Good news for book lovers and those with a passion for visiting otherwise unvisitable buildings, as the venerable old London Library is about to restart the guided tours of the building.

The Library, which is a private institution that pre-dates the council run services by a good many years, used to have guided tours once a month on Saturday mornings, but stopped them a couple of years ago due to building works, and never seemed to restart them again.

Until now.

Even better, the early Saturday morning has been replaced with a Monday tour – and sensibly for those of use for whom a Monday is a time to earn a wage – the tour is now in the evenings.

Officially the tours are to show off the facilities to prospective members, but they don’t stop nosey people booking a tour as well.

Apart from the bits of finery in some of the reading rooms, it is the miles of maze like book shelves that are a delight to see, with the perforated steel floors letting you peer down between the cracks a good 7 floors of books.

As I noted on a previous visit, it’s not a building to visit for the building itself – its a place to visit to experience the amazing atmosphere of a literary gem in the heart of London.

Booking

Each tour lasts approximately 45 minutes and starts at 7pm.

Tours are free; however numbers are limited so reservations are recommended.

Please email visits@londonlibrary.co.uk with your full name, full address, contact telephone number and the date you wish to attend the tour.

Tours are currently available on: 4th, 11th, 18th and 25th July

The Library hides behind a deceptively small looking building in the corner of St Jame’s Square between Picadilly and Pall Mall – map link.

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