I have almost forgotten how these videos begin. That is probably not the most confident opening to a comeback, but it is an honest one.
Roberts London is returning with a new series of films, starting with an evening walk through central London. The first film, Welcome Back to London, premieres on Sunday 15 November 2026 at 18:00 GMT. There are landmarks, Christmas decorations, a few queues and an unsuccessful attempt to get a coffee. Some things have clearly not changed.
I still enjoy making the films
I started making Roberts London videos around fifteen years ago. Back then, I seemed to have weekends for exploring London and time during the week to edit the results. Going out with a camera was a good excuse to look more closely at places I thought I already knew.
That enjoyment has never really gone away. The difficulty has been finding the time. My business has evolved and expanded, I have taken on more projects, and the space around those commitments has gradually become smaller.
It would be easy to announce that I am back and promise a new video every week. It would also ignore the reason I became quiet in the first place.
The work behind a simple-looking walk
A walking video should feel easy to watch. I want it to feel spontaneous, as though you are coming along for the evening rather than being marched through a production schedule.
Behind that simplicity are rather a lot of technical jobs. There is the edit, of course, but also the title, description, chapters, website article and social posts. Each platform wants its own format. By the time one film has been properly published, another week can have disappeared.
This is where I think AI can help. I want to use it for the repetitive publishing and administrative work that surrounds the films. That should give me more room to do the part I still enjoy: getting out into London, filming and deciding what is worth sharing.
It is useful help, but even with it I would still run out of week if I tried to keep this going indefinitely.
A series, then a break
The practical answer is to make small batches of films. A series with a beginning and an end, followed by a break, and then another series when it is ready.
In the first video I manage to announce my return and joke that I am quitting at Christmas within a few minutes. What I mean is that the break is part of the arrangement. It does not need to become another unexplained absence.
This run takes us towards Christmas and the New Year. In future, I would like to make further seasonal series—perhaps something in spring or summer as well as autumn and winter. Those are possibilities rather than promises of dates I cannot yet give you.
London gives us plenty to come back for
The opening walk takes in Trafalgar Square, Westminster, the London Eye, the South Bank and Covent Garden. Familiar places, but not a completely familiar experience. The photograph queues have their own momentum. Businesses change. A favourite bar can become so successful that dropping in is no longer quite so simple.
I would rather see a place succeed than disappear, even if I reserve the right to complain about queuing.
There is also something appealing about catching London halfway into Christmas. The South Bank winter market is already open during this visit, while Covent Garden’s decorations are up but not yet illuminated. We can return as the season develops.
By the end, the planned coffee has failed to materialise and the camera battery is nearly finished. I say goodbye, attempt one final circuit and discover there is just enough power for another goodbye. It feels like a fairly appropriate way to begin again.
Watch Welcome Back to London on YouTube and join me for the new series. I am looking forward to seeing where we end up.
For the route and more photographs from the film, read Welcome Back to London in the Roberts London Journal.
