Tuesday, 27 May

BRING YOUR KIDS & FAMILY SCAVENGER HUNT GUIDED WALK: "Great Fire of London"

'Bring Your Kids & Family Guided Walks' are the perfect way for kids and adults to learn London history - and hunt for clues along the way!

By 'BRING YOUR BABY' GUIDED LONDON WALKS

Date and time

Tue, 27 May 2025 10:30 - 12:30 GMT+1

Location

Outside 'All Bar One' Tower Of London (opposite All Hallow's by the Tower church)

14 Byward Street London EC3R 5BA United Kingdom

Refund Policy

Refunds up to 1 day before event

About this event

Event lasts 2 hours

Bring Your Kids & Family Scavenger Hunt Guided Walk: "The Great Fire of London"

Walk starts: Outside 'All Bar One' Tower Of London, 14 Byward Street London EC3R 5BA (opposite All Hallow's by the Tower church) where there is shade.

Walk ends: The Monument, Fish Street Hill, London EC3R 8AH

'From the creator of 'Bring Your Baby Guided London Walks and 'Bring Your Baby Pub Quizzes', 'Bring Your Kids & Family Scavenger Hunt Guided Walks' are fun, educational trails led by a professional guide who has also worked in an educational setting.

Bring all the family this half term! Parents, children, grandparents, and friends all welcome! Under 5s go free, but please ensure little ones are in a buggy or can walk the duration safely. Please also note that due to the nature of the subject there will be mention of death related to fire and plague.

Designed to be very engaging, children will learn about famous events from London's history and hunt for things along the way. Your guide will also use physical and visual resources to excite and help children with any new concepts or ideas.

There will be a 'Great Fire of London Certificate of Expertise' for every child at the end! Joanna will write the children's names on certificates and date them to make them extra-special.

Description:

Samuel Pepys was the son of a tailor who rose up through society to become an important administrator at The Royal Navy Offices. He also kept a diary, and it is this that tells us many enlightening things about what happened in London during The Great Plague of 1665 and The Great Fire of London of September 1666 - as well as revealing much about life in London at this time.

The trail includes the following stops:

Seething Lane Gardens, the site of Samuel Pepys' house at the time of the fire - and where he buried his precious wine and Parmesan cheese to save it from the fire!
The site of Thomas Farriner's bakery, where the fire first broke out.
The Monument to the fire near Pudding Lane.
The ancient parish church where Pepys and his wife Elizabeth worshipped and are buried - along with over 300 plague victims.
The oldest church in London, where Pepys watched the fire from its tower. You will also search for items inside this church - and be given time for a visit to the Crypt which has a Roman tessellated floor of a domestic house from the 2nd Century.
The location of the Navy Offices where Pepys worked, and some clues to find!
The tranquil churchyard of a church destroyed by the fire (and WW2 bombs).
Cobbled streets in the original pre-fire locations.
St Magnus the Martyr, site of the original London Bridge, where Pepys watched the fire burning from the river Thames as people scurried to rescue their belongings and get to boats.
and more...

Co-written by 'Bring Your Kids' and 'Bring Your Baby' founder Lucy (a former Primary School Teacher who often taught about the Great Fire of London!) and City of London Green Badge guide, Joanna.

This walk is also available to book by teachers during term-time as an engaging school trip for children learning about 'The Great Fire of London'. Please email Lucy@bringyourbaby.org to discuss a private booking and requirements that would best suit your class/es.

Things to note - please read carefully:

There will be a toilet stop at All Hallows Church about half an hour into the walk.
There are also toilets (free for the public to use as part of the City of London Community Toilet Scheme) at The Liberty Bounds pub on Trinity Square near the meeting point. There are further community toilets at the end of the walk at The Hydrant pub.
There are plenty of places to get coffee near the meeting point (please do this before meeting your guide) and at the end.

Please let me know if we need to make any special accommodations for either adults or children by emailing Lucy@bringyourbaby.org

Every walk follows the usual health and safety guidelines, such as crossing at traffic lights where possible and having hazards pointed out to you.
Children's safety and behaviour is the parent or guardian's responsibility.
It is recommended you bring appropriate drinks and snacks for the duration of the walk.
Please bring all the necessary sun protection for yourself and your children.
Customer refunds must be requested at least 24 hours before an event starts.
If on the day of the walk we are forecast to have severe weather, we may have to postpone the walk. If it's a bit of light rain we will cope!
If for any reason Bring Your Baby Ltd are forced to cancel or postpone an event (for example in the case of illness or extreme weather conditions), you are within your rights to request a refund, though we will always suggest an alternative date for you to attend if it is available.
We will contact you with reminders and contact details for your guide a few days before your walk. We also ask you to provide a mobile number so you can be contacted for the purposes of the walk, but this is not for marketing purposes.
Please note that if you are more than a few minutes late for the walk we may ask you to catch up with us.

