It wasn't a good day for a walk, it was drizzling and windy, but it didn't put off the 35 to 40 people who went on the walk. Our guide was very knowledgeable and you had no real problem hearing what she was saying, even though it was noisy with the traffic and the windy conditions. She was a little bit of a trouper, she was always telling us to move closer in to her and not to block the pavement and she walked like she was marching with her brolly in the air, and boy could she walk fast. I had trouble keeping up with her let alone the poor dears behind me!

It was a mixed group on the walk with ages ranging from young to elderly, with most being tourists. A nice surprise for me is that I met Larry and his wife, Jenny who receive my theatre newsletter. They said they heard about the walk from the newsletter.

We were taken to only a fraction of the theatres, which is what I expected because it would take a day to visit all of them. We were taken to most of the theatres in the Covent Garden area where we learnt a lot about their history and about ghosts that haunted some of them. We were also taken to statues of famous actors and playwrights, some I never knew were in London. The guide had many interesting and comical stories to tell about each. When she showed us what used to be David Garrick's House in Covent Garden in 1750, she told us the house is still in its original state except the windows. The glass in the windows is not original because they were shattered on several occasions by theatregoers when they didn't like his play!! Can you imagine what it would be like today, if we behaved in the same way?

The tour lasts about 2 hours, and afterwards we all went to the 4 star Mountbatton Hotel where we had tea or coffee and a piece of cake, all this was included in the price of 6 pounds 50 pence. We were also given a guide book called "A Walk Of Theatreland" which is produced by the Society Of London Theatre. In this guide is a map of Theatreland so you can go on your own tour at your leisure. The places to visit are all numbered so you can follow the map and visit over 50 different places.

This walking tour is a must for any lover of London theatre. It is very good value for money and is well presented. If you are a little unsteady on your feet or cannot walk fast it can be a little problem, because like I said the guide walks quite fast and you are on your feet for nearly 2 hours. The best part of the tour for me though was having that tea and cake at the hotel with Larry and Jenny. A great afternoon all round.

( Darren Dalglish)

**Note: This tour is now in demand and so booking up to a month in advanced is recommended!!