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• Market & Kitchens

  2 hours 15 minutes. 1.4 miles, flat, mostly cobbles - wear shoes with grip, the market floor stays wet until midday. Capped at 12, because the stalls we stop at cannot serve a crowd larger than that without the line backing up on other customers. Starts at the fountain outside the west gate of Aldervale Market Hall. Stops: the spice stalls at the north end, a cheese cellar under the hall most visitors never find the stairs to, the fish auction floor if timing allows, a working bakery mid-bake, and a final stop at a counter that has sold the same three dishes since the market opened. Tastings at four of the five stops are included in the price; the fish auction has no tasting, it is a viewing stop only. $58 per person, tastings included, gratuity not included.

  2h 15m - $58

• Ironworks & the Lower Docks

  2 hours 30 minutes. 2.1 miles with one steep hill down to the dock level and the same hill back up - there is no lift or alternate route, so this tour is not wheelchair accessible and we say so here rather than leaving you to find out at the hill. Capped at 10, smaller than our other tours, because the old foundry floor we walk through has a narrow catwalk that cannot safely hold more. Starts at the clock tower on Furnace Row. Stops: the foundry floor where the towns ironwork was cast for over a century, a rope walk building that still smells of tar, the dockworkers union hall with its original ledger books on display, a lock-keeper cottage at the canal basin, and the lower docks themselves at the point where cargo used to change from river barge to rail. Entry to the union hall carries a small fee we do not control, set by the hall trust - it is not included in the tour price, and we tell you the current amount before you book. $52 per person, hall entry fee separate.

  2h 30m - $52

• Lantern Hill After Dark

  1 hour 45 minutes, evening start. 1.1 miles, gently sloped, with two sets of stone stairs that have no lift alternative - say so if stairs are a problem and we will talk through whether this is the right tour for you. Capped at 14, higher than our daytime tours because the stops here are outdoors and the group can spread out, but past 14 the people at the back stop being able to hear the guide, which is the actual reason for every cap we set. Starts at the wrought-iron gate of Lantern Hill Cemetery, the oldest burial ground in Aldervale. Stops: the unmarked plot holding the towns best-documented unsolved disappearance, a mausoleum row spanning three centuries of changing burial fashion, the caretakers cottage where records go back to the cemeterys founding, and a closing stop at the chapel steps for the story the whole walk has been building toward. Researched from the caretakers ledgers and the town archive, not invented for effect. Carry a light jacket - the hill is exposed and runs several degrees cooler than the town center after sundown. $45 per person.

  1h 45m - $45

• The Saltmarsh Ferry Villages

  4 hours 30 minutes including van transfer. Walking totals 2.3 miles across two villages, flat but uneven underfoot in places - packed shell paths, not pavement. Capped at 8, our smallest cap, because it is set by the seats in the van, not by anything about the walking. Pickup is the fountain outside the west gate of Aldervale Market Hall, same as the Market tour, at 9:00 AM sharp - the van does not wait for late arrivals, since the return ferry runs on a fixed schedule we do not control. Stops: a half hour drive out to the saltmarsh coast, a walk through Corrow, a ferry village that still nets its own oysters, a short ferry crossing included in the price, and a second village, Hess Landing, built around a boatyard that has been repairing wooden hulls since before the road out here existed. Lunch at a Corrow oyster shack is included; drinks are not. This is a longer commitment than our town walks and does not run daily - see the booking calendar for dates. $95 per person, includes van transfer, ferry crossing and lunch.

  4h 30m - $95