Tag: Bloomsbury

Put a spring in your step …

This March our walks all have a literary theme. Oonagh takes us around 19th century Fitzrovia in the company of Joseph Conrad and the Anarchists and explores Bloomsbury as depicted in the novels of the second world war. Sue is also in Bloomsbury, following in the footsteps of crime novelist Dorothy L Sayers and exploring how solitary walking influenced the writing of Charlotte Mew, Dorothy Richardson and Virginia Woolf.

See here for dates and details

They are all part of the Footprints of London Literary Festival

Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day 2020

All our walks this March have a women’s theme. There are spies and socialists, politicians and pacifists, suffragists and scientists, medics and mystery writers.

And of course we take you to to some lovely and lesser known London places.

Our new Newsletter is now out and you can see a complete list of forthcoming walks here.

#womenshistorymonth #IWD2020

New Walks for 2017

After a couple of months of hibernation and planning I’m shall be starting to offer a regular programme of walks again from March. I’m excited  to announce new walks for 2017 about two women I admire  very much.

Ada Salter: Beautifying Bermondsey

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This year Capital Walks  ventures south of the River to Bermondsey celebrating the life and achievements of  Ada Salter; socialist, pacifist, environmentalist, youth-worker and Quaker.  Ada was the first female Mayor in London and the first Labour woman mayor in the British Isles. Ada loved singing and plants; with her husband,  local doctor and MP Dr Alfred Salter, she made a significant impact on health, housing, employment and labour relations.  The Garden Suburb she created and the tree planting she championed can still be seen today.  Oonagh Gay, of Crouch End Walks, and I have put a route together that explores her achievements and the ethical socialism that underpinned them.

Book Now 13th May 2017

Dorothy L Sayers Bloomsbury

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Back in Bloomsbury, I have been indulging  long-held enthusiasm for the writing of Dorothy L Sayers and developing a walk around some of DLS’s haunts along with those of her alter ego Harriet Vane and other familiar characters from the novels.  See where Peter Wimsey broke his collarbone, where Harriet lived, where her fictional lover Philip Boyes imbibed Strong Poison and find out more about the woman who brought them all to life.

An evening walk at 18:30 on 25th April and for DL Sayers birthday weekend 14:00 on 11th June

The ‘New Woman’

Meet the independent women of the late 1800s and early 1900s. Long before the Boris bike (though that should really be the Ken bike) the Rover safety bicycle offered new freedom to women as well as healthy outdoor exercise.

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Fashion adapted to meet these new demands,  introducing simpler more business-like styles.

 In America, Amelia Bloomer gave her name to a particular form of comfortable clothing, while a few years later in the UK, the Rational Dress Society protested  “against the introduction of any fashion in dress that either deforms the figure, impedes the movements of the body, or in any way tends to injure the health. It protests against the wearing of tightly-fitting corsets; of high-heeled shoes; of heavily-weighted skirts, as rendering healthy exercise almost impossible; and of all tie down cloaks or other garments impeding on the movements of the arms” .

Jaeger rational dress

Its members were more likely to advocate Dr Jaeger’s ‘sanitary’ woollen wear.  Just the thing for the the aspiring doctor studying at the London School of Medicine for Women!

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Join my walk on Saturday 16th January  to discover Bloomsbury’s ‘New Women and they legacy they left behind.

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