London Beatles Walks and Tours with Richard Porter

In Conjunction with London Walks

Celebrate the Beatles in London by coming on our great Beatles walking tours. Visit Abbey Road and all the other major Beatles Sights. Guided by Richard Porter - author of the Guide to the Beatles London, and holder of the title Beatles Brain of Britain. Richard guides five scheduled walks a week and can also guide private tours. See our Beatles Walks Video Here

 

You can visit Richard's blog at blog.beatlesinlondon.com

'One person who has been something of a flag waver for the Beatles London has been Richard Porter: whose passion and knowledge of the group are apparent from the moment you meet him. Richard opens up each building's Beatles connection and history with vivid detail and anecdotal information. Without doubt, he is the authority concerning the group's movements within the capital during the 1960s.' - Beatles Monthly April 2002.

When it comes to possessing a thorough knowledge of the movements of the Beatles, there are few who can surpass Richard Porter. Richard’s lead is the one to heed. His personal knowledge adds an element of credibility that is unavailable elsewhere. USA Today


Choose your tour



Public Tours


The Beatles - In My Life Walk



Tuesdays / Saturdays at 11 am

 

From Marylebone Underground
(Bakerloo Line)




The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour


Sundays and Thursdays at 11.00 am
Wednesdays at 2.00 pm

 

from Tottenham Court Road Underground (Exit 1)
(Northern Line, Central Line)



Rock and Roll - London Walk


Fridays at 2.00 pm



from Tottenham Court Road Underground (exit one)
(Northern Line, Central Line)



 

 

Private Tours


As well as the scheduled London Beatles tours, Richard guides special private tours. These tours can be for individuals or groups. Each of Richard's public Beatles tours can be given as a private tour. Richard can also custom design a tour to meet your needs.

As well as doing one of his walking tours as a private tour, Richard can also guide special 'Day Tripper' tours -

a whole day tour covering all the major Beatles sites in London.

 

By special arrangement.
Have a question about the private tour?

Email Richard

Prices for private tours start at £160 per group for a two-hour tour.

Features:

Visit the sites you are interested to see or let Richard choose the best places for you.
You can see many places not scheduled on the regular tours.
Arrange a tour at a time to suit you.
See everything at your own pace without a crowd of other tourists.
Richard can pick you up from your hotel or any place convenient for you in Central London.
The private tour can be for one person or any size group of people.

 

The Beatles - Die-Hard Tour







    Richard organised a special tour that crossed Abbey Road exactly 40 years to the minute since the Beatles.
    The tour and crossing received global TV coverage.


    Click the Channels' links below to view the coverage.

    There are many attractions and tours in Liverpool for Beatles Fans.

    Guide to The Beatles London



    The Beatles London (DVD)



    Trailer Buy now

    What the Papers Say


    'There is certainly enough information here to enable the reader to knowledgeably hit all the Beatle high spots in and around London. This is a very helpful volume that should be a must purchase for any fan heading for the British capital.' Justin Stonehouse - Beatlefan magazine
    This book is a must for all Beatles fans whether you will be visiting London or not. It contains historical information on The Beatles' lives in London which every Beatles fan needs to know.' Trina Yannicos - Daytrippin' magazine
    'Mr Porter has been conducting Beatles walking tours in London for over ten years (for over 50,000 Beatles fans). He's logged a few thousand miles. He knows the scene. Richard has transcribed his tours in this book. And what a trip it is. Bravo to Richard Porter on a wonderful first effort. I like this book.' Brad Howard - World Beatles Forum

    Richard Porter


    a professional Beatles and Rock tour guide in London and internationally recognised authority on the Beatles.


    Richard Porter is the smartest man in Britain - at least when it comes to The Beatles. The Age - Australia

    Hello!

    I am Richard Porter, professional Beatles London tour guide, author and consultant.

    Some people have told me I have the best job in the world - well, I don't know about that (the pay could be better!) but there are certainly worst jobs.

