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I'll admit it; I'm a fiercely independent traveler. I like to be dropped into a place and left to wander around on my own. I don't enjoy the self-guided audio tours at most attractions. I tried one at the Houses of Parliament with my daughter-in-law but we couldn't get the narration to line up with the rooms and it was slowing us down, so we ditched them and just walked through on our own. If something takes most people 3 hours, I do it in half the time. Luckily, I'm married to a man with a similar style. Both of us have a parent who took forever to visit anything, so I think we have no patience for a slow-roll through an attraction. We are a "look and go" kind of couple.
So, it takes a good tour to hold our attention. Having been to London as many times as I have, it also would take a knowledgeable guide to WOW me. Well, mission accomplished!
Billy of London History Taxi Tours reached out to me a few months ago and we played tag on WhatsApp for a few weeks until I decided I was going to come to London and I reached back out to him for an airport transfer to my hotel.
The drive to my hotel near The Tower was perfect and I got a glimpse of the quality and type of tours they offer. When I mentioned the Rock and Roll tour to my husband, he thought that sounded like fun, so we took that one a few days later. You can read about our experience HERE. Then, Billy reached out to see if I wanted to take his history tour. The only day that worked for us was the day we were flying home so we tacked a transfer to the airport on the end of the tour.
Billy picked us up at our hotel at 7:30 am. It was raining and he came in and got our luggage while we were checking out. Points for getting soaked for us! The taxi was impeccable and had a beautiful panoramic roof. That really added a quality touch to the tour as so much beauty is above you in London. I found myself gazing through it and pondered how awesome his Christmas light tour would be with that glass roof! I imagined passing under the beautiful lights across the streets while all warm and dry with Christmas music playing. But, that's for another time.
This was the Classic History Tour and it was fantastic! Billy is a London historian and studying to get his history degree. He is a fountain of knowledge. It is not a scripted tour - it is a conversation between the passengers and a very knowledgeable driver who doesn't just drive you past ONLY the usual things (although he does that), but also drives you through the history of London from Roman Londinium through modern day.
We had questions and he had answers. I went to places in London I had never been before and saw things I had missed. We stopped several times (he had an umbrella for the rain) so we could walk over to get a closer look at something. Our luggage was in the taxi and he was very conscientious about making sure it was safely locked inside and within sight.
The 4-hour tour was highly personalized and comfortable. If we needed a toilet break, he knew exactly where to stop. We stopped at a church and he suggested we try a Gregg's sausage roll since there was a Gregg's next to the church and it was breakfast time. If you know, you know, but Gregg's sausage rolls are cheap and a London institution and I had weirdly missed ever having one. He was very aware of time and when we needed to get to the airport. It was a premium experience that we loved!
Billy is a true Londoner. He is the son of a proper cockney father. He will tell you about that at a certain point on the tour, so I won't spoil it for you.
I 100% recommend any of the tours from London History Taxi Tours. I think this is London's best private taxi tour. It's clear that they aim to provide premium tours for London visitors. They delivered tours that actually made me glad I took them! Oh, and what's super cool is that after you take one of their tours, Billy is happy to recommend restaurants or answer questions for you via WhatsApp during your stay. We all want that London contact to tell us the best places that locals eat. You can text him with questions you might have while you're in London.
We loved this tour so much that I have booked a lot of my clients on it and they all loved it! One client now wants me to find a "Billy worthy" tour on all the trips I plan for them. I try, but I don't feel like I've ever gotten to that level - LOL
Oh, and if you're reading this, Billy, I hope the Coke Zero came off your rain jacket. I hate those attached lids that only pretend to be screwed on all the way. Sorry....
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