Saffron Walden Audio Tour: Castles, Canvases & Secret Gardens

Explore Saffron Walden at your own pace

Beneath the quiet charm of Saffron Walden, revolutionaries once rallied by ancient walls and artists secretly sketched their rebellion in oil and ink. Uncover what really happened in these cobbled streets with this self-guided audio tour-a journey where every corner hides stories most travelers overlook.

Who set fire to ambitions within the ruins of Walden Castle during a long-forgotten uprising? Why did a painter at the Fry Art Gallery cloak an unsolved enigma inside brushstrokes? What links a ramshackle football pitch to a scandal that still whispers on match days?

Move through alleyways scented with saffron and past timeworn stones that once shook with political intrigue. Let each stop immerse you in drama and secret histories, shifting your view of the town from quaint to electrifying.

Photo: Phil Hearing, Unsplash

Tour details

• Duration: 1 hour 2 minutes, entirely at your own pace
• Distance: around 2.6 km (1.6 miles)
• Stops: 10 landmarks, including Saffron Walden Town Hall, Barclays Bank, Saffron Walden, Corn Exchange, Saffron Walden
• Audio: up to 25 minutes of narration
• Starts at: Saffron Walden Town Hall

Map data by Mapbox and OpenStreetMap contributors

How it works

• Book here and a redemption code arrives by email within minutes.
• Download the free AudaTours app on your phone and enter the code.
• Download the tour once and the whole thing works offline.
• Walk to the first stop and press play. The audio for each landmark starts automatically as you approach it, so your phone can stay in your pocket.

There is no fixed date and no start time. The date you pick at checkout does not matter, and the tour stays on your phone permanently, so you can use it whenever you next visit and walk it again as often as you like.

What is included

• Professionally narrated audio that plays automatically at each stop
• An interactive map showing the walking route between landmarks
• Full offline access once downloaded, so you need no data or signal
• Freedom to start, pause and resume whenever you like
• Lifetime access - your code never expires

Where you will stop

• Saffron Walden Town Hall
• Barclays Bank, Saffron Walden
• Corn Exchange, Saffron Walden
• Hill House, Saffron Walden
• St Mary the Virgin, Saffron Walden
• Fry Art Gallery
• Bridge End Gardens
• Saffron Walden Town F.C.
• Walden Castle
• Saffron Walden Museum

Image: AudaTours

What is AudaTours?

AudaTours turns a walk through a city into a story. Our guides bring landmarks to life with the history, the scandals and the detail you would never get from a plaque.

• Immersive: real stories about the places in front of you, not a dry commentary
• Offline: download once and use it with no data, anywhere
• At your own pace: start, pause and resume whenever you want
• Accurate: every story is built from verified historical sources and checked before release

Good to know

• This is a self-guided audio tour on your own phone. There is no in-person guide.
• It does not include entry to any building or site along the route.
• The landmarks on the tour are not affiliated with AudaTours.
• You need a smartphone with Android 7.0 or later, or iOS 16 or later.
• Bring headphones and start with a charged phone.

Who it suits

Solo travellers, couples, families and small groups who would rather explore on their own schedule than follow a guide and a fixed departure time. It suits a first visit, and it suits anyone who has already seen the famous sights and wants to know what actually happened in them.

Image credits

Photos: Phil Hearing (Unsplash); AudaTours.