Sherlock Holmes Old London – Very Small Group Walking Tour

The game is afoot in central London. This small-group Sherlock Holmes walk links story locations, Conan Doyle sites, old London landmarks, and a few film connections, with Richard leading the way. I like the personal feel and the guide’s former work at the Sherlock Holmes Museum. I also like that the tour gives you more than fictional addresses: it explains Conan Doyle’s life, writing, medical career, and London.

The main consideration is the pace and length. It is advertised at three to four hours, but one private departure ended after about two hours, partly because the group walked quickly and chose a shorter custom route. You should also budget for London Underground fares and the Sherlock Holmes Museum, since neither is included.

Key details before you book

• Start at Embankment Station: The tour begins at Embankment and uses the Underground to connect central London with St Bartholomew’s Hospital and Baker Street.
• Led by Richard: Richard previously worked at the Sherlock Holmes Museum and brings strong knowledge of the stories, Conan Doyle, London history, films, and television adaptations.
• Maximum of 12 people: A small group allows more questions and can make the walk feel almost private if other bookings do not fill.
• A literary tour with wider history: Expect Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle, Dickens, Benjamin Franklin, American history, James Bond, Harry Potter, and London landmarks along the way.
• Finishes at 221b Baker Street: You end beside the Sherlock Holmes Museum, where you can shop or pay separately to enter.
• Plan for three to four hours, but ask about pace: The route can be adjusted for a small private group, so confirm what will be included if timing matters to you.

Why this Sherlock Holmes walk works

A good literary tour should help you see a familiar city in a new way. This one uses Sherlock Holmes as the thread, then widens the story to include Arthur Conan Doyle, Victorian London, famous writers, historic buildings, and places tied to modern screen versions of Holmes.

I like the way the route moves across several parts of central London rather than staying around Baker Street. You begin near the Thames, pass through the Strand and Temple, ride the Underground, visit the hospital where Holmes and Watson first met, and finish at Baker Street. That gives the tour a sense of movement and shows how scattered the Holmes world is in the real city.

Richard is a major part of the appeal. He worked at the Sherlock Holmes Museum, and his background gives him useful insight into both the character and the public life of the museum. His style also appears to suit people who want more than a string of dates and addresses. He brings in stories about Charles Dickens, Benjamin Franklin, Aaron Burr, the Great Fire of London, Winston Churchill, and other figures connected to the streets you are walking.

The tour is especially good for readers who have finished the original stories. You can connect places such as St Bartholomew’s Hospital, Simpson’s in the Strand, and Watson’s medical practice to scenes and characters you already know. If you mainly know Holmes from television or film, you will still find plenty to enjoy, including references to the BBC series Sherlock and other screen versions.

Northumberland Avenue and the Sherlock Holmes Pub

The walk begins around Northumberland Avenue, outside the Sherlock Holmes Pub. This is an effective opening because it introduces both the fictional detective and the real man who created him.

The pub occupies what was once the Northumberland Hotel. In The Hound of the Baskervilles, Sir Henry Baskerville stayed here after arriving in London to seek Holmes’s help. That detail lets Richard explain how Conan Doyle turned real London hotels, streets, clubs, and institutions into locations that felt convincing on the page.

Across the road is the former Turkish bath associated with Holmes and Watson. In the stories, the two men relaxed there during or after a case. You do not enter either site as part of the tour, but the exterior connection is enough to make the opening feel like a proper Holmes pilgrimage.

This first stop also sets the pattern for the rest of the walk. You get a Holmes reference, a Conan Doyle connection, and wider London context. It is a good approach for couples or family members who may not be equally devoted to the detective.

Scotland Yard and the world of Lestrade

The next stop is the historic Metropolitan Police headquarters linked with Scotland Yard. Detectives Lestrade and Hopkins worked from here in the Holmes stories, though Holmes did not always rate their abilities highly.

The building has been restored with large gas lamps, which help it fit the period atmosphere of the books. London traffic and modern buildings remain around you, of course, but the setting gives you a useful sense of the city Holmes and Watson crossed by cab and train.

Richard’s explanations here are not limited to fictional police work. He uses the location to discuss the relationship between Holmes and official detectives, as well as the real institutions that shaped Conan Doyle’s London. The stop is brief, around ten minutes, so do not expect an extended visit inside the police headquarters.

Simpson’s in the Strand and Somerset House

Simpson’s in the Strand is one of the most enjoyable stops for readers who appreciate the social side of the Holmes stories. Holmes often suggested stopping there for food, and the restaurant became associated with writers and public figures including Charles Dickens, Conan Doyle, and Winston Churchill.

