London is currently doing swimmingly in the weather stakes! We had a slight respite from the downpours yesterday (Sunday) but this morning we’ve woken up to a positive deluge.
So how does the rain impact on our Jack the Ripper Tour? Well, to be perfectly honest, it does and it doesn’t. Obviously if you embark on a two hour walk and don’t dress for the weather, then you’re going to end up soaked to the skin.
But, as has often been pointed out by our tour participants, the streets through which our walk wends its wicked way become even more atmospheric when the rain lashes the cobblestones and the wind whistles through the narrow alleyways and eerie courtyards through which we take you on the walk.
And, as my dear old mother used to say, “there’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing.” So, dressing for the rain means that you can enjoy the tour and see the streets of Spitalfields and Whitechapel in a whole new light, or should that be darkness?
One of the great things about our Jack the Ripper Walk is that we try and make it as authentic as possible.
That’s why we start at Aldgate East Underground Station as opposed to Tower Hill.
From the latter you will spend almost an hour walking through modern, busy streets lined with 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s office blocks. None of these streets are connected with the Jack the Ripper murders until you reach Mitre Square, approximately 45 minutes into your tour.
With our starting point, Aldgate East Station, we whisk you straight into the old cobbled streets of Victorian London and actually follow in Jack’s footsteps through the area where he held the populace in the grip of terror throughout the dark, wet autumn nights of 1888. Gunthorpe Street, the very first alley on our walking tour, looks particularly creepy when the rain bounces off its surviving cobbles. You really do get the impression that all manner of exquisite horrors could be lurking in its dark recesses!
The old Victorian photographs – many of which are unique to our walk – that we pass around, and which you get to hold and study to your hearts content, really do help build the atmosphere and provide you with a genuine insight into how the area appeared in 1888, the year of the ripper murders.
Throw into this rich mix the added bonus of a rain-lashed night, at you well and truly get the ultimate experience exploring the darker, and spookier, side of Victorian London. After all, the best horror films nearly always begin on a dark and stormy night.
So, if you’ve studied the weather forecast, and dressed accordingly, bad weather should enhance, as opposed to deter from, your enjoyment of our walk. After all, the weather outside might be frightful, but, for the serious ripper hunter, the streets are soooo delightful!