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Our acclaimed Tour Guiding course has been running since 2011 and has built up a reputation for excellence in its teaching approach. We seamlessly blend the acquisition of in-depth knowledge about London with the development of skills in research, public-speaking, storytelling and more.

• Dates: The 2026-27 course will run from Sat 26 Sep 2026 to Sat 22 May 2027 with a four-week break at Christmas and a one-week break at Easter.
• Format: We meet on Saturdays for a mixture of in-class, on-street and in-gallery sessions, with the occasional online session. Half the Saturdays are morning only (10.30 to 13.00) and half the Saturdays are full days (10.00 to 16.30).
• Venue: The venue for classroom sessions is the St Marylebone CE School, 64 Marylebone High Street W1U 5BA.
• Fee: The fee for 2026-27 will be £1,250 (this includes course materials and examination fees but does not include fees for optional tours and visits).
• Materials: Two course handbooks, written by the course director and available before the course begins, and a digital resource library.
• Applications: Applications close on Fri 26 June and interviews will be held w/c Mon 3 Aug.
• Course prospectus: If you would like to know more after reading the information on the website, please request our course prospectus.

We look forward to hearing from you!

During March, our Art of Tour Guiding students worked on their third assignment, which was to design a guided walk in central London, on a theme of their choice.

Various geographical areas were selected: Covent Garden, Soho, Mayfair, Whitehall, the City, King’s Cross, Mile End, the north and south banks of the Thames, and many others.

And the themes chosen by our students were wide-ranging, too:

• Freemasons and Templars
• American Legends in London
• Tea, Opium and Empire
• Great European Composers in London
• Refugees, Radicals and Revellers
• Westminster’s Naval Connections
• London’s Best Photo Spots
• Brompton Cemetery – Boffins in Coffins!
• Literary London
• Mental Illness and Mental Health

And many more!

After graduation in May, the students plan to organise a walks programme for the summer, so that they can continue developing their skills and learning from each other.

If this sort of activity appeals to you, then please request our course prospectus and get ready for applications opening for the 2026-27 course in May.

We have been training our students in gallery-guiding skills at the National Portrait Gallery since 2013, and our specially-designed exam tour enables them to develop a comprehensive understanding of London history from the time of Henry VIII to World War 1. In February, our Class of 2025-26 on the Art of Tour Guiding course rose to the challenge of their first practical exam.

The exam tour covers the following aspects of London’s history: Tudors, Civil War, Restoration, Georgians, Empire, Reformers, Regency, Inventors, Romantics, Palace of Westminster, Victorians and Suffragettes. Students select 12 portraits along this route and, for each portrait, research and prepare a five-minute talk. Then the exam gives them the opportunity to demonstrate their skills in public-speaking, storytelling, group management and more.

This assignment may appear daunting at first but our students are prepared for success by our expert tutor team, supported by a large group of peer mentors who are former students on our tour guiding course. We congratulate the Class of 2025-26 and say a big “thank you” to all the peer mentors!

If you are up for the challenge, too, then please request our course prospectus and get ready for applications opening for the 2026-27 course in May.

In December, our Art of Tour Guiding students completed their first written assignment: to attend at least four guided tours of central London venues and write a report on their observations. Focusing on guiding skills such as group management, audience engagement and storytelling – not site facts – they produced 3,000-word reports and summary slides. As well as developing their ability to make observations of other guides in action, the purpose of the assignment was for the students to reflect on their current ability level and decide on an action plan for their skills development.

The selection of venues was entirely up to the students and they chose to explore far and wide, including:

• Westminster stars: Westminster Abbey, Palace of Westminster, Royal Opera House, Royal Albert Hall
• City gems: St Paul’s Cathedral, St Bartholomew the Great, Vintners’ Hall, Dr Johnson’s House
• Cultural hubs: British Museum, National Gallery, V&A, Tate Britain and Tate Modern
• Heritage sites: Shakespeare’s Globe, Theatre Royal Drury Lane, Hunterian Museum, John Soane’s Museum

And many more venues were included in the assignment, too.

The learning points and action points identified by the students were a clear sign of their enthusiasm to improve and the importance of self-reflection in a professional development training course. If this sort of learning appeals to you, then please request our course prospectus and get ready for applications opening for the 2026-27 course in May.

We were thrilled to welcome a new cohort of 28 outstanding students to the first class of the 2025-26 course today.

As the 2024-25 course nears its conclusion, we are humbled by feedback received from members of this year’s cohort highlighting the impact that the London Heritage Training Tour Guiding course has had on their lives.

Students’ comments include the following:

“Over the course of eight months I found myself transformed from a shy, somewhat gauche public speaker with hand gestures worthy of a Dutch windmill to a poised speaker able to speak to and not talk at an audience.”

Tim Jacobs

“Caroline’s guiding course has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I learned so much! The skills and knowledge I have come away with are beyond value.”

Voytek Stanley

“Putting my wife and children to one side, this is the best thing I have done in decades.”

Trevor Mayhew

“You don’t realise until you are immersed in the programme that what she is doing is building your structured knowledge of the history of Britain through practical exercises. Further lessons then build on how to convey that knowledge as a confident street-based guide.”

Nicholas Strachan

“I would rate Caroline as one of the finest tutors that I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. Her passion for the subject matter, her personable interaction and genuine affection for her students, and her calm and confident style all contributed to a truly professional experience.”

Marc Gardiner

“We started the course as normal humans and ended it as professional guides… What did I get? An extensive knowledge about London, a useful set of practical guiding skills… and of course an absolute confidence in what I do. No more imposter syndrome.”

Anna Hadorn

London Heritage Training is delighted to announce that from 2025-26 it will be expanding its renowned Tour Guiding course, which in its previous format has equipped over three hundred students with the skills required to craft and lead unforgettable tours in Westminster, to cover a broader area of central London.

In its new form the course will equip students to guide across the capital, breaking down geographical boundaries between the boroughs that comprise central London. Students on the expanded course will continue to explore the heart of Westminster (including Whitehall, St James’s, the West End and Marylebone), and will also learn about selected areas of the City, Southwark, Kensington & Chelsea and Camden.

What will not change is the course’s commitment to blending expert knowledge with research, storytelling and presentation skills, and to helping students find their own voice and become the most confident and engaging guide they can be. The course will continue to be led by widely-respected educator Dr Caroline Dunmore.