31 Mar 2025
Lin Keen, one of the St Albans Tour Guides, explains why spring is her favourite time of year…
“If only…”, one of our visitors wondered one day. If only there could be a walk about St Albans in the Middle Ages. I would dearly love to know more, she said, about the men and the women who lived here then.
We hear a lot about the Romans and the Tudors, but not the Middle Ages.
What did they eat and what was the market place like back then? And how did they survive the upheavals of pestilence, war and rebellion?
Spring is one of my favourite times of year, not just because of the vanishing winter gloom but because it’s when we St Albans Tour Guides start to offer our full range of guided walks again after the winter. And, luckily for my visitor, we still have buildings and features surviving from the Middle Ages, which means that, after a great deal of research and preparation, our Medieval St Albans walk has come into being. So, if you are also interested in a journey back in time to the Middle Ages, check the April schedule on our website.
You will also find guided walks on the Romans and the Tudors – both still very popular – and there’s also the Wars of the Roses, our Historic Pubs, and local scandals and scoundrels in our Crime & Punishment walk. Our tours last about 90 minutes, but if you fancy a speedier introduction to our historic centre, then our City Highlights guided walks last just 60 minutes.
We’re also pretty flexible, so you can arrange a private walk with a few friends or colleagues at a time and date which suits you. Just check out our website and choose any of our walks or maybe a combination of two.
Our illustrated talks are also very popular with private groups and cover a wide range from Roman Britain to local life in the 20th century.
We are working on a couple of new ones which should be available in a few months’ time.
All St Albans tour guides are local, fully trained and qualified as green or blue badge guides with the Institute of Tourist Guiding. We also work closely with St Albans Museums, offering our guiding services for free in Verulamium Museum, the Town Hall Museum + Gallery, as well as the Clock Tower and the Roman Theatre. We love what we do. And it shows.
And, by the way, that visitor was right. The Middle Ages really were a fascinating time here in St Albans.
History in colour. www.stalbanstourguides.co.uk
