Canning Town with Halimot

Surviving to thriving (0)

Canning Town with Halimot

Surviving to thriving
Trigger Warning: This tour addresses some difficult topics. It is therefore unsuitable for people under the age of 15.

Hi! I’m Halimot, and I’ll be taking you on a tour of Canning Town, an area of London that has played a significant role in my personal story.

Our walking tour of East London presents an array of stories about the industries that shaped this area when the Royal Victoria Dock was established. We look at how it shaped the area’s character over time and brought with it waves of migrations that made the community into the unique tapestry it is today. We’ll share stories about the impact of the Second World War on this area, and hear how Newham was home to many important Suffragettes. I’ll also introduce the meeting point of two brilliant minds that happened in the most unlikely of places.

Throughout the walking tour, I will also share my own stories of surviving human trafficking and my experience of homelessness, bringing a new perspective to these topics that don’t often get talked about. And together, we’ll discover how the people of Canning Town, and survivors like myself, move through life from surviving to thriving.

This tour was developed in collaboration with Women In Travel CIC through their partnership with Google, and training was delivered by Sama Sama International.

The development of the tour was funded by Unseen Stories , part of the Mayor of London’s Commission for Diversity in the Public Realm .

Canning Town – From Surviving to Thriving

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Details

  • Historic Buildings
  • 2 Hours
  • Accessible
  • Pets allowed

Tickets must be purchased in advance – we are unable to sell tickets at the meeting point.

Book early to avoid disappointment!

Private tours may request tailored start and end points.

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Tours every week
Sunday 11:00 - 13:00
Sunday 14:00 - 16:00
Meeting point

Canning Town Bus Station (opposite the IBIS hotel), London Underground Ltd., Silvertown Way, Canning Town, London, E16 1DQ

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(Tour ends at Canning Town Station, E16 1DQ)

£18 ticket (+£1.85 booking fee)

60% of the ticket price goes directly to your guide


Highlights

  • Explore Canning Town’s transformation from a marshland to a meeting place of brilliant minds
  • Uncover the impactful legacy of the ELFS’s (East London Federation of Suffragettes) on women’s rights
  • Trace the area’s rich immigration history linked to the Royal Victoria Dock
  • Hear the tale of an administrative mix-up turning a Canning Town school into a WWII tragedy site
  • Navigate through Canning Town’s history, from its industrial roots to a vibrant cultural tapestry

My Story

Hi, my name is Halimot, and I’m excited to guide you through Canning Town - an area that holds a personal significance for me and my experience of homelessness. I was born in Nigeria to a middle-class family. However, after the death of my father, I was trafficked. As part of my Unseen Tour of the London Borough of Newham, I share some of my own stories of surviving trafficking, to help raise awareness of the issue.

Outside of tour guiding, I’m a licensed baker, barista, florist, teacher, and mum to 4 boys. I also run my own cake-decorating and catering business, Haliberry in East London. I am in the process of setting up a social enterprise to help other people like myself get into baking.

Since surviving trafficking, I’ve seen London as my home. East London is my community, but I didn’t know much about the history of the area until I started this training with Sama Sama International to create my walking tour of London. I’m looking forward to welcoming you all on my tour and sharing stories of how the community of Canning Town, and people like myself, go from surviving to thriving.

Spoken languages
English, Yoruba, Spanish