About Us

My name is Paul Williams. Welcome to Cabital city tours. A few years ago, I was driving a family from a train station in central London to their hotel. Along the route we were passing famous landmarks and they were asking me what they were. I was telling them the names of the sites and also added a few interesting facts as I’ve always had an interest in the history. They enjoyed the ride so much that they asked if I could provide them with a sightseeing tour the following day. You could call this my eureka moment.  I started looking into tour guiding qualifications and stumbled upon a course for taxi drivers to become guides. I booked myself on straight away and the rest is history.

Since becoming a guide, I have had the privilege of being able to share the city I call home with lots of different people from all over the world. 

When I am not working I enjoy sports, reading, music and of course history.  

I’m completely outnumbered in my home by females. I have two young daughters that keep my wife and I very busy.  (Even the cat’s female!)

London‘s Iconic black cabs and their drivers are famous all over the world for their superior knowledge of the city’s streets. We have to pass a test commonly known as ‘the knowledge of London’. 

The knowledge is a series of tests which must be passed by all black cab drivers before they can get a licence to work in the capital.

Black cabbies must study some 320 routes and 25,000 streets and get to know them all by heart.

They also memorise roughly 20,000 landmarks and places of public interest, from tourist destinations to museums, parks, churches, theatres and schools.

The process typically takes between two and four years to complete and has been described as having an atlas of London implanted into your brain.

Black cabbie hopefuls must then pass a written test and a series of oral exams before they can get their licence.

This personal tour service allows you to see London up close and personal. I can provide you with recommendations and advice to help you get the most out of your time in the city. 

Black cabs can use the bus lanes which allows us to navigate across the city faster. 

Your driver is also a qualified Taxi guide after completing a course run in conjunction with the Museum of London.

The iconic black cab for your private tour can seat up to 5 passengers and is wheelchair accessible.

It has heating for those cold winter days, and air conditioning to cool you down during London’s recent hot summers.

It also has USB charging points and Wi-Fi so you can share those iconic snaps with your friends and family.

Facts about the London black cab

• All black cabs have to be tall enough to accomodate a gentleman wearing a bowler hat
• The earliest record of a licensed horse drawn carriage acting as a cab dates back to 1662.
• Black cabs are famous for their 25ft turning circle. No 3 point turns in this vehicle!
• It’s ILLEGAL to shout ‘TAXI’ at a moving cab, and the driver is expected to ignore and pass you by. Just raise your arm in the air.
• Once a cabbie has acquired his license, it is tradition to give the first passenger a free journey. Also if you are a groom on your way to be married, the driver will wish you the best of luck, and not take a payment.