Uncover sordid Soho with the National Trust

If you thought the National Trust was all country cottages and stately homes, think again, for the guardian of British heritage has released an app that promises to do for London’s red light district what the Kindle did for soft porn page-turner 50 Shades of Grey. Audio app Soho Stories allows you, O intrepid explorer, to dictate your own path through London’s backstreets. Using GPS technology to pinpoint your location, it whispers a rhapsody of Bohemian folklore right into your ear. While it won’t quite plunge you into the dirty darkness of Dickensian London, this silent disco of walking tours – hosted by veteran British entertainer Barry Cryer – promises to strip bare decades of Soho life, from the 1940s to the present day. And with anecdotes from legendary Londoners Wee Willie Harris, Molly Parkin and Frankie Fraser, there’ll be no street cobble left unturned. Gone are the days of public tours on bus and en masse; now, those burning to learn about the history of sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll in the capital will be able to keep their pleasures private.