The restaurant began life as a chess club and coffee house. It remains a traditional English dining room, and if you pass before lunch service, Richard may be able to let you look inside at the meat-carving trolleys that have been used since 1840. That peek depends on timing and access, so treat it as a possibility rather than a guarantee.

This is also a useful point to think about the value of the tour. You could walk past Simpson’s on your own, but you might not know why it mattered to Holmes, Conan Doyle, Dickens, or Churchill. The guide supplies the connection, turning an ordinary frontage into part of a larger story.

The route then passes through Somerset House. It is not a direct Holmes location, but it adds welcome variety. The site began as a Tudor palace connected with the Duke of Somerset and was later rebuilt as a civic building in 1775. It has also appeared in Love Actually.

You walk down a roughly 300-year-old staircase toward Temple Station. This is one of the practical transitions in the tour, not a major stop, but it breaks up the route and gives you a taste of London architecture beyond the Holmes canon.

Using the Underground to reach St Bartholomew’s Hospital

An Oyster Card or London travel card is required for the Underground portion of the tour. That extra cost is easy to overlook when comparing prices, so have your travel payment ready before you start.

The rail connection matters because the stops are spread across London. Rather than spending the whole day on foot, the tour uses public transport to reach St Bartholomew’s Hospital, then continues through another set of Holmes and Conan Doyle locations.

The Underground itself has a Holmes connection. Baker Street Station is one of the oldest and best-preserved stations in London, and Holmes and Watson used the Underground in some of the stories. The ride is not simply a way to save time. It helps you picture how the pair moved around Victorian and early modern London.

St Bartholomew’s Hospital, where Holmes met Watson

St Bartholomew’s Hospital, usually called St Barts, is the emotional center of the tour. It is London’s oldest hospital and the place where Holmes and Watson first met in A Study in Scarlet.

Watson encounters his former colleague Young Stamford at the Criterion Bar. Stamford tells him about an eccentric man named Sherlock Holmes, who needs someone to share the rent on rooms in Baker Street. The introduction leads Watson to a laboratory at St Barts, where Holmes demonstrates his ability to analyze evidence and draw startling conclusions.

The next day, the partnership begins at 221b Baker Street. Seeing the hospital in person gives the opening of the series a physical setting. You can better understand that Holmes and Watson did not simply appear together at Baker Street. Their partnership grew out of Watson’s medical past, London’s professional networks, and a practical need to split rent.

Richard spends about twenty minutes here, with additional context about the area around the hospital. This is one of the strongest sections for serious Holmes readers, especially if you have recently read the original stories.

The Langham and Conan Doyle’s literary career

The Langham hotel offers a shift from fictional Holmes to Conan Doyle’s own career. When the hotel had recently opened, Oscar Wilde and Arthur Conan Doyle were invited to dine with an American publisher in August 1889.

That meeting helped launch both authors internationally. The stop gives you a glimpse of Conan Doyle before he became known mainly as Holmes’s creator, and it shows how literary careers were shaped by dinners, publishers, hotels, and personal introductions.

The stop itself is short, about five minutes, but its importance is larger than its timing suggests. It reminds you that Conan Doyle was not merely recording adventures in Baker Street. He was part of London’s literary and social world, alongside figures such as Wilde and Dickens.

Watson’s Queen Anne Street practice

At 8 Queen Anne Street, the tour turns to Dr Watson’s life after bachelorhood. Watson eventually marries Mary Morstan, leaves the rooms at 221b Baker Street, and establishes a medical practice.

The address gives the fictional doctor a more complete life. Watson is not just Holmes’s narrator and companion. He is a working doctor with a home, a marriage, and professional obligations that Holmes repeatedly interrupts.

This stop is short, but Richard uses it to help you picture Holmes arriving at the door with another case. That domestic tension is part of the charm of the stories. Watson tries to build a settled life, while Holmes keeps pulling him back into danger and deduction.

Arthur Conan Doyle’s medical practice at Crosbie Care

Crosbie Care is one of the most valuable stops for understanding Conan Doyle himself. The building housed his medical practice, and its exterior has remained unchanged since he worked there in 1891.

Conan Doyle walked to the practice each morning, a journey of about twenty minutes. He later joked that not a single patient darkened his door. With little medical work to occupy him, he wrote the stories that became The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes between possible appointments.

This stop connects the fictional doctor Watson with the real doctor Conan Doyle. It also gives you a concrete place to think about the writing process. The Holmes stories were not created in a distant literary world. They took shape while Conan Doyle was trying to establish himself as a doctor in London.

