History buffs and Tooting residents will be able to explore 2000 years of Tooting history as part of The Greatest Tooting Tour in History.

The tour starts at the statue of Edward VII outside Tooting Broadway underground station, on Sunday, September 23 at 2:00 pm. It is part of the annual Tootopia Festival.

The tour is a major attraction for people who are thirsty for knowledge about Tooting. Geoff Simmons, who is leading the tour, said: "So many young people, many new to the area turned up last year, just loving the stories - one couple lived in Bevill Allen Close and were thrilled to hear he was a good man who’d done great work for the needy.

"Another person originally from Botswana couldn’t believe a road was named after the African chief, Khama the Third. The more you find out about a place, the more you love it and appreciate it."

Geoff is urging people to join him on Sunday, he said that "There will be amazing stories about some of the seven cinemas that graced Tooting until the seventies, Marc Bolan flipping burgers, The Beatles staying on Trevelyan Road before their concert at the Granada, or the day Queen Elizabeth first rolled up in Selkirk Road to visit the Lord of the Manor - unfortunately she was 300 years too early to sample a plate of Harrington’s pie and mash.

"There will be plenty of old buildings and historic streets on the tour, even the ancient ‘Great Wall of Tooting' but it will be laced with a cast of characters. We all know Citizen Smith, Sadiq Khan, George Cole and Sidney Lewis the boy soldier but have you heard of Lady Bountiful, The Daffodil King or the Bohee brothers? There will also be some new revelations including the plan for the next historic plaque to be placed on Garratt Lane."