Islington: New River

Explore London at your own pace

Walk from the Angel into the Georgian squares built around London's first great water supply, then along Upper Street's theatre pubs to a Tudor tower. Meet the man who brought fresh water forty miles to the city, find the chapel that doubles as a music venue, and climb to the tower where Francis Bacon once lived.

Photo: Charles Postiaux, Unsplash

Tour details

• Duration: 1 hour 35 minutes, entirely at your own pace
• Distance: around 3.6 km (2.3 miles)
• Stops: 17 landmarks, including The Angel, Islington, Old Red Lion, Islington, Myddelton Square
• Audio: up to 43 minutes of narration
• Starts at: The Angel, Islington

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

Photo: Benjamin Davies, Unsplash

Where you will stop

• The Angel, Islington
• Old Red Lion, Islington
• Myddelton Square
• Claremont Square
• Chapel Market
• Camden Passage
• Statue of Hugh Myddelton, Islington Green
• Collins's Music Hall
• The Screen on the Green
• King's Head Theatre
• St Mary's Church, Islington
• Almeida Theatre
• Hope and Anchor, Islington
• Union Chapel, Islington
• Canonbury Square
• Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art
• Canonbury House and Canonbury Tower

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: Giammarco Boscaro, Charles Postiaux, Benjamin Davies (Unsplash).