Go walkabout in the City of London

The engine of the British economy is having a tough time of it with job losses and uncertainty sapping confidence in the City of London.

The Ernst & Young Item Club predicts that up to 3.4 million people will be out of work in the UK in 2011. In its most recent report the Item Club predicts that the UK's gross domestic product will shrink by 2.7 per cent this year.

The Guardian newspaper reported earlier this month how, nationally, across the financial services sector (which includes banks, building societies, fund managers and securities trading firms) jobs are being shed at the rate of 8,000 - 10,000 a quarter. Many of these jobs are based in the City of London.

The Square Mile, as the City is known colloquially, has experienced setbacks before and emerged wiser and stronger from them.

Independent travellers can go walkabout in the City of London with The City & The Tower, London city guide, and the longer City & South Bank Circular, London city walking tour. Both mp3 guided tours are brought to you courtesy of Walk Talk Tours.

The City & The Tower podcast guided tour begins outside St Paul's Cathedral. Sir Christopher Wren designed the masterpiece after the Great Fire of London in 1666.

The Bank of England has featured prominently during the credit crunch. See the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street's premises and hear about some of the audacious attempts to defraud the Bank with The City & The Tower, London walking tour. There's even a Bank of England Museum which is admission free.

With a Walk Talk Tour, you're free to go at your own pace, so if there's a particular attraction you wish to visit, or the weather takes a turn for the worse you can stop and resume your tour later.

The City has some striking examples of modern architectures at its best, as listeners to The City & The Tower, London iPod travel guide will discover. Marvel at the Gherkin, so called because of its similarity - in shape - to the vegetable and Richard Rogers' Lloyds of London building. To hear an audio sample from The City & The Tower, London audio guide please click here.

See and hear about the Monument, Old Billingsgate Market and Customs House. The City & The Tower, London iPod travel guide concludes outside the once infamous Tower of London.

All of the Walk Talk Tour London audio guides are available in English, French, German and Spanish. The English language versions are narrated by actor and broadcaster Jonathan Keeble. Each Walk Talk Tour London travel guide costs just £5.95. Purchase two Walk Talk Tour podcast guided tours at the same time and receive a twenty per cent discount. Buy three simultaneously and get thirty per cent off. Each Walk Talk Tour London travel guide comes complete with a free downloadable map for listeners to print off, so you won't miss a thing.