London & Partners

My London Aly MirAly Mir (pictured) is a history graduate and professional walking tour guide. He leads a series ofwalks provided by inmidtown around Holborn, Bloomsbury and St. Giles. By Susannah O’GradyWhat is inmidtown and whatarea does it encompass?Inmidtown is the name of thebusiness improvement district,but it includes the areas Holborn,Bloomsbury and St. Giles (mapB5-7). Bloomsbury is the intellectualcapital of London, if not the world,as it has lots of universities, a literaryhistory and the British Museum.Holborn is fascinating as there isthe financial area in the east and theentertainment district in the west.There are lots of businesses but alsoplenty of interesting attractions –including Sir John Soane’s Museum(p. 55) and the Hunterian Museum(The Royal College of Surgeonsof England, 35-43 Lincoln’s InnFields, WC2. 020 7869 6560. rcseng.ac.uk/museums).St. Giles is an area that peoplearen’t so familiar with, but it isexperiencing enormous changes.I’m very excited about Central St.Giles (St. Giles High Street, WC2. centralsaintgiles.com), a fantasticnew development by the architectRenzo Piano who did the PompidouCentre in Paris. It’s a fantastic mix ofretail space, offices and apartments.Why did you become a tour guide?I used to be in politics and I got sickof it. I asked myself “what makes mehappy?” And I’m never happier thanwhen I’m on holiday, so I thoughtabout helping tourists and othersenjoy their leisure time. I startedby volunteering at Handel HouseMuseum (p. 53) on its Jimi Hendrixtours and at Wildlife For All withtours of Regent’s Park (p. 28),and I’m still at Handel House.16 | visitlondon.com|LONDON PLANNER|February 2012How long have you been aninmidtown guide for?I started as an inmidtown streetranger in 2003. Then, in 2006,it decided to offer guided walks.I was already a volunteer guide,so I was asked if I’d like to becomea tour guide for them. I started withfive trial walks, then 10, now wehave 100 different walks. I aim toadd three to four new walks everythree months.There is a vast range ofwalk subjects on offer, fromfreemasons to murders, whatare the most popular?I’d say that Horrible Holborn isconsistently popular. It includesthe history of High Holborn andhow it once linked Newgate Prisonwith Tyburn Gallows. Those facingexecution would be paraded alongHigh Holborn before meetingtheir deaths.Why are your walks relevantto tourists?Many are just 45 minutes long. Mosttourists don’t have time to spendhours on a tour as they have lots to“THOSE FACING EXECUTION WOULD BE PARADED ALONG HIGH HOLBORN BEFORE MEETING THEIR DEATHS”