    I really became a fan in 1976 when I was 13 years old. EMI re-released all the Beatles singles and they all reached the top 100 of the British charts at once. Of course, they were played on the radio a lot, and I thought they were great. My first Beatles record was The Red Album and I went on to buy all the singles and albums in 2 years - not bad when I just earned pocket money from my parents.

    At first I was very isolated in my Beatle fandom. My interest coincided with the punk rock boom and all the other boys in school were into the Sex Pistols and the Clash. Being a Beatles fan was not regarded as hip! Also I didn't really realise there were so many other fans around.

    All that changed on that awful day in December 1980. John's death really devastated me and I didn't have anyone to share my grief with. I therefore put an ad for penpals in Beatles Monthly and was amazed by the number of replies I received. It was through a penpal that I heard about the Beatles convention to be held in Liverpool in August 1981. I was amazed that such a thing existed and arranged to go.

    That convention was a real revelation to me. There must have been over 1000 like minded fans there - I was not alone! The abiding memory of that convention is when Victor Spinetti unveiled a statue of John and everyone sang Give Peace a Chance. It was a really moving moment.

    A few months later another penpal told me he'd met Paul McCartney regularly outside a recording studio in Oxford Street, London. Now Oxford Street is the busiest shopping street in London, and I didn't even know there was a studio there. Of course, I later found out it was AIR Studios, which was owned by George Martin.

    One weekday evening I arranged to meet my friend and several others outside the studio. I'd only been there 10 minutes when the unmistakable figure of Paul McCartney emerged from the building. Paul chatted to us for several minutes and I got him to sign my Paul McCartney and Wings book. Paul was at AIR for many months during that period and I got to meet him several times.

    I stated writing for Beatles fanzines and when those fanzines ceased publication I decided to start my own fan club with two old friends. The London Beatles Fanclub was born in November 1988.

    As Editor of the magazine I got to meet and interview many Beatles-related people, such as Kenny Everett, Alan Parsons, Alistair Taylor, Alf Bicknell, etc.

    I also started corresponding with Beatles fans around the world. One was Irina Dyomkina, who ran the Moscow Beatles Fanclub. Irina moved to London in the early 1990s and became the secretary of the London Beatles Fanclub. We married in June 2004. Irina is now a fully qualified London 'Blue Badge' guide.

    After a while members of the club started asking me where various London Beatles landmarks were. Obviously, I knew the major ones, but started researching some more obscure sights. I discovered someone was actually guiding tour of London Beatles sights, so I went along on one. The guide seemed very impressed at my knowledge and asked me to guide the tours for him. Sadly, it didn't work out with that company, but during Christmas 1991 I went on a 'Dickens' London' tour with David Tucker of London Walks. We started talking and he asked me to do tours for London Walks instead. I've now been guiding tours for London Walks for over 25 years!!

    During the past 25 years my walks have been featured on many TV and radio shows all over the world. I remember in 1995, during the run up for the Anthology, I had TV crews on my walk every week.

    I also got to go to some great places. One day a German TV Station rang me to ask me for my help. They were filming in Studio Two at Abbey Road and the roof of 3 Savile Row - and they wanted me to act as technical adviser - and pay me too! Of course I said yes. These places are normally out of bounds for fans and I felt really privileged just being there.

    For a long time people kept on asking me when I was going to write a book on The Beatles, and I finally got around to doing it. I found I had so much material on The Beatles' London haunts, I was only using a fraction of it on the tours. Also I had lots of material from interviews I did for The London Beatles Fanclub, - the book virtually wrote itself. I was very glad when Jeff Jarratt of the Abbey Road Cafe decided to publish it. Jeff worked with The Beatles on the Abbey Road album, and is now a successful producer in his own right.

    The Guide to The Beatles London is basically a walking tour around Beatles sights in central London, plus places in outer London you can get to by public transport. Also included are lots of my own personal Beatles photos plus some great ones from some friends of mine of the Fabs outside their homes in the sixties.

    All the best
    Richard Porter

    Hall of Fame


    Testimonials


    We loved it! Quotes and testimonials about London Beatles Walks.


