A nice springtime walk is a great way to discover more about our storied manor. We here at the Observer get little time outside of our locked chamber but when allowed day release we’ve actually been to several of the walks outlined below. They’re being sponsored by the Lambeth Local History Forum and over 120 walks can be found on their website so you could actually be walking for four months. However, as most of the walks involve leaving Greater Kennington to places like, gasp, Clapham, we don’t recommend it. You’ll notice that some of these events are listed as being free. By ‘free’ they don’t actually mean the event is free. They expect a well deserved tip and their work heralded on social media. We say this as we know most of you lot would nick an ice lolly off a toddler given half a chance.
11 APRIL Saturday 2.30pm
Remembering the Chartist Rally on Kennington Common 178 Years Ago
Friends of Kennington Park
Meet Prince Consort Lodge (Trees for Cities), Kennington Park Road, SE11 4AS
Led by Marietta Crichton Stuart
Booking friends@kenningtonpark.org
18 APRIL Saturday 1pm also 20 JUNE
Bazalgette — The Visionary Engineer
Lambeth Tour Guides Association
Meet Lambeth Palace, SE1 7JU
Led by Yvonne Shorten
Cost £12
Booking bit.ly/4tqW79a
23 MAY Saturday 10.30am
Artists’ Footsteps: A guided art tour of Vauxhall and Kennington
Lambeth Tour Guides Association
Meet Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens, Kennington Lane, SE11 5AW Led by Lucia van der Drift Cost £15
Booking bit.ly/4jlCoTG
We attended this last year. It’s primarily about the supper boxes and art around the Pleasure Gardens in the Victorian era, but also references contemporary spaces and artists.
25 MAY Monday 1pm
Lambeth Rocks: Music nostalgia and legendary lyrics
Lambeth Tour Guides Association
Meet Oval tube station, SE11 4PP Led by David Turnbull Cost £10 Booking LambethRockWalk.eventbrite.co.uk
4 JUNE Thursday 1pm
Unseen Vauxhall (1) – The Vanished and the Unnoticed
Lambeth Tour Guides Association
Meet Vauxhall Bus Station
Led by Geoff Fairbairn
Cost £12
Booking UnseenVauxhall4Jun.eventbrite.co.uk
For added comic value it would have been hilarious if this tour had commenced outside ‘Fire’ nightclub just after it closed on Sunday morning. That’s when the real unseen Vauxhall emerges.
14 JUNE Sunday 12noon
Pride and Protests: LGBT+ History Walk of Kennington
Lambeth Tour Guides Association
Meet Triangular traffic island, opposite Oval tubeLed by Adrian Gibson & Clare Truscott Cost £15
Booking bit.ly/4qoQsxK
Someone from the team attended this last year and it was primarily about cruising and the Pride festivals in Kennington Park in the 80’s. Very insightful.
