This year's programme of expertly guided walking tours around Lancaster's historic city centre will feature brand new topics as well as some favourites from last season.

• All walking tours are led by our expert guides and start at 11am from Lancaster City Museum in Market Square unless stated otherwise.
• Tours take about 1.5 hours unless stated otherwise.
• Lancaster is, by nature, hilly, and therefore some routes are steep and some will involve walking on cobbles. 
• Please dress for the weather and wear sturdy and comfortable footwear.
• Dogs are generally welcome on these outdoor walking tours as long as they are kept on a lead and owners respect that other people may not be comfortable around them. A few of the tours include visits to buildings which may not allow dogs inside. Please contact us at historydetectives@lancaster.gov.uk with any questions about specific tours.

Behind High Walls: Inside Lancaster Workhouse, with Naomi Parsons

Tuesday 24 March  RESCHEDULED DUE TO BAD WEATHER.

New date:  Tuesday 14 April  -  11am

From its earliest beginnings as a parish poorhouse, to an isolated and imposing building on Lancaster Moor; we explore the stories and the stigma of those in need of the workhouse's 'indoor relief' as we follow in their footsteps making our way across town and uphill.

Please note this tour lasts 2 hours and starts near the Springfield Barracks on the White Cross Estate, South Road. Click here to see the location on Google Maps.

CLICK HERE TO BOOK.

Literary History of Lancaster, with Penny Bradshaw

Saturday 2 May  -  11am

'The stones of Lancaster do sometimes whisper' (Dickens). Explore writing inspired by this ancient city, featuring authors like William Wordsworth, Charles Dickens, and Carol Ann Duffy. Discover the dark, Gothic side of Lancaster’s literary heritage, shaped by its past as a site of execution and a slave port.

CLICK HERE TO BOOK. Please note that this tour also runs on 1st September, so you will need to specify the date during online booking.

Going to Botany Bay - Lancaster's Transported Women, with Naomi Parsons

Tuesday 12 May  -  11am  AND  Tuesday 2 June  -  11am  (Additional date due to popular demand)

Travelling around the city centre to the sites of their crimes, we explore the stories of six of the Lancaster women who were sentenced to transportation to Australia. Did they flourish or fail on the other side of the world?

CLICK HERE TO BOOK. Please note that this tour runs on two dates so you will need to tell us your choice when booking.

LGBTQ+ History Tour, with Eleanor Levin

Saturday 20 June  -  11am

Discover some of the people and places from Lancaster's LGBT History from 1751 to the present day. Including prisoners at Lancaster Castle, Lancaster's gay MPs, a pioneering trans activist, and a 1970s gay commune which fought for a better world.

CLICK HERE TO BOOK.

Getting Your Head Down: Lodging Houses of Lancaster, with Naomi Parsons

Tuesday 14 July  -  11am

Lancaster's lodging houses gained notoriety for their horrendous conditions and the infamous families that ran them. Circling the city centre, we visit the sites of common and corporation lodging houses for stories of prejudice, poverty and crime.

This tour starts from Henry Street, in the paved area outside the German Doner Kebab restaurant. Click here to see the location on Google Maps. 

CLICK HERE TO BOOK. Please note that this tour also runs on 20th October, so you will need to specify the date during online booking.

Literary History of Lancaster, with Penny Bradshaw

Tuesday 1 September  -  11am

'The stones of Lancaster do sometimes whisper' (Dickens). Explore writing inspired by this ancient city, featuring authors like William Wordsworth, Charles Dickens, and Carol Ann Duffy. Discover the dark, Gothic side of Lancaster’s literary heritage, shaped by its past as a site of execution and a slave port.

CLICK HERE TO BOOK. Please note that this tour also runs on 2nd May, so you will need to specify the date during online booking.

Yards, Courts & Alleys - Living Conditions in Victorian Lancaster, with Naomi Parsons

Tuesday 8 September  -  11am

Using Richard Owen's Health of Town's Report as our guide, we head down Lancaster's lesser used thoroughfares to discover the dreadful conditions that families lived in and the changes that helped to overcome the epidemics that plagued them.

