A Private Guide & Car for Your London or UK Tour
I am a registered tour guide specialising in day tours out of London and longer tours around the UK. I drive a comfortable and spacious touring car, a car that will carry up to six passengers and has plenty of space for luggage.
I can offer you a standard itinerary, or help you design your own tour. Scroll down to see my most popular destinations, and click on the photos or headings to find out more.
You will find lots of ideas for your trip to the UK by exploring this website, or you can simply contact me by email.
Popular Tour Destinations
Below are my most popular tour destinations, but it’s YOUR private tour – you can create your own itinerary if you wish
Tours to Stonehenge
Take a private tour to Stonehenge by car, and also include the King’s residence at Windsor Castle, or one of the cathedral cities of Salisbury or Winchester, or maybe a historic house, a beautiful garden, and a pub lunch. For a longer day, visit the Roman & Georgian city of Bath.
Private car tours from £680 – £1020
Tours to Windsor
An official residence of the His Majesty the King, Windsor Castle is steeped in history and filled with beautiful works of art. As well as the magnificent State Apartments, you will see Queen Mary’s Dolls House.
You may like to combine a visit to Windsor with Stonehenge, Oxford or Hampton Court Palace.
Private car tours from £585 – £895
Tours to Canterbury
Canterbury Cathedral is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful buildings in England, filled with coloured light from its stained glass windows.
Drive on to Dover to see the famous White Cliffs and the medieval castle that became the Admiral Ramsay’s HQ during the Dunkirk Evacuation of 1940. Or visit Leeds Castle, “the loveliest castle in the world”.
Private car tours from £845
Tours to Oxford
Visit this ancient university, and then go on to see any one of the following – the Queen’s residence at Windsor Castle, Sir Winston Churchill’s birthplace Blenheim Palace, William Shakespeare’s birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon, the lovely Cotswold villages, Warwick Castle or Highclere Castle (Downton Abbey).
Private car tours from £675 – £925
Tours to Stratford upon Avon
In Stratford upon Avon you can visit the house where William Shakespeare was born, the thatched cottage where his wife grew up, and the church where they were buried.
You could also visit Oxford, or Warwick Castle, villages in the Cotswolds, or maybe a lovely garden.
Private car tours from £925
Tours to the Cotswolds
The Cotswolds is an area famous for pretty cottages and beautiful gardens set in a gentle English landscape. Visit one of the many gardens & historic houses open to the public, eg Hidcote Manor or Blenheim Palace, or just potter around villages.
A drive through the Cotswolds can be included in a Stratford-upon-Avon, Oxford or Highclere Castle (Downton Abbey) tour.
Private car tours from £840
Private Tours of London
London Highlights Tours
A tour for your first visit – see Westminster Abbey, the royal palaces, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, Whitehall &10 Downing Street, Piccadilly Circus & Trafalgar Square, the Tower of London & the Crown Jewels, St Paul’s Cathedral, London’s famous bridges and Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.
Private walking tours from £210 to £330 + bus fares; tours by car from £500 to £720
Explore London
.If you’ve seen the highlights and want to explore further, take a look at my tours exploring London’s parks & gardens, architecture, artists, shops & markets.
Private walking tours from £210 to £330 + bus fares; tours by car from £500 to £720
London Museum & Gallery tours
Visit some of the world’s great museums and galleries in the company of your own private guide – the British Museum, the National Gallery, the National Portrait Gallery, the Tate Britain & Tate Modern, and the Courtauld Gallery.
Private museum & gallery tours from £210
“Off The Beaten Track” Tours
Discover some of England’s most enchanting places
Historic houses & gardens
England has some of the finest gardens in the world, and many of them are close to London – Hidcote Manor, Sissinghurst and Great Dixter are perhaps the best known, but there are many small gardens that could be slipped into another tour, such as the Heale Garden near Stonehenge.
Some of the great ‘Treasure Houses’ of England are also only a short drive away – Blenheim Palace, Arundel Castle, Woburn Abbey and Wilton House, to name just a few. And there are many more historic homes, eg Anne Boleyn’s childhood home Hever Castle, or Sir Winston Churchill’s Chartwell.
Private car tours to great houses and gardens from £650
Artists, writers, actors & others
Follow in the footsteps of your favourite artists, writers, musicians, scientists, films & television series. Henry Moore, Benjamin Britten, Charles Darwin, Henry James, Jane Austen, Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell all had homes that are now open to the public. Alternatively, you can seek out the landscapes that inspired so many artists, or the pub in which hobbits, lions, witches and wardrobes were discussed!
“Downton Abbey”, or Highclere Castle, is currently very popular; did you know that when the 5th Earl of Carnarvon lived there, he was also funding the excavation that discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun?
Car tours from £650
Artists and Architecture in London
I offer walking or car tours to discover London’s architecture, public sculpture, art collections and garden design. I also have a number of walking tours that follow in the steps of artists, and see London through their eyes.
There are several small historic homes open to the public, such as Sir John Soane’s Museum, William Hogarth’s House, Lord Leighton’s House, Emery Walker’s house, or William Morris’s two homes.
In the foreground of the photo above is Sir Jacob Epstein’s statue of Jan Smuts in front of Sir Charles Barry & A W Pugin’s Houses of Parliament.
Walking tour prices from £210 – £330 + bus fares; car tours from £500
Your Tour Guide, Angela Akehurst, & Her Car
A Private Guide for Your Family & Friends
My name is Angela Akehurst. I am a London ‘Blue Badge’ tourist guide, registered with the Institute of Tourist Guides. I hold a Private Hire Driver licence, and am a member of the Driver-Guides Association.
