The fourth series of spy thriller hit ‘Slow Horses’ has now premiered on Apple TV+, which means we can look forward to six more episodes of calculated espionage, diabolical misdeeds and soul-crushingly brutal Jackson Lamb insults. To tide you over between the weekly episode releases, why not shrug into the rumpled suits and scuffed shoes of MI5’s screw-ups on this Slow Horses walking tour which takes you to filming locations all over the city? You can get a taste of the spy life, just without any of the life-threatening danger.
What is Slow Horses about?
Haven’t heard of Apple TV+’s BAFTA and Emmy-nominated show Slow Horses? Firstly, where have you been? Secondly, please go watch it right now. And thirdly, here’s a brief lowdown to fill you in (or refresh your memory).
Based on the Slough House books by Mick Herron, Slow Horses follows a team of British Intelligence Agents who have essentially been exiled to, as author Herron puts it, an ‘administrative oubliette’ due to a serious failure of some kind. Instead of a future of meaningless paper-pushing overseen by the artfully miserable – yet sharper than a knife edge – Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman), recent addition River Cartwright (Jack Lowden) and his quest to return to the field sparks off a series of events that ultimately ends in the team being pulled into conspiracies, missions and general shady chaos. There have been three seasons so far, and season four has recently started, with Lord of The Rings star Hugo Weaving and BAFTA-winning Joanna Scanlan joining the already impressive cast.
Where will you go on the Slow Horses walking tour?
On this Slow Horses tour around the City of London, you can see where all those crowd-shoving chases, belittling bust-ups and covert meetings unfold. Kicking things off at a place I think Jackson Lamb would feel right at home – Greggs – you can grab a bite to eat and emerge, fittingly pastry-flecked, to meet your knowledgeable guide Susannah and set off on a journey through Slough House territory.
Along the way, you’ll stop at locations such as Bunhill Burial Ground. Not only the site of William Blake’s grave (who, as many fans have pointed out, wrote the poem ‘The Lamb’) but also the astutely chosen rendezvous point of the Slow Horses team. From there, you’ll go on to explore the area around Barbican station, home to the fictional Slough House and the not-so-fictional Smithfield Market. After walking the Slow Horses’ local streets, you’ll also swing by Bank Junction, the spooks’ church and more key locations seen on screen.
This is a must for any fan looking to step through the screen into Slow Horses, all while learning a few surprising links to the world of espionage and some London history along the way. Round up your co-conspirators and fellow losers, and grab tickets now to witness the City of London through the eyes of an MI5 outcast promising up-and-coming spy.