Local Stories

Five people listening to an Unseen Tours guide, Pete on Brick Lane. Pete points upwards to a building as he explains its history to his guests.

Pete: What life taught me whilst being homeless…

Having been a tour guide with Unseen Tours for 8 years, I get asked a lot of questions by my tourists. Through the years I’ve been asked a lot of questions, but a while ago I was asked a question that did fluster me, because it was from so unexpected that I’d never even considered such a question. The question I was asked […]

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Unseen Tours David

David’s reflections on 7 years with Unseen Tours

This week marks 7 years since I led my first walking tour of London Bridge. I was asked to share my favourite memories of this time, but finding good memories is difficult as the majority of tours have been very good, so the bad memories stick out more easily. One thing that comes to mind […]

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Nic’s August Run Down

Welcome to Nic’s August run down. I am watching the leaves of London outside my balcony drift and twirl down to the ground, Autumn is on its way. But in the words of Ella Fitzgerald, It’s too darn hot. It has been, for me anyway, even when working by the Thames. I took the DLR […]

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Mists and Mellow Fruitfulness, Harvest Moons…and Nic’s Favourite Fruit!

Ah, Autumn, my favourite season. Mists and mellow fruitfulness, harvest moons…and my favourite fruit, damsons! Every year I try and make jam, I hope I’ve cracked it this year. Though hopefully not my relative’s tooth – she claims I left a stone in. Once. And I’m not allowed to forget it. No matter how hard you […]

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(vo)ULEZ vous!

Despite the rather flippant title of this month’s blog, this is one of the hardest pieces I’ve had to write.  I’m afraid that this will turn into a rant, so please accept my apologies in advance.  You may have noticed fewer cars in your city on 21st September 2021… no? Hmm… it was National Car-Free […]

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Graffiti Artist Stik

How London Street Artist Stik Crashed Pete’s Tour

If you’ve been on my tour, or if you plan to, you will quickly find out one of my trademarks. After I finish my introduction to the tour I always say “If you have any questions please save them until the end of the tour. I think you will find that I’ve answered most of […]

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London Bridge Tour Local Stories

Local Stories: The Story Behind the Hat

On the Unseen Tours website, I am wearing a black rimmed hat. I also bring it with me each time I guide a tour. Well, there’s a story behind this hat.  Between 1998 – 1999 I shared a house with two friends Paul and Andy and I have kept in touch with them ever since. […]

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Local Stories: How a Haircut Changed a Homeless Man’s Life

I watched a lot of videos to combat boredom during lockdown and I came across this amazing video of a homeless man having his hair cut.  Now, you’re probably thinking “What’s so amazing about that?” Well, as the man is having a haircut and shave, captions tell the story of how he gave a passer-by […]

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homeless tour guide london, Pete

Pete on Life as an Unseen Tours Guide

I am often asked about how I first became involved with Unseen Tours and my answer is pretty peculiar. While I was homeless and squatting around the Brick Lane area, I had a job selling hats every weekend on Brick Lane market. All the time there would be groups of people going up and down […]

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