Witchcraft, Ancient Cults & MI15 Spy Secrets

Roman worship, medieval churches, public executions, ghosts, and secretive government work all meet on this unusual London walk. Instead of ticking off the Tower and Westminster, you’ll follow a three-hour route through the City of London, where modern offices sit over old temples and buried streets.

I like the private format, since your guide can give your group undivided attention and spend more time on the subjects that catch your interest. I also like the route’s focus on small details, from pagan remains beneath a church to three devilish figures carved into a building near Cornhill.

The main drawback is the price of $371.59 per person, which is a serious outlay for a three-hour walk. The value improves for a small group that wants a tailored experience, but it is harder to justify if you are happy with a standard group tour or prefer to explore at your own pace.

Key points to know before booking

• Roman London begins underground: The London Mithraeum recalls a secret cult that attracted soldiers, merchants, and imperial officials.
• The route favors overlooked details: You’ll see unusual carvings, old church sites, execution grounds, and places tied to London’s darker stories.
• It is a private walking tour: Only your group takes part, so you can ask questions and shape the conversation.
• The three-hour route crosses the City: Start at Bleeding Heart Yard at noon and finish beside Monument Station.
• Some admission is not covered: Entry to the London Mithraeum and Cornhill House is not included, while several other stops are free or included.
• A friendly, well-informed guide matters here: One recorded rating praised the guide’s warmth and strong command of the subject.

Why this walk feels different from a standard London tour

Most first-time London tours center on famous buildings. This one works in the gaps between them. You follow a story of beliefs, punishment, superstition, and secrecy through streets that can look ordinary until someone points out what lies beneath them.

That approach suits you if you have already seen the major sights or want a second look at central London. You will not spend the full three hours inside major attractions. Instead, you move on foot between a series of compact stops, with about ten minutes assigned to each location.

The short stops keep the pace moving, but they also limit how long you can linger. You should book this for interpretation and connections, not for long museum visits or extended time inside churches.

The tour is private, and that changes the feel of the walk. Your guide can explain a point in more depth, answer questions without managing a large crowd, and adjust the emphasis toward Roman religion, witchcraft, ghosts, executions, or spy stories. The exact guide’s name is not provided, but the available feedback praises the tour woman for being very nice and knowing the subject well.

The London Mithraeum and the Roman cult of Mithras

The first major stop is London Mithraeum Bloomberg SPACE, a site with links to the city’s Roman beginnings. The location has been central to London for roughly two thousand years, and the remains here point to a period when Roman religious life included private cults as well as public temples.

The cult of Mithras appeared in Rome during the first century AD and spread across the Empire over the next three hundred years. Its followers included merchants, soldiers, and imperial administrators. These were not open public sanctuaries. Temples were often built below ground, in dark rooms without windows, giving the worship a private and secretive character.

At the heart of Mithraic belief is the image of Mithras killing a bull inside a cave. This scene, called a tauroctony, remains open to interpretation. That uncertainty is part of the appeal. You are not being handed a neat answer to every question. Instead, you get a glimpse of a belief system whose full meaning is still debated.

The stop is planned for about ten minutes. That is enough for an explanation and a look at the site, but not necessarily enough for a slow museum visit. Admission is not included, so check the entry arrangement before you book if going inside the Mithraeum is important to you. The route includes the location, but you should not assume the ticket price covers access.

This stop gives the entire walk its strongest foundation. Later stories about churches, spirits, and punishment make more sense after you have seen how many layers of worship and ritual occupy the City.

St. Mary Woolnoth and two thousand years of worship

St. Mary Woolnoth offers another example of London built over its own past. Worship has taken place on this site for at least two thousand years, and traces of Roman and pagan religious buildings have been found beneath the present church.

You may find this stop more rewarding if you enjoy the physical clues of old cities. The church itself is not presented simply as a medieval or modern building. Its location connects several eras of religious practice, showing how sacred sites can remain important even as the people, faiths, and buildings around them change.

The stop lasts about ten minutes and admission is free. That makes it one of the easier places to appreciate without an extra cost. The guide’s explanation is the main reason to pause here, since the most interesting evidence is below the current foundations rather than something you can casually spot from the pavement.

I like this part of the route because it asks you to look down and think about what has disappeared. London often reveals its past through fragments, not complete monuments. This is a good example of that quieter kind of discovery.

Cornhill House and the three devilish figures

Cornhill House provides one of the walk’s strangest visual details. Three devilish terracotta figures decorate the building, and their story is tied to the church next door, St Peter upon Cornhill.

The figures are intended to mock worshippers at the neighboring church. The old church is now nearly submerged at street level by surrounding office blocks, creating a sharp contrast between its earlier setting and the modern City around it.

This is exactly the sort of stop that can be easy to miss without a guide. You might walk past the figures while looking at offices, traffic, or a map. With the story attached, the carvings become a small record of rivalry, insult, and changing religious surroundings.

The stop is scheduled for about ten minutes. Admission is not included, so treat it as a viewing stop rather than a guaranteed interior visit. The value here is the explanation and the chance to notice an unusual piece of street-level detail.

St. Bartholomew the Great and medieval survival

Church of St. Bartholomew the Great is one of the more substantial historic buildings on the route. It is one of the few medieval churches to survive the Great Fire of 1666, which destroyed much of the City.

That survival gives the church a different weight from the shorter street stops. You are looking at a building that escaped one of London’s most famous disasters, while much of the surrounding area was rebuilt or changed.

The itinerary allows about ten minutes, and admission is free. That is a brief visit, so you should not expect a full architectural tour or extended time for quiet reflection. Still, the stop adds useful balance to the darker stories. The route is not only about cults and punishment. It also shows how some pieces of medieval London endured.

