Ride The Last Routemasters

Think of London and what springs to mind? Big Ben? Buckingham Palace? The London Eye? For many people, mention London and they immediately will think of a red Routemaster double decker bus. Sadly, the vast majority of London's iconic buses have been replaced by bendy buses.

Visitors wanting to ride on one of the most famous buses ever made can jump on a Number 15 Heritage bus, near Trafalgar Square, at the beginning of the Ride and Stride Walk Talk Tour. Listeners to the mp3 guided tour will discover how design consultant Douglas Scott helped create the distinctive Routemaster look. Scott's brief was not restricted to the Routemaster, he forged his reputation designing the Aga stove and then the universally popular traditional red British telephone box.

Tourists making the most of their visitor guide will hear how Fleet Street became the centre of the British print press. Visitors can also learn about another instiution that has London roots: the traditional layered wedding cake, which was said to have been modelled on Sir Christopher Wren's St Bride's Church.

Passengers then alight at St Paul's Cathedral. The beauty of letting a Walk Talk Tour be your city guide is that you're free to stop and start as you please. If the weather takes a turn for the worse, why not head inside St Paul's? Cathedrals not really your thing? Continue on your tour, heading south over the Thames via the Millennium Bridge.

Once you've reached dry land again, you can wonder or bemoan the quality of the exhibits on display at the Tate Modern. Learn about theatre in Shakespeare's day outside the Globe Theatre. Continue your journey on foot (good for the waistline) along the south bank by way of the the Clink Prison, the Golden Hinde, Hay's Galleria and HMS Belfast.

Just before you reach London's most iconic bridge - Tower Bridge - you will see City Hall home to the Mayor of London and the London Assembly. The two main candidates in the upcoming mayoral election have adopted different stances on the Routemaster. The current incumbent, Ken Livingstone, has vowed that the Routemaster is finished. His chief rival, Boris Johnson, has said that he intends to replace the bendy buses with a 'new-generation' Routemaster. Watch this space.

To find out more about the Ride and Stride Walk Talk Tour, please click here