PRESS PLAY · SELF-GUIDED WALKING TOURS IN THE UK

The 15 Best Self-Guided Walking Tours in the UK

42 tours  ·  from $5 a head

Good self-guided walking tours in the UK sell their best slots weeks ahead. Below: the 15 to book early, what each includes and how they differ.

London: Royal Walking Tour and Buckingham Palace Audio Tour - Meeting at St. James’s Square
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London: Royal Walking Tour and Buckingham Palace Audio Tour

1.London: Royal Walking Tour and Buckingham Palace Audio Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 154 reviews · 2.5 hours · from $100Our pick

Join an English-speaking guide such as Sophie, Lee, or Jen for a 2.5-hour walk from St. James Square through St. James’s Park and The Mall to Buckingham Palace. Hear royal stories, skip the ticket line, and explore the State Rooms with an official audio guide.

“Our guide, Sophie, was incredibly knowledgeable, enthusiastic and very friendly. She made the whole experience interesting, engaging and fun!”

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London: Self-Guided Notting Hill Walking Tour with an APP - Notting Hill Gate to Pembridge Crescent
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London: Self-Guided Notting Hill Walking Tour with an APP

2.London: Self-Guided Notting Hill Walking Tour with an APP

★★★★★★★★★★4.3 · 120 reviews · 2 hours · from $14

Use the Trippy Tour Guide app to walk from Notting Hill Gate to Westbourne Park Station, following more than 20 audio stops in English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, or Chinese. You’ll see film locations, historic streets, colorful homes, Portobello Road, and quieter corners at your own pace.

“I really enjoyed this self-guided Notting Hill walking tour. The app was easy to use and took me to all the key spots, including famous locations from the Notting Hill and Love Actually movie scenes, plus so much more. A great way to explore the area at your own pace and really soak in the charm of the neighbourhood. Highly recommended!”

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Buckingham Palace: Walking Tour with Entry & Audio Guide - St. James’s Park and the route along The Mall
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Buckingham Palace: Walking Tour with Entry & Audio Guide

3.Buckingham Palace: Walking Tour with Entry & Audio Guide

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 91 reviews · 2 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $92Top rated

Begin at St. James’s Square with an English-speaking guide, then walk past St. James’s Palace, St. James’s Park, The Mall, and Clarence House before entering Buckingham Palace independently with the palace audio guide. Guides have included Lee, David, Sion, and Sophie.

“We were extremely disappointed when the changing of the guard was canceled, but that is not the fault of the tour. The tour guide did an excellent job of showing us other landmarks in place of the changing of the guard and we enjoyed this tour a lot. It was a bonus when we were able to skip the line into the palace. Our tour guide was very friendly and knowledgeable.”

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Edinburgh: Old Town Walking Tour with an APP - Following the Royal Mile through Edinburgh’s Old Town
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Edinburgh: Old Town Walking Tour with an APP

4.Edinburgh: Old Town Walking Tour with an APP

★★★★★★★★★★4.4 · 36 reviews · 5 hours · from $9

Use the Trippy Tour Guide app to explore Edinburgh’s Old Town at your own pace. Follow more than 40 GPS-triggered narration points from Calton Hill along the Royal Mile to Greyfriars Kirkyard, with audio in six languages and no in-person guide.

“Ottima guida che accompagna per le vie del centro città. Aggiungerei una parte più approfondita in merito alla storia (regnanti, rivolta dei giacobiti e così via) in modo da renderla più completa.”

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Covent Garden’s Hidden Gems: A Self-Guided Walking Tour - Starting at Covent Garden Piazza
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Covent Garden’s Hidden Gems: A Self-Guided Walking Tour

5.Covent Garden’s Hidden Gems: A Self-Guided Walking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★3.5 · 29 reviews · 45 to 50 minutes (approx.) · from $9

Use your phone to follow a 45 to 50-minute English audio walk through Covent Garden. A local or historian guides you from the Piazza through Seven Dials, Neal’s Yard, St Paul’s Church, Nell Gwynne, the Strand, and the Royal Opera House, with offline GPS access.

“App was easy to follow, and was able to set our own pace. Made the mistake of eating before hand. You go past a number of great cafes and bakeries, so no eat before.”

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Bath Private Self-Guided Walking Audio Tour - Starting at Parade Gardens beside the River Avon
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Bath Private Self-Guided Walking Audio Tour

6.Bath Private Self-Guided Walking Audio Tour

★★★★★★★★★★3.0 · 21 reviews · from $25

Walk Bath at your own pace with a 35-minute GPS audio tour from Terrace Walk to Thermae Bath Spa. Commentary from a local or historian covers Parade Gardens, Sally Lunn’s, the Roman Baths, Bath Abbey, medieval charity, and Bath’s hot springs. Entrance fees are separate.