I am particularly interested in art, architecture, sculpture & garden design. I like a new challenge…… and I love my job!
About My Car
My VW caravelle has 6 comfortable passenger seats, air-conditioning, sockets for charging your phone and iPad, and mobile WiFi.
It is a long wheelbase vehicle, and will easily carry luggage for 6 people when touring or transferring from the airport or cruise terminal.
It is fully licensed and insured for Private Hire work – for more information see the About Your Guide & Car page.
Paintings by William Hogarth on the staircase of St Bart`s Hospital, London.
Hogarth painted these canvases to help St Bart`s in its fund-raising efforts, but also to show that painting on this scale was something an English artist could do - in fact he offered to do it without charge in place of the Italian artist who had first been commissioned.
I think he proved his point. I know of no other paintings by Hogarth on this scale, although he did at least have the example set decades earlier by his father-in-law Sir James Thornhill`s murals.
St Bartholomew`s hospital was founded by Rahere in 1123. Until the creation of our National Health Service, it was dependent on donations to provide its service. In the 18th century a new wing was built to enhance its fund-raising efforts. Hogarth`s staircase took visitors to a grand hall in which fundraising dinners could be held and the names of donors recorded for posterity. Hogarth`s paintings illustrate the Good Samaritan and Christ healing the sick.
The North Wing of St Bart`s is open to the public on Mondays & Tuesdays, and one Sunday each month.
#williamhogarth #hogarth #18thcenturyart #londonartists #londonart #arttours #inthefootstepsofartists #explorelondon #hiddenlondon #historiclondon #stbartsnorthwing #londontourguide #bespoketourslondon #tourlondonandbeyond
Ireland Yard in the old City of London area has a fascinating history as a small area favoured by creative people in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Even so, walking down the lane on my way homewards, I was stopped in my tracks by a sign advertising office space. The face of Sir Anthony van Dyck, one of my favourite artists, looked out at me from above the name of agents for rented office space. The same face that looks out at the world from his Self-portrait with a Sunflower.
This area, Blackfriars, was ideal for Van Dyck, who had a home and studio by the river. Great transport links for hauling large paintings around, and an environment where artists, painters, craftspeople, actors, all manner of creative people lived. Shakespeare`s presence less than 20 years earlier had surely survived as a local memory.
The churchyard of St Ann Blackfriars, adjacent to this sign, is now just a tiny green space, after the church itself was destroyed in the Great Fire of London. This is where Van Dyck`s daughter was baptised. Sadly Van Dyck himself died just a few days later, and was buried in old St Paul`s Cathedral, 5 minutes walk away. It too disappeared in the Great Fire.
#vandyck #siranthonyvandyck #blackfriars #irelandyard #stannsblackfriars #arttours #walklondon #discoverlondon #explorelondon #hiddenlondon #offthebeatentracklondon #londonartists #londonart #londontourguide #britainsbestguides #guidelondon #tourlondonandbeyond
Walking through London`s Covent Garden past the showroom of milliner Stephen Jones.
#millinery #stephenjones #hats #headpieces #fashion #chapeaudartiste #greatdesigner #bespokemakers #londonfashion #londonmakers #creativequarter #coventgarden #lovelondon #londonlifè #londonwalk #walkinglondon #explorelondon #londonguide #britainsbestguides #tourlondonandbeyond
Strawberry Hill House, Horace Walpole`s beautiful home on the River Thames in west London.
Well, time changes things - no longer with its river view, and once rural Twickenham, but London has spread.
This house gave us the term `Strawberry Hill Gothick`, and was a leading influence in the taste for all things romantically, dramatically, and moodily medieval. Jane Austen, half a century later, poked fun at the fashion in Northanger Abbey.
Horace was a wealthy man, and was able to reproduce genuine medieval decoration throughout his house, to great effect. Perfect for a Christmas visit, but open throughout the year, with excellent knowledgeable guides.
#strawberryhill #strawberryhillgothick #greathistorichouses #historichouseslondon #historichouse #18thcenturystyle #greathousesoflondon #londonlife #westlondon #horacewalpole #18thcenturyarchitecture #hiddenlondon #explorelondon #londonguide #londontour #britainsbestguides #tourlondonandbeyond
St James`s Park is home to a small troupe of pelicans who never fail to capture everyone`s attention.
#stjamesspark #royalparks #pelican #londonpelicans #walkinthepark #londonparks #mylondon #londonwalk #londontourguide #britainsbestguides #tourlondonandbeyond
London lit up at Christmas
#londonlights #christmaslights #londonstreets #winternights #mylondon #londoners #mylondon #londonwalk #walklondon #explorelondon #tourlondon #londonguide #britainsbestguides #tourlondonandbeyond
London`s oldest restaurant building?
The 11th century crypt of St Mary le Bow is looking very festive.
In the Middle Ages this church was among the most important in London. What you can see in the photos, the crypt, was founded in 1080 by the powerful Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury.
Tornadoes, fires and wars took it in turn to destroy all but this crypt which today is a friendly restaurant, The Humble Grape.
The church above it was most recently rebuilt after the Second World War.
#medievallondon #medievalarchitecture #citychurches #londonchurches #explorelondon #londontourguide #walklondon #londontour #guidelondon #britainsbestguides #tourlondonandbeyond
Christmas at Kew is all about the trees this year. They, as always, are the stars, and by night they are lit to enhance their beauty.
#christmasatkew #christmastrees #christmaslights #christmasmagic🎄 #greatgardens #botanicgarden #londongardens #londonchristmas #mylondon #londonlife #londonholiday #tourlondonandbeyond
