The Thin Veil of London

Starts from The Queen's Larder, 1 Queen's Square, Bloomsbury

Event location:
The Queen's Larder, 1 Queen Square WC1N 3AR

When:	Event passed! It was on Sat 4th May 2019 See more Walks & Tours
Where:	Starts from The Queen's Larder, 1 Queen's Square, Bloomsbury WC1N 3AR
Map:	Map & Nearby
Times:	Saturdays: 15:00 - 17:30 and 18:00 - 20:30
Admission:	£17.50 per person (£12.50 for students and concessions)

About the event

Part-tour, part-theatre, The Thin Veil of London delves into the more mysterious corners of London. A walk through Holborn and Bloomsbury into other worlds.

The stories of Arthur Machen (1863-1947) teem with sinister ancient pre-Christian horrors – troglodyte races and malevolent fauns – that lurk just beneath the surface of modern life.

Yet for Machen, these folklore evils were the flip side of a positive theology that invited the visionary to step through the veil of illusion into another world; a magical world. Sometimes the lifting of the veil occurs on ancient tumuli in the Welsh countryside of his childhood; often it can be found in a back street of London.

The Thin Veil of London takes up this theme. It is a journey into the silent corners of Holborn and Bloomsbury, and it is a journey into the worlds of Faery and science, madness and ecstasy, and what Machen called ‘the eternal beauty hidden beneath the crust of common and commonplace things; hidden and yet burning and glowing continually if you care to look with purged eyes’.

On this fantastical dusk walk around Holborn and Bloomsbury, Rich Cochrane and Robert Kingham seamlessly entwine centuries of history, myth, philosophy and literature to weave a wholly engrossing journey (with a couple of pub stops) that will completely change how you see the city. ????? James Drury, Londonist

I can heartily recommend the latest venture from Robert Kingham and Rich Cochrane ... a cross between a literary walk, a pub crawl, a history lesson, a multi-media investigation of madness, a ghost story, and a psychogeographic voyage through Victorian and Edwardian London. It's loosely based on the writings of Arthur Machen but even if, like me, you've never read anything by him, it's still a tremendous and fascinating experience. Go book your tickets now. - John Lewis, freelance journalist

'The best guided walk I've ever been on. A surprise round every corner' - Matt Brown, Londonist
'Last night we saw the thin veil of London pulled back... a magical perambulatory evening' - Henry Eliot, Curiocity
'More than a guided walk... ordinary pictures of London streets don't do it justice' - Badwitch.co.uk

Official Link: https://www.minimumlabyrinth.org/the-thin-veil-of-london.html