If you are especially interested in church interiors, you may wish the schedule allowed more time here. If you prefer a brisk route with several distinct subjects, the short visit keeps the tour from becoming too narrow.

Smithfield Market, executions, and Bloody Mary

Smithfield Market brings the walk into a more unsettling part of London’s past. Here you learn about places of execution and a story connected with Bloody Mary.

Public punishment was once part of the city’s daily life, and Smithfield’s open spaces made it a setting for executions. The subject can be grim, but it helps explain how power, religion, and public spectacle worked together in earlier London.

The Bloody Mary story adds a political and religious edge. It connects the route’s interest in belief with the consequences of religious conflict. After the Roman cult material and the church stops, Smithfield shows how public authorities could use punishment to reinforce a religious or political order.

The stop is listed as included, unlike the London Mithraeum and Cornhill House. You can expect about ten minutes here. The focus is on the story and location rather than a long visit to an attraction.

This may be the strongest stop for you if you like London’s darker episodes. It is also the point where the tour’s themes come together most clearly: private worship, public faith, accusations, punishment, and the stories that survive long after the original events.

From witchcraft and ghosts to spy secrets

The title promises witchcraft, ancient cults, and MI15 spy secrets, but the supplied route details give the most specific information about Roman worship, churches, carvings, ghosts, executions, and Bloody Mary. The broader themes suggest that your guide will connect the stops through London’s less visible traditions and secrets.

You should keep your expectations practical. This is not presented as a dedicated witchcraft museum visit, a formal ghost investigation, or an inside tour of intelligence offices. It is a historical walking experience that uses unusual places and stories to show a side of the city most visitors miss.

That distinction matters. If you want documented sites, street details, and a guide-led narrative, the tour has a clear purpose. If you want access to secret buildings or a highly theatrical ghost tour, this may not be the right choice.

The three-hour route and walking demands

The tour starts at Bleeding Heart Yard at 12:00 p.m. and ends beside Monument Station. The route is on foot and moves through central London’s City area.

The experience lasts about three hours, with the listed stops generally taking ten minutes each. The rest of the time is used for walking and explanation between locations. You should wear comfortable shoes and arrive ready to keep moving, though the supplied information does not give a precise distance or accessibility breakdown.

Starting at noon makes this easy to fit into a sightseeing day. You could schedule it after a morning attraction and finish near Monument Station, a useful point for continuing around the City or heading elsewhere by Underground.

The end point is also practical. Since the tour does not return to Bleeding Heart Yard, plan your day around finishing near Monument rather than near the starting point. The meeting details state that the walk ends next to Monument Station.

Service animals are allowed, and the tour is near public transportation. Most people can participate, according to the supplied details, but anyone concerned about walking or standing should ask the provider for current route information before paying.

Is $371.59 per person fair value?

At $371.59 per person, this is not a cheap way to spend three hours in London. The price needs to be judged against the private format, not compared only with a large group walking tour.

You are paying for a professional guide dedicated to your group. That can be worthwhile if you have a strong interest in the subject, want to ask many questions, or are traveling with family or friends who would benefit from a custom pace. Group discounts may also change the calculation, although the exact discount is not specified.

The value is weaker if you mainly want entrance to major attractions. Admission to the London Mithraeum is not included, and Cornhill House also does not include admission. St. Mary Woolnoth and St. Bartholomew the Great are free, while Smithfield Market is included.

I would consider the price reasonable only when the private attention is central to your decision. If your group is large enough to share the cost and enjoys unusual history, the personal guide may make the fee more manageable. For one or two people on a tight budget, it is a costly choice.

The experience is usually booked about 54 days ahead, which suggests you should plan early if your London dates are fixed. Confirmation arrives at booking, and free cancellation is available up to 24 hours before the start time. If you cancel later, the payment is not refunded, and changes are not accepted within that final 24-hour period.

Who should book this London walk?

I would recommend it to you if you have already covered London’s headline sights and want something more specific. It is especially suited to people who enjoy Roman religion, medieval churches, strange public art, executions, ghosts, and the way modern buildings conceal older stories.

It also fits private groups that value conversation. A guide can spend more time on the parts that interest you instead of following the needs of a large mixed group.

You may want to skip it if you dislike walking, want long interior visits, or expect every subject in the title to receive equal treatment. The route is compact and story-led. It gives you a series of carefully chosen places, not a full museum day.

Should you book Witchcraft, Ancient Cults & MI15 Spy Secrets?

Book this tour if you want a personal guide to the less obvious City of London and are willing to pay for private attention. The Roman Mithraeum, St. Mary Woolnoth, Cornhill House, St. Bartholomew the Great, and Smithfield Market create a strong sequence of unusual stops.

Before booking, confirm how the London Mithraeum portion works, since admission is not included. If the high price gives you pause, compare it with the size of your group and the value you place on a private guide.

For history-minded visitors who have seen the standard London sights, this is a thoughtful choice. For budget-focused visitors or anyone seeking a major attraction with plenty of time inside, it is less convincing.

FAQ

How long is the tour?

The tour lasts approximately three hours.

What time does the tour start?

The tour starts at 12:00 p.m.

Where does the tour begin?

The meeting point is Bleeding Heart Yard, London EC1N, United Kingdom.

Where does the tour end?

The tour ends next to Monument Station on King William Street, London EC4R 9AA.

Is this a private tour?

Yes. Only your group participates in the private activity.

Is a guide included?

Yes. A professional guide is included.

Is admission to the London Mithraeum included?

No. Admission to the London Mithraeum is not included in the tour price.

Can I cancel for a full refund?

Yes, if you cancel at least 24 hours before the experience start time. Cancellations made less than 24 hours before the start are not refunded.