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    • Winston Churchill
    • Old City Ghost Walk
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  • Private Tours
    • Tasting Tours >
      • History of London in 4 Drinks
      • Feast From The East
      • The Food Lover’s Market Tour
      • The Secret History of Street Food
      • Pies, Pints, and Peculiar Pubs
    • Getting to Know London Tours >
      • High Class - Lowlifes Tour
      • Hidden London
      • The Crown
      • The Shocking East End
      • Old City Ghost Walk
      • The Haute CouTour
      • The London Spy Walk
    • Famous Figures Tours >
      • Charles Dickens's London
      • Winston Churchill
    • Ancient Tree Tours >
      • The Ancient, Royal, and Historic Tree Tour of London
      • Royal Oak and Yew Tour
    • Tours for Business
  • Virtual Experiences
    • Drinks With The Churchills
    • SPIES IN YOUR HOME
  • About Us
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The Coutourier

To follow are a series of blogs created by Coutours. These help stitch together the fascinating fabric of London into a series of interesting tales and stories to showcase London in all its glory. 

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Amazing Places
Delicious Food And Drink
Notable People
Travel Tips And Suggestions

Jean Cocteau Murals at Notre Dame de France

18/2/2021

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London has so many exciting secrets to reveal; some are easy to find and some seem more exciting as they take a little bit more effort. To arrive in this metropolis is like opening the door to one of the world’s most fascinating museums, a veritable cabinet of curiosities. Alleyways can lead to the most amazing discoveries and squares are the keepers of secrets. Even when you think you are in a relatively bland part of town, something jumps out at you. For example, most Londoners avoid walking through Leicester Square, a I forum filled with crowds and slow walkers. However, if you walk a few steps north of the square and into Leicester Place, you will come across a surprising but small post war church. Behind the rather plain doors of the Notre Dame de France, there is a hushed and darkened church with an amazing piece of public art.


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BARNEY... The amazonian of london

11/2/2021

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Deep in the depths of an old wood stands an enormous tree. Its girth is such that it takes six people with arms at full stretch to hug it. It is Amazonian in size and yet this is not the Amazon; this is the lovely, leafy locale of Barnes, London
and this is Barney. I was first introduced to Barney at the launch of The Woodland Trust’s ‘Ancient Tree Hunt’, an initiative for people to go out into their local parks, woods and forests to measure trees. The idea was to get people to enjoy these ‘testaments to time’ and also to see if they could find any undiscovered ancient or notable trees. You would need several tape measures and some help to gauge Barney’s girth. So, what is Barney and why is he here?Barney is the largest and oldest London Plane tree and possibly also the most hidden tree in London which is quite an achievement considering his size.


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"AYE, THERE'S THE RUB."

16/10/2020

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​As you walk along New Bond Street you will reach a pedestrianized section. Continue past Pete’s flower stall and you will encounter a park bench on which two amiable characters are sat, holding a conversation and on the verge of a laugh. Look closer and they have been caught in animation – bronze characters captured mid conversation. These are no ordinary people, they are the two main protagonists of the allied forces in WWII. Named “Allies”, this is a sculpture of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Winston Churchill. 


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ROUGH & READY - THE SOFTER SIDE OF BRutalisT ARCHITECTURE

15/10/2020

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​Mention Brutalism to your average Brit and most will think of ugly, concrete buildings that seem to sap England of joy! Concrete, which partners drizzle in such a bleak union in the way that cheery red brick has never achieved. It doesn’t help that this branch of the modernist movement is called “Brutalism.” Brutalism gave us The Barbican, The Hayward Gallery, Queen Elizabeth Hall and Trellick Tower alongside other iconic buildings of the 1950’s to 1970’s. We didn’t like it; we considered it brutal and aggressive as well as new and totalitarian. Hang on a minute, Brutalism doesn’t actually mean brutal. The word comes from the French ‘brut’ which means ‘raw’ or ‘unprocessed’ or in my case ‘dry’ as in Champagne! “What!” I hear you cry. “So these towering monoliths weren’t the product of dystopian monsters bent on revenge for human destruction of the earth?” *


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EAST END SHUTTERS

14/10/2020

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Welcome to East London’s French Quarter; an area of genteel 18th Century houses sitting rather primly amongst the pubs, the markets and the hipsters. 
Spitalfields was the favoured spot in East London where thousands of French Huguenot silk weavers settled from 1685. They were attracted here by its weaving heritage and liberal attitude to religious immigrants. These Huguenots, also known as French Calvinists, emigrated in their thousands to London and to other parts of the world after the 1685 Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. The Edict was a piece of legislation that dated back to 1598 to protect the Protestants and inspire tolerance. However, Louis XIV had other ideas. He didn’t think this liberal stance sat with his desire for autocracy and so in 1685 dispensed with it.