“It didn't happen. The tour guide was a no show so had to pay on door to get in. Very disappointed and won't be booking through viator again”

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Private Smartphone photography Walking Tour Around Bath - Meeting at Bath Abbey and getting oriented
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Private Smartphone photography Walking Tour Around Bath

7.Private Smartphone photography Walking Tour Around Bath

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 20 reviews · 2 hours (approx.) · from $54

Join Simon for a private two-hour smartphone photography walk in Bath. You will practice reflections, viewpoints, composition, and useful phone settings while photographing the Royal Crescent, the Circus, Bath Abbey, and other city views. Morning and afternoon departures are available.

“Excellent tour! I now act like my dog with head down all the way time. Mostly because Simon taught me the beauty of photos through reflections in water. But best of all is he showed me additional features on my iPhone settings I didn’t know I had or had to use.”

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Bath : 2 Hour Historic Walking Tour With An App - Starting at Marlborough Buildings
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Bath : 2 Hour Historic Walking Tour With An App

8.Bath : 2 Hour Historic Walking Tour With An App

★★★★★★★★★★3.6 · 19 reviews · 2 hours · from $9

Explore Bath on a two-hour audio walk through the Royal Crescent, The Circus, Jane Austen sites, Roman Baths, Bath Abbey, Pulteney Bridge, and the Holburne Museum. The Trippy Tour Guide app offers automatic narration in six languages, but you need Wi-Fi, a charged phone, and working GPS.

“Audio was in heel veel talen beschikbaar en zeer duidelijk. Beter zou zijn om vooraleer te starten , reeds een 10 tal locaties op de kaart van bath te zetten waar men kan starten. Wij bezochten vooraf de Romeinse baden en gingen dan naar het opgegeven startpunt van de tour , ongeveer 2 km naar het noorden van de stad. Daarna de hele weg terug als onderdeel van de wandeling. Indien we dit geweten hadden, zouden we de audiowandeling gestart hebben aan de Romeinse Baden .”

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Haunted Chester and its Ghosts: A Self-Guided Walking Tour - The Rows and Chester Cross
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Haunted Chester and its Ghosts: A Self-Guided Walking Tour

9.Haunted Chester and its Ghosts: A Self-Guided Walking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 19 reviews · 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes (approx.) · from $8

Use the VoiceMap app to follow a one to one-and-a-half-hour ghost walk from Chester Visitor Information Centre. Hear tales linked to The Falcon, Bear and Billet, the Anchorite Cell, St John’s Church, the Roman Amphitheatre, Eastgate Clock, and Chester Cathedral. Start anytime, pause freely, and revisit it later.

“Fascinating. I like the tale of sarah and the fact that you see so many distinct features and interesting places. Good tour easy to follow. Not sure if its just today but the gate down the side of the chapel was locked and shut.”

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Royal Mile, Edinburgh Walking Tour with Audioguide - Canongate Kirk and the lower Royal Mile
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Royal Mile, Edinburgh Walking Tour with Audioguide

10.Royal Mile, Edinburgh Walking Tour with Audioguide

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 16 reviews · 1 hour 30 minutes (approx.) · from $7Best value

Follow a historian-written audio guide from Holyrood Abbey along Edinburgh’s Royal Mile to Edinburgh Castle. You’ll get 23 recordings, an offline map, landmark images, and one year of access. Start and stop as you like, but bring your own phone and headphones. No human guide or entrance tickets are included.

“Didn't get to do the tour but we walked a lot up and down the Royal Mile many many times. Put in a lot of miles.”

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Bath: Bridgeton Walking Tour with an APP - The Assembly Rooms and Bath’s ballroom atmosphere
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Bath: Bridgeton Walking Tour with an APP

11.Bath: Bridgeton Walking Tour with an APP

★★★★★★★★★★3.8 · 14 reviews · 2 hours · from $9

Follow Trippy Tour Guide’s self-guided Bath walk through more than 20 Bridgerton filming locations, from 1 Royal Crescent and the Assembly Rooms to Beaufort Square, The Colombian Company, Abbey Green, and Holburne Museum. Download the route on Wi-Fi, then walk at your own pace in six languages.

“Fun for Bridgeton fans and to be reminded of certain scenes shot in the locations. Great way to wander much of the city centre. A couple of places were pinned in the wrong place and a few of the audio prompts for turns were the wrong way. Check and follow the map. Maybe update with some season 3 and Queen Charlotte titbits. Excellent value at £7 and you can wander at you own pace and stop start as suits you.”

