Jack the Ripper
I went on the Jack the Ripper walk last night where it was freezing cold!! If you don't know who Jack the Ripper was then click here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_the_Ripper
The area in which Jack the Ripper murdered people in 1888 is not too far from where I work now. The walking tours are quite popular and some dates are booked out a week or two in advance. There are a number of companies offering the Jack the Ripper walking tour as it appears to be popular with locals and tourists. In fact I thought our group of about 30 would be mostly tourists but they turned out to be mostly British (albeit probably not Londoners).
Our tour started at 7pm and even though it is Spring and daylight savings is in observance it was absolutely freezing cold last night!! The guide was quite good in setting the background to the times (the poverty, crime, drunkeness, Victorian morals, street conditions, atmosphere of fear, etc) and describing in story-like fasion the events surrounding the murders. We went to actual places and stood where Jack the Ripper commited his murders. Some of the places were still standing but others had been demolished and rebuilt as something else.
They also showed some pretty gruesome black and white pictures of the murder victims. I think they must have got them from police archives.
I'd give the walk 6.5/10. It was pretty much what I expected and was nice to do once but wouldn't do it again. In some ways it a matter of walking around and stopping at street corners while the guide described the murders. Most of the East London area isn't as victorian as 1888 and so you don't get the atmosphere of stepping back in time.
Your experience can be variable depending on your actual guide. For this reason I won't disclose the tour company as each company has a number of guides and your experience will probably be similar with whomever you book with. it was £6.50 so not too bad for 2 hours.
The area in which Jack the Ripper murdered people in 1888 is not too far from where I work now. The walking tours are quite popular and some dates are booked out a week or two in advance. There are a number of companies offering the Jack the Ripper walking tour as it appears to be popular with locals and tourists. In fact I thought our group of about 30 would be mostly tourists but they turned out to be mostly British (albeit probably not Londoners).
Our tour started at 7pm and even though it is Spring and daylight savings is in observance it was absolutely freezing cold last night!! The guide was quite good in setting the background to the times (the poverty, crime, drunkeness, Victorian morals, street conditions, atmosphere of fear, etc) and describing in story-like fasion the events surrounding the murders. We went to actual places and stood where Jack the Ripper commited his murders. Some of the places were still standing but others had been demolished and rebuilt as something else.
They also showed some pretty gruesome black and white pictures of the murder victims. I think they must have got them from police archives.
I'd give the walk 6.5/10. It was pretty much what I expected and was nice to do once but wouldn't do it again. In some ways it a matter of walking around and stopping at street corners while the guide described the murders. Most of the East London area isn't as victorian as 1888 and so you don't get the atmosphere of stepping back in time.
Your experience can be variable depending on your actual guide. For this reason I won't disclose the tour company as each company has a number of guides and your experience will probably be similar with whomever you book with. it was £6.50 so not too bad for 2 hours.
posted by boarderbob at
8:44 AM
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