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LONDON'S FAMOUS Docks

15/1/2019

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​​It was the Romans who saw the potential of the Thames and created our first Docklands. They built wharves and docks by the first London Bridge which grew into the biggest docks in the world. By the late 1960's they could not cope with the massive container ships and rapidly went into decline and inevitably closed. They remained derelict until the 1980's which marked the start of their amazing redevelopment. A walk around the old docks of Wapping, Shad Thames, Rotherhithe, Limehouse and The Isle of Dogs reveals the docks' salty sea-dog past!

The docks have some of the best pubs in London; the oldest in the area is The Prospect of Whitby dating back to 1520. There is a noose hanging outside the river side of the pub - not a warning to settle your lunch bill before leaving but a reminder of the area's notoriety. Smugglers and pirates were rife in this area, perhaps the most famous being Captain Kidd who is immortalised in a nearby pub and allegedly the inspiration for Daniel Dafoe's Treasure Island.


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Secrets of the East End - The world's first council estate

14/1/2019

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Forget Old Street or the IMAX at Waterloo, London’s most magical roundabout is surely Arnold Circus. Hidden just a stone’s throw away from the hipsters, between Columbia Road, Shoreditch High Street and Bethnal Green Road, it’s surrounded by impressive Victorian redbrick buildings, complete with a peaceful garden and bandstand. This is not your average roundabout – it’s worth a visit for its beauty and also for its history. It just so happens to be the home of the very first council estate in the world.

​Constructed in the 1890s from the rubble of the notorious Old Nichol slum that had stood here for decades previously, today Arnold Circus is a people-watching paradise. From families dropping their kids off at The Virginia Primary School to fashion designers heading to their studio at The Rochelle creative hub, the local community is a diverse bunch indeed. The imposing architecture that surrounds them holds a times-gone-by atmosphere, meaning you may even spot a film crew recreating Victorian or Edwardian London.


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what are the capital's top five attractions?

12/1/2019

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​We got our heads together and decided on London’s top five, must see attractions. 

The whispering gallery at St. pauls cathedral

 St Paul's Churchyard, London EC4M 8AD
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​St Paul’s Cathedral is without question, one of capital’s most gorgeous and historic buildings. 

Perched on the highest point of the City of London, St. Paul’s Cathedral has been at the epicentre of some our major national and historical events.  It has survived 12 monarchs and two world wars, and remains one of the key places of worship for high-profile weddings and funerals.
 "Best Architectural Phenomenon"
St Paul’s has one curious and charming phenomenon that should never be missed- the Whispering Gallery. Climb 259 steps up the dome and you will find it. It’s a circular walkway which hugs the dome structure, offering a vertigo inducing view of the cathedral floor far below. 
 
Whisper along the curving wall, and someone on the other side of the circular walkway, more than 33m away, will be able to hear you- clear as if you were standing right next to them. Whilst you’re doing it, imagine the  secrets and sweet nothings, that the dome has heard over the past three centuries!


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london's most historic pubs

11/1/2019

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“When you have lost your inns, drown your empty selves, for you will have lost the last of England."
~Hilaire Belloc (1912)~
Pubs are one of London’s most unique and historic institutions that have provided a meeting place for people to gather, drink and shoot the breeze throughout the centuries. The capital has plenty of pubs to choose from - almost 4,000 in fact. Hidden within this crowd of watering holes are pubs that have quite a story to tell, some playing pivotal roles in history. Our selection below celebrates some of these historic pubs and the stories they have to tell.  

Lamb and flag

​​33 Rose Street, London WC2E 9EB
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This hugely popular pub is often claimed to be Covent Garden’s oldest watering hole. It’s easy to miss, tucked down an alleyway – which was once notorious as the site of bare-knuckle fighting. Historic patrons include Dickens, and the 17th-century poet John Dryden. Happily, it has still got a lot of character and traditional charm. Often packed with raucous revellers, we suggest you use the narrow wooden staircase to escape the crowds!

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guinness and its bitter london secret

15/7/2018

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Surely one of the world’s most well-known brands is Guinness. With its iconic posters and unique tick-follows-tock TV advertising, it’s really taken the world by storm. Famed all over the globe for its clean, bitter taste and smooth black appearance with a creamy white head, it’s a beer that is as Irish as a leprechaun doing a jig to a Boyzone classic, right? Well… not quite. Many people don’t know that Guinness has an older brother, which goes by the name of Porter. This London stout never got the same snazzy marketing campaigns or international acclaim. No, Porter is like the older sibling that stayed at home with mum (and, you know, with all the true stout connoisseurs) whilst baby brother went gallivanting off on a gap year and never came back.

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    Author

    Emma Parker

    MY PROMISE

    As a tour guide and a lover of London, I will be writing a series of interesting stories about London; tales I have heard, places I have visited, tasty food I have eaten and delicious drinks I have enjoyed. Watch out for this every week or so. 


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