Refunds or requests to move to a future event or date must be requested within 24 hours of the event commencing so that we can try to refill the space in adequate time. I also have to honour to pay my guide within this time frame.

Organised by

'BRING YOUR BABY' GUIDED LONDON WALKS

Bring Your Baby Guided London Walks have been sensitively devised to suit parents and carers of even the tiniest babies to enjoy guided local history walks with their pram or sling.

Each walk has been planned so that you can stop whenever you like to feed and change - without the stress of feeling you are holding up the group. Because every participant brings their baby, patience and baby’s needs are at the forefront of each walk.

As a local historian and also a recent new mother, I noticed there was a real absence of activities for parents and carers to enjoy something stimulating for both brain and body while caring for baby.

The focus of these walks is enjoyment: gaining new local history knowledge and exploring the outdoors, while at the same time feeling unpressured when baby’s needs arise.

Everyone who comes along is welcome to stop as they need to comfort, feed and change. Either we can stop as a group, or you can use the map provided to rejoin us further along the route. There are many stops, and always lots to see and hear about, so it is always easy to catch up.

I will always add a pit-stop halfway through (such as a cafe or pub large enough to accommodate us) so that we can take a breather and meet baby’s needs at this time if it hasn’t been required earlier.

Adults £20; children go free.

Lucy Madison is a life-long London history nerd and mum to 4 year-old Evan. Trained in guiding walks and with a background in Primary School teaching, she is used to organising large groups of people! Lucy also founded 'Bring Your Baby Pub Quizzes' which take place all over London and increasing areas of the UK, and which can also be found at BringYourBaby.org. Apart from looking for the latest new adventure with her family, developing new walks and running Bring Your Baby Ltd, Lucy is a committee member of Hackney History and co-wrote the sell-out book 'Women from Hackney's History' which is soon to be reprinted.

FAQ

What kind of places will there be to feed or change my baby?

We always have a halfway pit-stop for lunch and/or refreshment and baby change, and I will never rush you to finish eating, feeding or changing. We just take as long as everyone needs. If we visit a park or green space, there are almost always plentiful benches or grassy spots depending on your level of comfort feeding or changing there. You can always request to stop somewhere convenient outside of these times. Patience is at the forefront of these walks.

Since having my baby I need to rest quite often. Will there be places to sit down?

I always try to arrange stops at points of interest along the route at places where there is a bench, wall or other suitable area to perch! Though this is not possible at every stop, it is something I consider when planning every walk - I had a Caesarian myself, and remember the need for respite!

I’m embarrassed to ask the group to slow down or stop when I need to use the loo / feed or change baby / have a rest.

You never need to feel embarrassed, guilty or stressed in asking the group to stop or slow down for any reason. That's what Bring Your Baby is all about. Simply make me aware and I’ll modify what we’re doing at the time to meet your needs.

How long are the walks?

Approximate distances and durations are indicated on each listing and I shall remind you when the walk starts. No walk is ever over 2 miles. Owing to the nature of these walks it may be we need more time to complete the walk if stoppages are needed.

I’m bringing my baby, but can I also bring my other children?

My walks are often a great learning opportunity for children, particularly if we visit green spaces with plenty of natural sensory elements. However it is the parent or carer's responsibility to ensure their children are safe, particularly near roads.

Will I be able buy food along the way?

Packed food, drink and snacks are always recommended as we are being active and you may get hungry! However, snacks, tea and coffee etc. can be purchased at the place we stop at halfway for refreshment.

Can I come on your walk if I don’t bring children?

Unfortunately not. These walks have been designed to provide something unique for parents and carers of small children. Therefore I have to prioritise and cater for this group only. This does not mean there is a limit to the number of adults you can bring - mum, dad, childminder and granny all welcome as long as there is a child! All adults need to be paying ticket holders.

Do I have to bring my printed ticket to the event?

No, I'll have you already on my list.

What is the refund policy?

Refunds need to be requested with 24-hours notice. In some circumstances I will allow you to attend a future walk instead with your ticket if you cancel at late notice.

Will the walk be cancelled if it rains?

Walks go ahead in light rain, but heavy rain or high winds are not safe for taking babies out on guided walks, so in this circumstance the walk would be postponed. You can request a full refund if you can't make an alternative date.

I can’t make your date. Will you be repeating the walk?

Walks generally get repeated every month or so. The more popular ones such as Suffragettes' East London and Nursery Rhymes London get repeated more frequently.

Where can I contact you with any questions?

Drop me a line at Lucy@bringyourbaby.org

£0 – £16.63