T. S. Eliot – The Waste Land Tour
Blackfriars underground station, London
Guided by Rick Jones
Adult: £20 · Students & Seniors: £15 · Children: £5
Walk Times
| Day | Walk Type | Start Time | End Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday | Weekly | 11.30 am | 1.30 pm | Winter Summer | Reserve Online |
N.B. this walk will not take place on the following dates:
14-05-2025 11-06-2025 20-08-2025By walk’s end you’ll get it about this portrait, understand why it’s so “right.” Just as you’ll understand the poem and the times.
“Inexplicable splendour of Ionian white and gold…”
And a world-class guide to boot.
T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land. The most influential poetic work of the 20th century. Because its centenary was just now “on the clock”
Rick Jones, a poet and musician* himself, has put together this tour of locations in the poem. Up Queen Victoria Street to where St Mary Woolnoth kept the hours, down King William Street to St Magnus the Martyr. And of course London Bridge and “a public bar in Lower Thames Street.”
“This walk has everything I want in a walking tour: a brilliant guide, an inspired route, lots of alleyways and hidden passageways, a secret garden, no end of surprises, fantastic A-List attractions, three stunning interiors, a pub, three rivers (two of them visible),
a heady mix of past and present London, London life surging and eddying all around us, gobsmacking “well I never” tiny details, and brilliant delivery of wondrous content (Rick doesn’t read those great lines, he’s memorised the whole poem – all of it anchored in the places he takes us to and what he shows us.) The walk’s a joy. And a revelation. I’ve come to the walk late – it’s been going six months now – so all I’m doing here is seconding what everybody who goes on it says. See the deluge of rave reviews it’s generated.” David Tucker
*”a poet and musician” hardly goes far enough. Rick guides his virtual tours in blank verse, he was the chief music critic for the Evening Standard for a decade, and he’s a top-flight Blue Badge guide.
The above photo was taken at the Athenaeum Club. It hangs outside the gentlemen’s lavatory.
And here’s Rick in action. Photo by walker Stephen Durham.
WHAT WILL I SEE?
Rick Jones’s T. S. Eliot The Waste Land walk has wonderful visuals.
A Selection from The Waste Land Portfolio
Here’s the grand finale (bears repeating, this one) – the view we get at walk’s end.
And here we are mid-walk. One of three superb interiors.
No words needed.
Single file into a secret garden.
Down the Thames at walk’s end, across the Thames at walk’s beginning
Not forgetting London Bridge Gatehouse.
Hurry up, please, it’s time…
“This way for The Waste Land walk, folks” (it’s London, stuff happens).
Want more walks like this? Check out our other literary tours of London.
Judith Kellermann –
What’s not to love? Rick Jones -raconteur par excellence, based on an eclectic knowledge of history, music , litertature and architecture all combined to make a moving and relevant discourse imparted with such genorosity. The only problem was that the tour finished! Very many thanks Rick
Neil Horsman –
Absolutely brilliant. I learned so much..Rick made the tour extremely interesting. I would recommend it to anybody.
Ron Bonekamp –
We did at least 50 London Walks through the years, but this is one of the best. An erudite guide with a good sense of humor and a good voice; a walk te o remember. Rick makes you go back to the poem.
Ravibala Shenoy –
When I studied the Waste Land in India, most of the references went over my head, it was only after this tour with Rick that I had a fuller appreciation of the poem. Rick is a marvelous tour guide skipping like a goat through every nook, up and down stairs quoting poetry, providing nuggets of information from art, history. He sings, he dances and holds you spellbound. This is truly an amazing tour!
Lizzy –
This is a brilliant walk and Rick, our guide, was fascinating. Listening to his recitation of lines of poetry and his articulation of connections between the poems and sights along the way was really special. Thank you for a really interesting and stimulating experience!
Rose Fletcher –
Wonderful tour with Rick. A courteous and knowledgeable guide, he took us around the City with humour and erudition. We loved the recitations of Eliot and the unknown highlights he showed us. Thank you Rick for a fascinating experience.
Vassia –
Α wonderful tour at the 2022 “waste land” with an excellent guide! A terrific and very original idea to get to know better Eliot and London. Thank you!!
Vassia –
A really wonderful “waste land” tour in 2022 London, with Rick as a perfect guide!!! An excellent & original idea to get to know Eliot and London better. Thank you!
Katherine Summers –
For those with poetry in their soul, this delightful tour seems almost miraculous. Droplets of verse, historical tit-bits and whimsical glimpses into London life were as blissful to me as sugar lumps to a pony. Mr Rick Jones toured us through the heart of this poet with charm, knowledge and gentle humour. It really was a privilege to tap into this rich seam of culture by a tour guide who really knew his onions and then some. “These fragments I have…(stored as a delightful memory)” HIGHLY RECOMMEND.
ABSOLUTELY MARVELLOUS!
Seona Ford –
This was a simply excellent guided walk – my knowledge of The Waste Land poem and that part of the City was enhanced with skill and humour. Rick really “knows his stuff” and to my mind it was two hours very well spent – we managed to ignore the rain and the wind! It would not have mattered if you were not an Eliot fan – there was so much else to learn and enjoy.