There were three stray Germans tourists in Sainsbury's this morning stocking up on drink. They kept telling the check-out guy that they were Germans, that they were not from around these parts. The lad on the till just rolled his eyes at me, as if to say - 'Who is'?

These German lads though were tourists, assuming they were remarkable as such. Sri Carmichael in the Evening Standard was reporting the other day that London receives about 26million visitors a year. Let's say they arrive evenly spread out, that is half a million a week. A lot of people, who in total are spending something in the region of £10.5billion a year in the capital.

I have no idea how many make it up the Victoria line from places like Oxford Circus to sample the delights of Walthamstow. Maybe not too many, I suspect, though we do know that some Austrian bus lovers made the trip not too long ago. Walthamstow might also be worth a visit on a Friday or Saturday for people wanting to see an authentic High Street and market that isn't geared up as a tourist trap, like a few in London seem to have become.

It is fairly unusual to see tourists here, nonetheless, though it is not a completely fanciful thing:

The Village is worth a wander round, (though that video did not actually show it), as are places like the William Morris Museum. I do notice that the latter is not well signposted from Blackhorse Road, the most handy station in terms of getting there by bus along Forest Road. Blackhorse Road is an entry point into Walthamstow much used by locals but which I suspect would not seem that inviting to someone who has just jetted in for a few days from Japan or the States. Which is a pity, because William Morris is a pretty good gallery, set in a fairly nice park. Getting there from Walthamstow Central is not as easy; though there are buses from the bus station opposite the tube, tourists sometimes find them a little confusing and end up going the wrong way. It is actually not a bad walk to the William Morris for people curious to see a side of London that rarely gets into guide books.

The gallery itself is probably world-class, for people who like that kind of thing, and it is free, which means none of the £10.5billion will be chinging its way into the local coffers unless the tourists indulge in the tasteful towels, tea cosies, mugs and oven gloves, that are on discrete display at the foot of the magnificent staircase.

The Morris stuff is mainly downstairs, where there is also currently an exhibition of drawings, watercolours and sketches by Selwyn Image and Walter Spradbery, but there are some good arts and crafts exhibits, particularly furniture upstairs as well, and also a large collection of works by a very interesting artist Sir Frank Brangwyn.

One problem Walthamstow possibly has in taking on the task of hosting tourists is that there are not too many places to stay, if people are not visiting relatives. There are a guest house or two - I mentioned one called Trinity House once on Blackhorse Road, but there is nothing very expensive that I am aware of. I have come across a gay-friendly 'guest room' on Edward Road for from £30.00 a night (Tel 07952 717976). Neither of these places are going to do much though on their own to bring in and put up the tourist hordes.

Places like the Sleeping Beauty are geared up for people with cars and to be honest, look like the kind of place that caused me want to leave my last job because of too many bleak business trips. Its at 543 Lea Bridge Road, which is also not really in Walthamstow. A slightly nicer place would be the Sir Alfred Hitchcock, which is at 147 Whipp's Cross Road and faces out onto Epping Forest. Again though, not quite Walthamstow, and best tackled by car - in which case its position is possibly perfect as a base for both London and East Anglia, as well as having a very nice little bar.

And yet despite the issue of places to stay, there are public bodies busy promoting Walthamstow as a tourist destination, though only for days out and breaks. I don't think they are wrong to do that, but I do think that this is the kind of place which will attract niche interests rather than general tourism - art lovers, particularly people into the contemporary arts will like the place, but would do best, for instance to turn up in September when the E17 Art Trail is on, unless arts, crafts and William Morris really rings their bell. People who like street life are luckier - they would be merely advised to turn up when the market is in full cry. Readers of my blogs will know there are also a number of vaguely interesting chain-free shops, depending on your taste.

People from places like America, Canada or Australia who are into history or architecture but don't actualy have so much where they live, might like to prepare for their trip before they come - old buildings we have a-plenty, probably a hundred 'listed' places in the area at least. Listed buildings are ones which are being preserved. Unlisted buildings are ones that it would be possible for a developer to demolish (with permission) - in many countries, a lot of our 'unlisted' buildings themselves would often be monuments or museums. There is no point in asking most locals which old buildings to look out for because there are so many of them lurking round that many of us never notice them at all.

There are some places that locals don't even think of as tourist attractions, like the Pump House and Vestry House museums that folk would drive hundreds of miles to in many parts of the States. There are also historic connections with some famous people which few people here pay any attention to at all. I for one would dearly like to know where the spot in the High Street is where Winston Churchill had his coach attacked in 1926 by an angry mob, or be able to pinpoint exactly where the young founder of Pennsylvania used to go to buy his hats while sponging off his war-hero dad. Sadly, such knowledge is not currently available, so that side of things is a bit of a guess. I just imagine it for myself. Tourists would be in the same boat.

There are no regular tours or tour guides, or guide books to be had. Tourists who expect to be treated like 'tourists' and provided with that kind of thing should probably just not turn up at all. That's not because they would not be welcome, of course. They would be, and would probably have great fun, like the Germans. Its just that in an eclectic place like Walthamstow, no-one is going to notice or do that much to accommodate their status as tourists, their 'foreign-ness', at all.