CLICK HERE TO BOOK.

Tree Tales, with Eleanor Levin

Tuesday 6 October  -  11am

Step into Lancaster’s past on a unique walking tour where trees tell the story. Discover conservation battles, railway connections, and captivating tales from history, mythology, and botany — all rooted in these streets around you.

CLICK HERE TO BOOK.

Historical Women of Lancaster 2 - Lives in Writing, with Eleanor Levin

Saturday 17 October  -  11am

Focusing on women’s words and writing about women, including a nurse writing postcards home from WW1 France, an upcycling artist, a loom-breaking luddite, an anti-slavery campaigner, a child – much discussed but little understood, a nun, a duke, and a poet.

CLICK HERE TO BOOK.

Getting Your Head Down: Lodging Houses of Lancaster, with Naomi Parsons

Tuesday 20 October  -  11am

Lancaster's lodging houses gained notoriety for their horrendous conditions and the infamous families that ran them. Circling the city centre, we visit the sites of common and corporation lodging houses for stories of prejudice, poverty and crime.

This tour starts from Henry Street, in the paved area outside the German Doner Kebab restaurant. Click here to see the location on Google Maps.

CLICK HERE TO BOOK. Please note that this tour also runs on 14th July, so you will need to specify the date during online booking.

New for 2026! This year our guides will be presenting some of the same topics in the form of indoor talks at the museums, while our own museum staff and other local historians will be speaking on different aspects of local history. Take the weight off your feet and enjoy some expert insights from the comfort of our lecture rooms. 

• Talks take place in the lecture rooms at either Lancaster City Museum or Lancaster Maritime Museum, as specified in the list below.
• Start times vary, as listed below. 
• Talks usually last about 1 hour.
• Ticket price includes refreshments after the talk and a further 30 minutes of relaxed Q&A session.

Curatorial Talk - Life After Death, with Dr Rachel Roberts

Sunday 19 April  -  2pm  -  Maritime Museum

Rachel Roberts, co-curator of the new Life After Death exhibition at Lancaster Maritime Museum takes you through the evolution of the exhibition. From the fascinating archaeological digs at its core to the cutting-edge new science which brings some almost-forgotten stories back into the light, and makes them relevant to the modern day.

CLICK HERE TO BOOK. 

Behind High Walls: Inside Lancaster Workhouse, with Naomi Parsons

Monday 27 April  -  11am  -  City Museum

From its earliest beginnings as a parish poorhouse, to an isolated and imposing building on Lancaster Moor; we explore the stories and the stigma of those in need of the workhouse's 'indoor relief' in a new lecture with rarely seen photographs and oral history accounts.

CLICK HERE TO BOOK.

A Georgian Scandal: The Trial of Edward Gibbon Wakefield, with Colin Penny

Saturday 6 June  -  11am  -  City Museum

In 1826, a teenage heiress was abducted in a scandal dubbed “The Crime of the Century.”  The case captivated Britain and split public opinion nationwide. The 1827 Lancaster Castle trial would decide whether Edward gained a fortune — or lost everything, even his life.

CLICK HERE TO BOOK.

The Jigsaw Murders: Lancaster and the Crimes of Dr Buck Ruxton, with author Jeremy Craddock

Saturday 18 July  -  11am & 2pm  -  City Museum

Using archive photographs and documents, Jeremy Craddock, author of The Jigsaw Murders, tells the shocking true story of Dr Ruxton's murders, the landmark police and forensic investigation and the impact on the Lancaster community.

There are two ticket options for this talk:

• Ticket Only - £10 - CLICK HERE TO BOOK.
• Ticket & a copy of The Jigsaw Murders to be signed on the day - £24 - CLICK HERE TO BOOK.

Please note that this talk runs twice, at 11am and 2pm, so you will need to choose a time during online booking.

LGBTQ+ History Talk, with Eleanor Levin

Saturday 19 September*  -  11am  -  City Museum

Discover some of the people and places from Lancaster's LGBT History from 1751 to the present day. Including prisoners at Lancaster Castle, Lancaster's gay MPs, a pioneering trans activist, and a 1970s gay commune which fought for a better world.

