East London has always been a point of fascination to many. For centuries, it has been a hotbed of culture, crime, fine food and plenty of drink. There’s more to the East End than poverty. But its sinister underworld, murky and unforgiving, has understandably caught the attention most. Gangsters are forever intriguing, feared as they are and have been.
So while it’s important to see the likes of Whitechapel, Bethnal Green and surrounds as more than cauldrons of fear. They are also home to the most charming, amusing and courageous characters London has seen. Still, many want an insight into the darkness. It’s human nature. Here are three tours that shine a light.
The Krays
The East End is full of history, some of it charming, a lot of it scary. Tours are ten a penny, including one that delves into the murky past of the Kray twins, the city’s most famous gangster duo that terrorised London throughout the ‘60s. Actor Vas Blackwood, best known for his role in Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, hosts regular tours, starting at the Blind Beggar pub and onward to other Kray haunts. Recommended by former mobster Frankie Fraser, no less. From £27, various dates. theblindbeggar.com
Jack the Ripper
London’s most famous and feared serial killer roamed the streets of the East End in the late 1800s and his identity remains a mystery to this day. This tour begins in Altab Ali Park, the site of the murderer’s first victim, before stopping at other locations. At each, guides will share the stories of the women who lived and worked in the East End at the time, the hardships they faced and the exploitation they endured to “understand the social context of these crimes”. Daily from 7.30pm. Tickets from £20. jackrippertour.com
Migration tour
This tour takes in some of the famous and less famous sights around the East End, once “the worst slum in Europe”. Hosted by experts from London Walks, one of the foremost guide groups in town, stories come thick and fast: of Lenin and Trotsky, old pubs, sieges and battles, poets and drinkers and the Elephant Man. Timeless restaurants, too. Said to be “real people’s London” and an area the government once feared, tours take in the artistic expression and social ferment born there. Tickets from £20, various dates. walks.com
