_edited_edited.png)
The Walk
The walk follows the outbreak as it unfolded, parish by parish, street by street.
Drawing on contemporary accounts and the weekly Bills of Mortality, we trace how the disease spread through the city, how authorities responded, and how ordinary people adapted as conditions worsened.
What emerges is not a single story, but a pattern: decisions made under pressure, systems stretched beyond their limits, and a city trying to maintain order as conditions deteriorate.
"Great fear of the sickness here in the City."
— Samuel Pepys, 1665
The Outbreak
At first, it passes almost unnoticed, not yet feared.
Then concern begins to grow.
Houses are marked.
The weekly totals begin to rise.
At first gradually, then sharply.
As the weeks pass,
concern gives way to anxiety.
The pattern is no longer contained.
The scale becomes harder to ignore.
By the height of the outbreak,
anxiety turns to desperation.
The streets fall silent.
Suspicion grows.
Explanations falter.
In fear, people turn to superstition
And control begins to slip.
“It was generally in such houses that we heard the most dismal shrieks and outcries of the poor people, terrified and even frighted to death.”
— Daniel Defoe, Journal of the Plague Year
What this is
This is a live, guided walking tour through the
City of London.
Led by a guide in traditional 17th-century plague doctor attire, the walk follows the real locations, records, and stories of the 1665 outbreak.
This is not a ghost story. There are no jump scares.
It is unsettling for different reasons: the scale of death, the speed of its spread, and the desperate measures taken to contain it.
Nothing here has been invented or exaggerated. The accounts are drawn from contemporary records and presented by a
City of London Guide.
What remains are the accounts, records, and the places themselves.
Together, they show what happened when a city was struck by something it had no hope of understanding, and how the desperate people responded.
What you'll experience
Led through the city by the plague doctor. Not a guide with a flag.
A figure drawn from the outbreak itself, present and part of the experience.
More than something you watch. Most walking tours are visual.
This one goes further. Sound, smell and taste are also used deliberately to
bring the period closer than sight alone ever could.
Stand where the dead were taken. Not one place but many.
First in churchyards. Later, in plague pits cut into unconsecrated ground to take the overflow. Spaces pushed beyond their limits. Forgotten places beneath the modern city, but still there.
Walk through a landscape that hasn’t entirely changed.
Among the modern city, echoes of an earlier London still remain.
Ancient churches. Old street patterns. Narrow alleys.
And landmarks, including the Tower of London, that stood through it all.
See how people tried to survive.
Remedies, protections, rituals. Some grounded in observation. Others in fear. All revealing how little was truly understood.
The only walking tour in London dedicated entirely to the Great Plague.
Practical Details
TOUR DETAILS
Mondays - Saturdays at 7 p.m.
DURATION
Approx. 2 hours
MEETING PLACE
Aldgate Underground Station (Metropolitan and Circle Lines)
Meet guide outside the station. There is only one entrance/exit.
ROUTE
Approx. 1.7 miles (just under 3 km).
ACCESSIBILITY
Mostly on public streets and pavements. Some steps.
A step-free, wheelchair-accessible version of the walk can be provided with advance notice. Please contact us when booking.
GROUP SIZE
Limited to 15 people to maintain an intimate, immersive experience.
PRICE
£20 Adults
£14 Concessions (under 18 and over 65)
AGE GUIDANCE
Recommended for ages 14+
Includes themes of death, disease and historical suffering.
Led by a qualified City of London Guide, assessed to
Institute of Tourist Guiding standards.
QUESTIONS OR SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS?
info@deadlondon.co.uk or +44 7590 549 607
Everything you need to know before booking.
Dead London Walking Tours
Ian McPherson T/A Dead London Walking Tours
+44 7590 549 607
© 2026 Dead London Walking Tours. All rights reserved.
