London

Walking is one of Britain's favourite leisure activities, and with "50 Walks in London" you can find a variety of mapped walks to suit all abilities - from the casual walker to the experienced hiker. The book features all the practical detail you need, accompanied by fascinating background reading on the history and wildlife of the area, as well as other local points of interest. All walks are annotated with places to visit along the way: 'While You're There', featuring churches, country houses, museums, villages and towns. Each walk also has refreshment information: 'Where to Eat and Drink', including tea rooms and pubs, with extra details on their character and the food on offer. A 'What to Look For' panel features more specific details of urban and industrial heritage, flora and fauna. Every walk is given a summary of distance, time, gradient, level of difficulty, type of surface and access, landscape, dog friendliness, parking and public toilets.

The Romans founded Londinium in AD 50 but the earliest human remains in the Thames valley, once the realm of mammoths and polar bears, date back to 450,000 BC. Following through the impacts of invasions, revolts and epidemics ranging from the Black Death to cholera, this book shows how, against all the odds, a small malarial settlement turned into Europe's most successful city. Full of evidence gathered from the Museum of London's extensive archaeological work and written in thematic chapters that explore the changing aspects of life over the last three thousand years and across a variety of maps old and new, "London" shines a fascinating light on everything from costermongers to the Krays, the building of the Embankment to the destruction of the Blitz.There are contemporary cartoons and paintings, artefacts that range from the Mayor's golden coach to a leather Roman bikini found in the mud of the Thames and the museum's own vivid reconstructions of ancient markets, temples and bathhouses, making the daily lives of Londoners and the city's chequered history come alive in this book as never before.

London Walks is the award-winning original walking tour company. Written by the expert and knowledgeable guides who lead the walks, this title offers a suitable way to discover the city's rich history and hidden gems, including: Sinister London - haunted London and Jack the Ripper; Literary London - from Shakespeare to Dickens; and Public Houses.