I’ve lived in London for almost three years now, but there’s still so much of it that I haven’t yet explored. When an invite to go on a walking tour of the capital (unlike anything JMG and I had done before) dropped into my inbox, I eagerly accepted.

The two of us would be spending our Sunday together, trailing through the back streets of the East End, learning of the horrors of Victorian London. How nice!

We like to do new things. Last Valentine’s Day, JMG and I had a terrific three-part date where we tried rock climbing for the first time, went to the ice bar and wore silly coats and ate loads of chicken. It was great!

This time around, we wrapped up extra warm and met the rest of the group outside Whitechapel Art Gallery in Aldgate East. Our tour guide Richard really looked the part with his fabulous mackintosh and charming hat. 

JMG was keen to track our route to find out how long we had been walking for and just how far we’d travelled. It was a pretty impressive 2-hours (usually lasts around 1-hour 45 minutes) and almost 6km - if you’re interested. So great exercise as well as informative. Take a look at the walking tour itinerary if you’re curious to see where you go.

Richard, owner of Ripper Vision who run the Jack the Ripper walking tour, has been a history enthusiast since he was just 12-years old. His passion for the dark subject matter really shines through. In order to set us the Jack The Ripper tour, he told us how he had held an X-Factor-type audition where 100s of Ripper enthusiasts and wannabee tour guides came and did their thing. There definitely is a knack to being a good guide - you must have oodles of energy and care deeply for your subject matter. After all, you’ll be entertaining thousands of people each year, telling the same story over and over, and each time know that it must feel like you’re telling the story for the very first time.

We’d recently watched the film From Hell, an adaptation of the 1989 novel by Alan Moore, starring Johnny Depp. The walking tour enabled us to immerse ourselves further into the story of Jack the Ripper. It’s a fantastic way of getting to know parts of London a little bit better. Yes, it is gruesome, but it’s also rather captivating. We learned a lot about what it was like to live in the East End at the time of his murderous reign: the terribly dark streets, the unsanitary conditions, the vast number of ladies of the night. Richard also touches upon the many conspiracy theories surrounding the Ripper and names some of the potential culprits. 

Tickets cost £10 - book online

Walking tours run 7-days a week and can sometimes attract around 40+ people at a time.

Tours leave from exit 3 of Aldgate East tube station.

http://thejacktheripperwalk.com

**Thank you to Ripper Vision for allowing me to accompany you on one of your excellent walks. I would definitely recommend people book with you. Our tickets were complimentary, however, I believe that you are great value for money and would pay to go on another Ripper Vision tour in an instant.**