    Beatles Magical Mystery Tour Walk has been called Quintessential London by Fodor's London 2004 - along with The Globe Theatre, Changing of the Guard, Houses of Parliament, Speakers' Corner, and the Tower of London. Fodor's say of the walk: This wonderful stroll down memory lane offered by The Original London Walks includes The London Palladium, No 3 Saville Row - the Fab Four's London headquarters - and Abbey Road. Yeah Yeah Yeah.

    Fodor's London 2004

    One person who has been something of a flag waver for the Beatles London has been Richard Porter: a likeable thirty-something, whose passion and knowledge of the group are apparent from the moment you meet him. Richard opens up each building's Beatles connection and history with vivid detail and anecdotal information. Without doubt, he is the authority concerning the group's movements within the capital during the 1960s.' - Beatles Monthly April 2002 'If you picture yourself on a boat on a river with tangerine trees and marmalade skies, Richard Porter can't help you. But if you are in London and feeling nostalgic for the Beatles era then Porter, president of the London Beatles Fanclub, is the man to see. He has devised, and entertainingly conducts, a Beatle Walking Tour of London.

    Globe and Mail - Canada

    Richard delighted in telling us of the time he led a tour past Abbey Road and Paul McCartney, the cute one himself, came down the stairs of the studio and signed a few autographs. - The Providence Sunday Journal 'Richard's appetite for Beatlefacts is both daunting and inspirational. Even when standing on a dull corner of 94 Baker St, where the Apple Shop (an employment agency now) briefly and somewhat controversially came to psychedelic life back in 1967, Richard blossoms with sheer likeability, his enthusiasm fertilised by a rush of information....the man is unassailable, a pro. Agog we listen, unswerving, rapt.

    The Scotsman

    Dear Richard, from all of us here at MJI, I would like to extend a big THANK YOU to you for helping make our Abbey Road remote as successful and exciting as it was. Starting the radio stations off with your Beatles tour could not have been a better way to introduce them to London. When we saw George Martin stepping out of the Abbey Road Studios within four minutes of your tour, I was beginning to think you had the whole thing rigged! What great timing! Also, your assistance with booking the talent at the remote itself was invaluable. I have had nothing but compliments from both the radio stations and sponsors of the event. We would be delighted to work with you again.

    Anita Jacobs, Event Manager, MJI Broadcasting

    Richard Porter, the founder of the London Beatles Fan Club and holder of the Beatles Brain of Britain title, acted as our tour guide. Incredibly knowledgeable about Beatles culture, Richard was perfect for the job. As an avid Beatles fan, I can say this experience is truly one to remember. I was raised on Beatles music and have since learned to appreciate the group's legendary work, but never before have I undergone such a marvelous experience of seeing several of the band's most famed locations first-hand.

    Lynn Wallace, FS News.com

    I did both of Richard Porter's walking tours on my pilgrimage to England. They were both fantastic. Richard truly knows his stuff and this lifelong Beatle fan was easily impressed. Plus, an added bonus is meeting other Beatle fans from around the world while on the tours. Highly recommended!

    Ed Rascati

    'Dear Richard, Thank you for making our vacation in London one that we will hold very dear in our memories. Andrew so enjoyed your gifted and talented tour guidance, and we wanted to express our great appreciation for your time and efforts.'

    The Cohens, USA

    The London Beatles Walk has been featured on the Discovery Travel Channel The programme, Beatlemania Britain is an hour long documentary about the Beatles phenomenon, a celebration of the Beatles, aiming to bring alive the Beatles' experience. It will visit the sites that were formative in the story of the Beatles, the ongoing festivals and venues where the Beatles legacy still thrives. They also plan to talk to friends and family, musicologists and die-hard fans, about these legends and their incredible impact.
    Beatlemania Britain will be one in a series of programmes for the Discovery Travel Channel. The series is called Secrets. They are one hour travel documentaries with facts and stories behind famous destinations and establishments. They are aspirational programmes looking to inspire and inform the world traveller. The programme was received in 50 million homes in America and was also broadcast on Discovery Europe in twenty countries across the continent.

     

    Get in touch!


    Email Richard

    or call
    +44 (0)7958 706329 (Richard)

     

     


    © Richard Porter