CLICK HERE TO BOOK.

*Please note this date was misprinted as 21 September in some of our leaflets. The correct date is Saturday 19 September.

The Lancashire Riots of 1826, with Colin Penny

Saturday 26 September  -  11am  -  City Museum

In 1826, desperate weavers in East Lancashire destroyed over 1,100 power looms in just four days. This talk explores the riots, their causes, and the trials that followed.

CLICK HERE TO BOOK.

What's in a Name? Place Names of North Lancashire, with Carolyn Dalton

Friday 2 October  -  11am*  -  Maritime Museum

Carolyn Dalton shares her interest in the meanings of place names with you. Every local name has a story behind it and every time you use these names you make a connection to the history of the area around you.

CLICK HERE TO BOOK.

*Please note the doors will be open from 10:30am for admission to the talk only. The Maritime Museum galleries will open for general visits at 12 noon as usual.

Literary Lancaster, with Penny Bradshaw

Saturday 14 November  -  11am  -  City Museum

'The stones of Lancaster do sometimes whisper' (Dickens). Explore writing inspired by this ancient city, featuring authors like William Wordsworth, Charles Dickens, and Carol Ann Duffy. Discover the dark, Gothic side of Lancaster’s literary heritage, shaped by its past as a site of execution and a slave port.

CLICK HERE TO BOOK.

Historical Women of Lancaster 3 - Changing Times, with Eleanor Levin

Tuesday 24 November  -  11am  -  City Museum

A botanical illustrator, a prison reformer, a murder suspect, a cotton spinner, and a music hall star! Each woman's story is a window onto the changing times in which she lived.

CLICK HERE TO BOOK.

From left to right above -

Dr Penny Bradshaw:  Dr Bradshaw studied in Lancaster, with her PhD focusing on female Romantic poets Anna Barbauld and Charlotte Smith. She has published works in British Romanticism. Penny works at the University of Cumbria as Programme Leader for the MA in
Literature, Romanticism, and the English Lake District.

Eleanor Levin:  Eleanor is a musician and former BBC Radio presenter. She leads tours for Lancaster Maritime Museum and the Lancaster, Morecambe and District Headteacher Cluster on Lancaster and Transatlantic slavery, and the history of Morecambe. She is a member of the Lancaster Black History Group and the Morecambe Bay Curriculum.

Naomi Parsons:  Naomi formed Lancastrian Research and specialises in working class histories (prisons, asylums, workhouses, hospitals), public health and mapping land use with a focus on the 18th-20th centuries. Additionally, Naomi is a Freewoman of Lancaster and a Trustee of the Lancaster Health & Medical Museum Collection.

Dr Colin Penny:  Dr Colin Penny came to Lancaster as a student in 1989 and never left. He has worked at Lancaster Castle since 2001, and been site manager since 2011. Colin has co-written two books about the castle, as well as published an article about the historic graffiti at the site. Known on Youtube as the High-Heeled Historian, Colin is an incredibly popular speaker.

Carolyn Dalton:  Carolyn is the Museums Development Manager for Lancaster City Museums and has worked in heritage for more than 30 years. She has a personal interest in the meanings of placenames.

Dr Rachel Roberts:  Rachel started her museum career with Birmingham Museums before coming to Lancaster University and staying to complete her education through to PhD. Over the last 20 years she has worked with several historical collections covering archaeology, social and industrial history. Rachel is currently Collections Registrar for Lancaster City Museums.

Jeremy Craddock:  We are really pleased to welcome Jeremy Craddock as one of 2026's experts. Born in the Lake District, he has been a journalist since 1992, contributing to various newspapers and magazines. Jeremy has written two true crime books: The Jigsaw Murders (2021), which was longlisted for the 2022 Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger, and The Lady in the Lake (2024), shortlisted for the 2025 Gold Dagger and commended in the True Crime Awards. Both books are set for television adaptation. He also teaches multimedia journalism at Manchester Metropolitan University and lives in Cheshire with his family.