Clerkenwell, Farringdon & Smithfield: A Self-Guided Audio Tour of London

You'll have the opportunity to visit the museum after the tour.

The Barbican Centre, which hosts several performance halls, galleries, film theatres, a library, restaurants, conference halls, and informal performance spaces, opened its doors in 1982. The whole Barbican complex is a grade II protected building. It is certainly worth the time to have a walk around this unique place and check out the Arts Centre.

Smithfield is a Victorian-era meat market which provides mostly to local butchers and restaurants. The market opens at 2am and it goes until mid-morning — they recommend stopping by around 7am. It was originally known as Smoothfield, and is the oldest wholesale meat market in the UK; it can be traced back to the early 12th century. Producers from the whole country drive into London at night to sell their produce here — the activity at night is incredibly hectic.

There has been a market here — intermittently — since the 1890s. It takes the name from one of the local pubs, the Exmouth Arms.

This is a memorial dedicated to the memory of William Wallace, the “Scottish patriot”. William Wallace was executed around this very spot. This area used to be known as The Elms, and it is London’s oldest execution spot.

This is where Lenin and Stalin supposedly met in 1903 or 1905.

The tour starts outside this pub on a typical London street.