Celebrating Hackney’s past, shaping its future – since 1967
Celebrating Hackney’s past, shaping its future – since 1967
HACKNEY TOUR GUIDING COURSE 2026
This course is designed to enable students to develop the research and presentation skills required to be an effective tour guide whilst discovering the rich and varied history and heritage of Hackney. Successful completion of the new Hackney Tour Guiding course will lead to a qualification in tour guiding accredited by the Hackney Society.
The course provides you with skills to devise, research, and present professional walking tours throughout the area. From Hackney’s medieval and Tudor origins, Stoke Newington’s 18th century radical connections to the vibrant artistic hubs of Shoreditch, Hoxton and Hackney Wick, the borough is an endlessly fascinating and diverse place for guides and their clients.
Once you have qualified you will be invited to be the founder members of the Hackney Tour Guides’ Association, one of six Local London Guiding Associations.
COURSE CONTENT
Classroom-based learning: The weekly classroom sessions will take place at Shoreditch Town Hall on Wednesdays 6:30 – 8:30pm from January to July in school term-time. They will consist of lectures on the history of Hackney together with activities to support you in developing or improving your skills as a guide.
Practical guide training on the streets of Hackney: For the practical sessions or ‘walkshops’, you will research and take part in a guided walk with you and your fellow students as the guides. You will each be allocated a ‘stop’ that you will research and present to your fellow students and tutors. These sessions will take place on alternate Saturday mornings.
Your progress will be assessed with two written assignments, one practical guiding exam at an indoor historical site and one practical guiding exam on Hackney’s streets.
IS THIS COURSE FOR YOU?
The course is suitable both for people who are new to tour guiding and for experienced tour guides who want to develop their knowledge and skills further. It is aimed at anyone interested in leading guided walks whether for friends, family, workmates or for the general public and corporate clients.
Course Requirements
OUR TUTORS
The course tutors are all qualified guides with lots of experience of guiding and teaching guiding skills:
Susan Doe (course director): qualified City of London guide (2008). Sue has extensive experience with a wide variety of walking clients. Specialises in women’s history and her beloved Hackney (born and bred).
John Finn: qualified City of London, Westminster and Islington guide. Living in Hackney since 1968, John has been leading tours in London since 2003 and has taught on tour guiding courses for 13 years.
Plus we make use of an impressive team of lecturers and experienced guides to bring you wide-ranging local knowledge and guiding know-how.
If you have any questions that are not answered above please contact guiding@hackneysociety.org
HOW TO APPLY
If you are interested in applying for the 2026 course please complete the application form at the bottom of this page. The course runs from January to July.
The fee for the 2026 course is £799. A bursary may be available. Indicate on the application form if you wish to discover if you’re eligible.
If your initial application is successful, we will invite you for an informal interview in November, where you will give a short talk in English on a given Hackney landmark that will be allocated to you in advance of your interview date.
Please complete and send the following form to submit your application.