For me, this is the kind of detail that justifies taking a guided walk instead of following a map. The building itself may not look dramatic, but the personal story attached to it is memorable.

Baker Street Station and the Sherlock Holmes statue

Baker Street Station is the final approach to the Holmes district. Outside the station, you find the Sherlock Holmes statue, commissioned by Abbey National, which occupied 221 Baker Street for many years.

Richard explains the background of the statue before leading you toward Baker Street. The stop is brief, but it gives you the classic photo opportunity and marks the shift from scattered story locations to Holmes’s best-known address.

The surrounding area is more commercial and tourist-focused than the earlier stops. That is part of the experience. You are moving from the London that inspired Conan Doyle toward the modern Holmes industry, with shops, museum displays, souvenirs, and visitors following the same fictional trail.

Ending at 221b Baker Street

The tour ends outside the Sherlock Holmes Museum at 221b Baker Street. Your guide can point you toward the entrance, gift shop, and Baker Street Underground Station, and can help with onward travel.

Admission to the museum is not included. The museum presents the rooms as Holmes and Watson’s shared home, including the space connected with their landlady, Mrs Hudson. You can enter after the walk or simply browse the souvenir shop.

I recommend saving the museum for after the tour if you plan to visit. That way, Richard can provide the story and historical setting first, and the museum becomes a visual follow-up rather than the main source of your understanding.

The museum is not required for the walking tour to work, but fans who want the full experience should allow extra time and money for it. The tour’s advertised price is $108.32 per person, so the added museum ticket and Underground fare should be included in your total budget.

How small is the group?

The maximum group size is 12, which is small enough for questions and conversation. Several departures have been even smaller, sometimes only two participants plus Richard, creating a private-tour feel without the usual private-tour price.

That intimacy is a real advantage here. Holmes stories are full of small details, and a large crowd would make it harder to hear explanations outside busy streets. A small group also lets Richard adjust the amount of Sherlock, Conan Doyle, wider London history, or film trivia to suit the people present.

The tradeoff is that a private or very small group may move faster. One pair finished in about two hours after choosing a shorter alternative stop and skipping a planned café break. If you want the full three-to-four-hour experience, tell Richard that you prefer the complete route, a slower pace, and time for stops.

Who should book this tour?

You should book it if you have read the Holmes stories and want to see the locations in person. It is particularly good for people who enjoy the original books, Conan Doyle’s life, and the Victorian setting rather than only wanting a photo at 221b Baker Street.

It also works for mixed-interest groups. Richard adds London history and American connections, including Benjamin Franklin and other figures connected with the city. Partners or relatives who are only casual Holmes fans may still find enough beyond the detective to stay interested.

The walk may be less suitable if you want a purely cinematic tour focused only on the BBC series or modern films. Those references can appear along the way, including the location of Speedy’s Cafe from Sherlock, but the main focus is the original Holmes world and Conan Doyle.

The route requires walking between stops and using the Underground. Children can participate if accompanied by an adult, and most people can take part. Service animals are allowed.

Should you book Richards Tours?

I would book this tour if Sherlock Holmes is a meaningful part of your reading life, especially if you want context rather than a simple checklist of addresses. Richard’s former museum work, enthusiasm, storytelling, and ability to connect Holmes with Dickens, American history, film, and London architecture give the walk unusual range.

At $108.32 per person, it is not a cheap stroll. The value depends on the guide. If Richard delivers the personal, detailed approach described here, the price can make sense for fans who would otherwise spend hours researching scattered locations alone.

Before setting out, confirm the expected route and timing, and plan for the Underground fare and museum admission. Book it when you want a guided introduction to Holmes’s London, not just Baker Street. For dedicated Sherlockians, the visit to St Barts and Conan Doyle’s former practice may be worth the price by themselves.

FAQ

Where does the Sherlock Holmes walking tour start?

The tour starts at Embankment Station on Embankment Place, London WC2N 6NS.

Where does the tour finish?

It finishes outside the Sherlock Holmes Museum at 221b Baker Street, London NW1 6XE.

How long does the tour last?

The expected duration is approximately three to four hours. A smaller group may follow a shorter route, so confirm the planned timing if you want the full experience.

Is admission to the Sherlock Holmes Museum included?

No. The tour ends at the museum, but admission is not included. You can enter separately or visit the gift shop.

Do I need an Oyster Card or travel card?

Yes. An Oyster Card or London travel card is required for the Underground section between locations.

How many people can join the tour?

The maximum group size is 12 people. Some departures may be much smaller, depending on bookings.