On a typical dreary Tuesday in central London, Blue Badge tour guide Sarah Reynolds arrived for work at an atypical place: Westminster Abbey, a church steeped in history that dates back nearly a millennium. Monuments honoring kings and celebrities that would be the centerpieces of other churches were merely part of the scenery there, each being pushed out of the way by time\u2019s steady march.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n After an hour of sightseeing, Reynolds led her group past the gilded tomb of Queen Elizabeth I to her final stop of the tour: Poet\u2019s Corner, the posthumous home of Geoffrey Chaucer, Charles Dickens and George Frideric Handel.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The guests left with camera rolls full of photos and unforgettable memories, but it was another day at the office for Reynolds, who has led hundreds of tours of the ancient cathedral she calls \u201can old friend.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Reynolds \u2014 a lifelong history buff now in her 60s\u00a0 \u2014 has been one of England\u2019s prestigious Blue Badges since she was 26 years old in 1988. Since then, she has seen her profession evolve from a hobby for many guides into a serious, full-time commitment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n So, what does it take to become one of the best? Unlike their competitors at travel agencies like Viator, where guides can sign up immediately, Blue Badges must pass a yearslong gauntlet of rigorous tests to earn their stripes. Reynolds took three primary exams for background knowledge about Britain, London and day trips from the city. She took separate exams for each of the historical locations exclusive to Blue Badges, among them Westminster Abbey, the Tower of London and Wimbledon.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s not just the facts that make a Blue Badge tour, it\u2019s also the presentation. Reynolds\u2019 mentor, Katrine Prince, who developed the exam course, emphasized the delivery of the tour itself over the knowledge that went into it, Reynolds said.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHalf of the exam sheet is not marking what you\u2019re saying, it\u2019s marking how you say it: Can you be heard? Do you always look at the room and don\u2019t turn your back on me? Do you make sure you\u2019re actually pointing at what they\u2019re looking at?\u201d Reynolds said. \u201cUp to that point, people just heard encyclopedic knowledge, and it was not getting across to people in an accessible way.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Some Blue Badge tours are available only for a small group of highly qualified guides \u2014 the best of the best. Reynolds personally reviews her peers\u2019 applications for Wimbledon since only around 20 guides can operate there at any given time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Blue Badges aren\u2019t always fond of every site they tour, but tastes can change over the years. Reynolds avoided the National Gallery because she disliked art until an \u201cunbelievable magician\u201d of a guide helped her come around.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWithin one and a half hours of him doing the tour, I was a complete and utter convert,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Today, Reynolds organizes the guides responsible for the Gallery\u2019s tours.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s nothing quite like seeing people who were perhaps like I was \u2026 suddenly become really interested. You feel that you\u2019ve done your job then,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Blue Badge guides are freelancers who can accept or reject tours based on their schedules. Reynolds\u2019 favorite tour site, Wimbledon, has a set schedule of three 90-minute public tours per day between 10:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. Aside from a few special cases, guides can work a full day of up to nine hours anytime between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m.<\/span><\/p>\n Guides lead evening tours and events for a separate charge. For example, Reynolds has hosted private dinners at the Tower of London after a day of touring.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s why I love the job,\u201d she said. \u201cFor me, the pleasure, the real joy, is going to places (people) don\u2019t normally go to, to do weird things. To see these places when they\u2019re empty, to see them lit by candles at night is just magic.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Tourists are flooding back to London since the COVID-19 pandemic dropped annual visitors from 21.71 million in 2019 to a paltry 2.72 million in 2021. <\/span>According to Statista\u2019s research department<\/b><\/a>, 16.12 million people journeyed from overseas to England\u2019s capital in 2022.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Ever-ready Blue Badges are stepping up to meet the rising tide of demand. During the height of summer, Reynolds said she worked 17 hours per day and up to seven days per week.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n When Reynolds\u2019 long days lead to sheer fatigue, she reminds herself her passion for giving tours is also how she makes a living.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe (guides) have a little phrase, especially if there\u2019s a few of us and we\u2019re all beginning to fade \u2026 you catch someone\u2019s eye and you just go, \u2018T.O.T.M,\u2019 which stands for \u2018Think of the money,\u2019\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n Reynolds has also worked with the NFL for the league\u2019s annual games in London. One of her fondest memories as a Blue Badge was when she helped the equipment team set up in Wembley Stadium in the early hours before a game between the Detroit Lions and Atlanta Falcons in 2014. Reynolds said many of the Lions\u2019 players high-fived her in the tunnel after they came back to win the game.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve got a picture of me sitting in this locker room at 2 in the morning with all the kits laid out \u2026 that was quite exciting, sort of a behind-the-scenes moment,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n Reynolds operates her own small company, <\/span>Questa Travel<\/b><\/a>, where she manages a group of Blue Badge guides and books lodging and transportation for guests. Reynolds said she is looking forward to developing her company and emphasized Blue Badges are key to maintaining England\u2019s past.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI think history does inform today and does inform the future, and we perhaps need to learn more from history,\u201d she said. \u201cThe day standards start slipping and people aren\u2019t good enough to wear that blue badge is a very bad day.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Adam Babetski is a graduate investigative journalism student at Medill. You can follow him on Twitter <\/span><\/i>@AdamBabetski<\/span><\/i><\/a> or connect with him on <\/span><\/i>LinkedIn<\/span><\/i><\/a>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n By Adam Babetski Medill Reports On a typical dreary Tuesday in central London, Blue Badge tour guide Sarah Reynolds arrived for work at an atypical place: Westminster Abbey, a church steeped in history that dates back nearly a millennium. Monuments honoring kings and celebrities that would be the centerpieces of other churches were merely part […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":935,"featured_media":103945,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194,5405,5399,5398],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-103942","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-culture","category-london-2024","category-medill-explores-2024","category-winter-2024"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"Sarah](\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/medill.wordpress.offload\/wp-media-folder-medill-reports-chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/03\/Screenshot-2024-03-14-at-11.31.07a\u0080\u00afPM-1024x765.png\")
![\"Sarah](\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/medill.wordpress.offload\/wp-media-folder-medill-reports-chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/03\/2-1024x575.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"