, both on the pages and on the screen. Fans of the Sherlock TV series will even recognise this building, as the characters’ meeting was recreated on the show.

This isn’t the only landmark mentioned in Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories either. Along the way you’ll be sure to see the British Museum, Lyceum Theatre and Royal Opera House. All of these help to paint a picture of Holmes’ London in The Illustrious Client, The Bruce Partington Plans, A Study in Scarlet and more.

Another iconic landmark connected with Holmes’ literary adventures is Strand Magazine HQ. While it doesn’t feature in the stories themselves, it still plays a vital role in the detective’s life. Strand Magazine published the first Sherlock Holmes stories, giving eternal life to an icon.

Aside from the books, Holmes and Watson have gone on around 250 on-screen adventures.

So, it’s safe to say that there are plenty of filming locations throughout London that you will visit too. These include New Scotland Yard. Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sherlock often frequents this building throughout the TV series. You can also visit the real Speedy’s Cafe, a regular stop for the modern Holmes and Watson.

Your tour ends with a stop at Somerset House. Used as a regular filming location on productions like James Bond, it also lends its facade to a famous Holmes adaptation. The building’s exterior features as the Diogenes Club in 1970’s The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes. Here we see Robert Stephens’ Holmes meet his brother Mycroft, played by Christopher Lee.

Although a fictional character, Sherlock Holmes has left an indelible stamp on London’s streets. It has, and will forever be, his playground for mystery and excitement. The Sherlock Holmes London Locations Walking Tour lets you be part of his story, and follow the clues that he has left behind.