James Bond walking tour, London

edited June 2013 in Bond Movies Posts: 3,273
I went on a 2.5 hour organised walking tour in London a couple of days ago. It only cost £10, with the meeting point outside Planet Hollywood in Piccadilly.

It was definitely worth doing, as I saw lots of locations which I've read about but never got the chance to actually explore. We started with the first location at Blades, which was used during the sword fight scene in DAD. I asked the tour guide whether this was the famous Blades that Fleming wrote about in MR, and he said it was, but I'm not entirely convinced he really knew, as he declared that he had never read a Fleming novel. I tried to refrain myself from correcting him on a few occasions, as I didn't want to sound like a clever know-it-all to the rest of the group.

The locations included -

Entrance to Buckingham Palace (DAD).
Whitehall/Downing Street, and the building where Bond stands at the end of Skyfall on the rooftop.
Malaysia Airways office (I think) near Trafalgar Square which doubled for Universal Export in OHMSS and TLD (apparently).
The tube locations for Bond's chase with Silva in Skyfall.
The street where Bond is running down to the sound of M's poem reading of Tennyson.
The art gallery bench and painting where Bond first meets M in Skyfall.
The famous lamp post publicity shot area where Lazenby was stood pointing his gun in front of Big Ben.

What was useful was the tour guide carried with him several photos of the locations we were visiting, so you could compare the photo with the actual view. It was definitely worth the money, and would highly recommend it to anyone who's in London and wants to kill a couple of hours.

Comments

  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,459
    That's cool! I want to go next time I visit London.
    Which company was it? I think several are offered. I am trying to remember one tour group I found online that looked good: Britfilmtours, I think. They did other film tours besides Bond tours, too. They had all kinds of price ranges for tours.

    Yours is in my price range, for sure. Thanks for sharing!
  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    Posts: 13,350
    For £10 that really sounds worth it. Thanks for this write-up @jetsetwilly.
  • When the kids and I get there in the next 2 years (make sure there's liquor for 3, as my children don't drink), this and a visit to Pinewood are tops on our list. I hope it's still around and the rate seems very reasonable. This will be awesome!
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,459
    The walking tours are great and such a variety to choose from! One of my very favorites is londonwalks. You can check out their website. Fun for the whole family, yes, but also so many specific kinds of walks. Sherlock Holmes, Dickens, pub crawls, Mayfair Ghost walks, on and on - maybe 30 to choose from? A lot. Really high value for the money. Most are 2 hours or so, but they also offer day trips (like to Oxford). There are other tour groups, too; I just know this one is excellent.

    I will hopefully to get London in about 3 years. Sooner would be lovely, but I am unsure. We shall see what funds I can save by then.
  • Posts: 3,273
    It was BritMovie tours that did the guide - http://britmovietours.com/bookings/james-bond-walking-tour-of-london/
  • Bradford4Bradford4 Banned
    Posts: 152
    What do you say to a man like that?
  • 007InVT007InVT Classified
    Posts: 893
    @jetsetwilly - Where was Blades set again?
  • BondJasonBond006BondJasonBond006 on fb and ajb
    edited October 2016 Posts: 9,020
    Welcome to my little walking tour through London visiting shooting locations of Spectre and Skyfall.

    Photographed on September 25th, 26th and 27th, 2016.

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    My favourite building in the world, prominently featured in TWINE, SF, SP and others films.
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    The bridge where M has to watch the MI6 building explosion in Skyfall.
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    Whitehall which is prominently featured in SPECTRE.
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    SKYFALL: National Gallery where Bond tells Q he sees a ship and another ship.
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    SPECTRE: Rules Restaurant where M, Q and Moneypenny meet.
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    SPECTRE: end-game on the bridge with crashed helicopter.
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    SPECTRE: where Bond follows the helicopter on a speed boat and numerous times shown in other Bond films.
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    SPECTRE: can be seen also, during the boat/helicopter chase.
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  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,459
    Perfect thread for these pics. It was an awesome, very enjoyable time in London. :)
  • PropertyOfALadyPropertyOfALady Colders Federation CEO
    Posts: 3,675
    Good for you people!
  • stagstag In the thick of it!
    Posts: 1,053
    Great thread.

    For anyone who makes it to Bristol you can always call for a drink here:

    http://www.hmssbristol.com

    It also has a 'sister' bar in London:

    http://www.thecocktailtradingco.co.uk

    Unfortunately that doesn't appear to be Bond though.
  • TheWizardOfIceTheWizardOfIce 'One of the Internet's more toxic individuals'
    edited October 2016 Posts: 9,117

    Whitehall which is prominently featured in SPECTRE.
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    Nice pics and it looks like you had a fine old time but those locations dont feature prominently in SF because thats not Whitehall. Looks like King Charles St and Horseguards to me.
  • BondJasonBond006BondJasonBond006 on fb and ajb
    Posts: 9,020
    @TheWizardOfIce

    It's actually the Treasury Building on Great George Street with the circular courtyard, off Whitehall. The courtyard can be partly seen in the second pic. Featured in Spectre.
    The last picture is indeed next to it, the Horseguards, but it's a nice view so I included it.
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