Orwell’s Fitzrovia 2026

Ian Bloom describes a

WALKING TOUR OF GEORGE ORWELL’S FITZROVIA

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Although George Orwell was not a fan of London, as a freelance writer, critic and wartime BBC broadcaster, he accepted that he had to be in the capital for work. He never owned property in London though and lived, both by himself and then with Eileen, in various rented flats in the 1930s and 40s. They included apartments in Hampstead, West Hampstead, Notting Hill and Canonbury Square.

London Walks does what it says on the tin. Their guides offer a huge range of walking tours in London lasting between 2 and 3 hours. David Poyser now runs his Orwell tour through London Walks. He guided the first of the year on 9^th January. His next one is on 15^th February. It starts at Great Portland Street tube station and focuses on Orwell’s time in Fitzrovia. David discusses the Martin Jennings’s Orwell statue outside the BBC in Portland Place, the site of the original Room 101, various Soho cafes (some gone, others have changed) where Orwell ate, pubs (of course), Trafalgar Square in relation to Nineteen Eighty-Four, and the location of his widow Sonia’s flat.

Wherever we walked, David read a relevant excerpt from the works to illuminate what we saw. The tour ended in the upstairs room called the ‘Orwell Room’ at the Wheatsheaf pub in Rathbone Place. Richard Blair was not with us but seems to recall his father taking him there as a toddler!

The Orwell Room at The Wheatsheaf, Fitzrovia

One of those on this recent walk posted a self-explanatory enthusiastic review:

…. since hubby was reading some of the essays we decided to attend. Very glad we did. Enjoyed ourselves very much. David P was our guide and needless to say very knowledgeable not just about Orwell but London in general. He encouraged comments and conversation. Great group of people, local and from further afield and including two members of the Orwell Society who were able to add their knowledge. Walk ended in a pub Orwell frequented, the Wheatsheaf, for further conversations. Lovely to meet you all and thank you David.

David is a former Mayor of Islington and a long-time local councillor, a journalist and an experienced television producer. Like Michael King, a Society member, who has led an excellent Orwell tour for some time, these walks give you new information, decent exercise and maybe 10,000 steps. All for a modest fee. What more could you want?

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Ian Bloom is Secretary of the Orwell Society.