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Birmingham Private Self-Guided Walking Tour - Gas Street Basin and Brindley Place
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Birmingham Private Self-Guided Walking Tour

12.Birmingham Private Self-Guided Walking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 13 reviews · 2 to 3 hours (approx.) · from $12

You’ll follow Helen’s recorded audio guide from Gas Street Basin through Birmingham’s canals, civic squares, Bullring, Chinatown, and Gay Village. The private self-guided tour costs $12.26, takes about two to three hours, and includes GPS directions, photos, videos, and three weeks of app access.

“As requested, I signed up for the Exploro App which is necessary to gain access to this activity. I created an account. You could not access this activity directly through the app. I was required to enter a very convoluted link through the Google browser which created an error message. After multiple attempts and 60 minutes I gave up on this activity and arranged my own self-guided walking tour of Birmingham which worked out just fine. The AUD18 spent on paying for the tour was completely wasted.”

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Bristol Harbourside Self-Guided Walking Tour - College Green and the city’s grand centre
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Bristol Harbourside Self-Guided Walking Tour

13.Bristol Harbourside Self-Guided Walking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 12 reviews · 2 to 3 hours (approx.) · from $12

Follow Helen’s English-language audio tour from Millennium Square through Bristol’s old harbour, Queen Square, Redcliffe, and the SS Great Britain. Use GPS directions, maps, pictures, videos, and local recommendations at your own pace over three weeks.

“Disappointing narration due to hard to follow directions, some streets not named and some had blocked access. Detours and errors made walk much longer than advertised. Gave up half way.”

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Doctor Who and Cinematic Cardiff: Self Guided Walking Tour - The Temple of Peace brings Doctor Who’s future into view
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Doctor Who and Cinematic Cardiff: Self Guided Walking Tour

14.Doctor Who and Cinematic Cardiff: Self Guided Walking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 12 reviews · 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours (approx.) · from $11

Use the VoiceMap app to follow a self-guided route through Cardiff’s best screen locations, from Cardiff Castle and City Hall to the Temple of Peace, Cardiff Market, and Sherlock’s Cambrian Tap. The 90-minute to two-hour walk includes offline maps and audio, but attraction admission, a phone, and headphones are extra.

“Very good tour including cool doctor who locations and to see a side of Cardiff we wouldn't normally see.”

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London: Jack the Ripper Walking Tour with an App - Brick Lane and the Frying Pan Pub
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London: Jack the Ripper Walking Tour with an App

15.London: Jack the Ripper Walking Tour with an App

★★★★★★★★★★3.7 · 11 reviews · 3 hours · from $12

Follow a three-hour, self-guided Jack the Ripper walk through Whitechapel and Spitalfields. The Trippy Tour Guide app leads you from Gunthorpe Street to Mitre Square, with 40-plus audio stops in English, German, French, Spanish, Chinese, and Italian. Bring a charged phone, headphones, and downloaded route.

“The application works perfectly, so the walk through the busy streets of Whitechapel is very intuitive. The tour is very detailed and gives a lot of information. It's great that you can stroll at your own pace and replay the recordings or listen to them later. As there's a lot of traffic, don't forget your headphones so you can fully enjoy this adventure :)”

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New in Self-Guided Walking Tours in the UK

★ 4.0Chester Quest: Self Guided City Walk & Immersive Treasure Hunt5 reviews
★ 5.0Cambridge Self Guided Walking TourFrom $124 reviews
★ 3.5Cambridge Quest: Self Guided City Walk & Immersive Treasure Hunt3 reviews
★ 5.0Self-Guided Walking Tour of Bristol’s Harbourside HistoryFrom $72 reviews
★ 4.0Eccentric Lewes: A Self-Guided Walking TourFrom $53 reviews
★ 4.5Bristol Quest: Self Guided City Walk & Immersive Treasure Hunt3 reviews
★ 5.0Bath Bridgerton walking tour of filming location with Mobile AppFrom $73 reviews
★ 4.0Jane Austen Self-Guided Audio Walking Tour in BathFrom $134 reviews
★ 4.6Stratford-upon-Avon: City Walking Tour & Exploration Game3 reviews
★ 3.8Nottingham: City Walking Tour & Exploration Game6 reviews
★ 3.8Leeds: City Walking Tour & Exploration Game3 reviews
★ 4.0Inverness: City Walking Tour & Exploration Game4 reviews
★ 4.6Edinburgh: Royal Mile Walking Tour & Exploration Game7 reviews
★ 3.4Edinburgh New Town: City Walking Tour & Exploration Game3 reviews
★ 3.1Derry: City Walking Tour & Exploration Game3 reviews

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