London's Lost Rivers


Book Description

Packed with surprising and fascinating information, London's Lost Rivers uncovers a very different side to London - showing how waterways shaped our principal city and exploring the legacy they leave today. With individual maps to show the course of each river and over 100 colour photographs, it's essential browsing for any Londoner and the perfect gift for anyone who loves exploring the past... 'An amazing book' -- BBC Radio London 'Talling's highly visual, fact-packed, waffle-free account is the freshest take we've yet seen. A must-buy for anyone who enjoys the "hidden" side of London -- Londonist 'A fascinating and stylish guide to exploring the capital's forgotten brooks, waterways, canals and ditches ... it's a terrific book' - Walk 'Pocket-sized, beautifully designed, illustrated and informative - in short a joy to read, handle and use' -- ***** Reader review 'Delightful, informative and beautifully produced' -- ***** Reader review 'A small gem. A really great book. I can't put it down' -- ***** Reader review 'Fascinating from start to finish' -- ***** Reader review ************************************************************************************************ From the sources of the Fleet in Hampstead's ponds to the mouth of the Effra in Vauxhall, via the meander of the Westbourne through 'Knight's Bridge' and the Tyburn's curve along Marylebone Lane, London's Lost Rivers unearths the hidden waterways that flow beneath the streets of the capital. Paul Talling investigates how these rivers shaped the city - forming borough boundaries and transport networks, fashionable spas and stagnant slums - and how they all eventually gave way to railways, roads and sewers. Armed with his camera, he traces their routes and reveals their often overlooked remains: riverside pubs on the Old Kent Road, healing wells in King's Cross, 'stink pipes' in Hammersmith and gurgling gutters on streets across the city. Packed with maps and over 100 colour photographs, London's Lost Rivers uncovers the watery history of the city's most famous sights, bringing to life the very different London that lies beneath our feet.




Canal Walks


Book Description

Seasoned stomper Julia Bradbury dons her walking boots once again to explore the canals of Britain and their accompanying towpath trails. Accompanying the four part BBC television series, the walks featured in this book follow a hidden network of locks, bridges, aqueducts and tunnels, perfect for walkers wanting to explore on foot. It was canals that transformed Britain into an economic superpower, the transport arteries at the heart of an expanding industrial age. By the late 1700s Canal Mania was sweeping the nation and a new and growing network of transport superhighways dominated the landscape. Canals had arrived connecting towns and cities with Britain's industrial heartlands and export hubs. Here are four of the best walks, all offering an insight into Britain's industrial heritage. Navigating Highland Glens, rolling countryside, river valleys and our industrial heartland these waterways cut a sedate path through some of the country's finest scenery. Today, over 2,000 miles of restored canals offer a gateway into a different world. This book covers four different walks: 1. Llangollen Canal- 'A Stream Through The Skies' (North Wales) 2. Caledonian Canal- 'From Coast to Coast' (Highlands) 3. Worcester & Birmingham Canal- 'Industrial Revelations' (Birmingham) 4. Kennet & Avon Canal- 'Restoration & Renaissance' (Bath)




The Kennet and Avon Canal


Book Description

This guidebook to walking along the Kennet & Avon Canal covers the 94 mile (152km) route from Reading to Bristol. The canal walk is split into 7 stages of fairly easy, level walking, of between 9.5 and 18.5 miles, with advice on splitting or shortening the stages if needed. The book also includes 20 easy circular walks, ranging from 4.25to 9 miles, taking in the best sections of the canal and visiting sites nearby, making this two guidebooks in one. Alongside OS map extracts and detailed route descriptions, there are plenty of details on the history, heritage and wildlife encountered along the way. An itinerary planner is included for walkers who want to create longer or shorter stages, and there is useful practical information including details on accessing the walks by public transport and a list of accommodation available along the route. The result is a highly useful and fascinating companion to exploring the canal and its surroundings. In the early 1800s the Kennet and Avon Canal provided an important direct trade route between London and Bristol. Today the waterway weaves its way through the rolling chalk contours of the North Wessex Downs to the southern edge of the Cotswolds, passing vibrant towns and cities as well as picture-postcard villages with thatched cottages, ancient churches and cosy pubs. Fascinating features - such as Crofton Pumping Station and Beam Engines, the impressive Caen Hill flight of locks at Devizes, the aqueducts at Avoncliff and Dundas, the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Georgian Bath and Bristol's vibrant Floating Harbour - are explored as the canal makes its journey across southern England.




Tube Walks


Book Description

Living and working in London, it can sometimes be difficult to escape into the great outdoors. These 12 rural feeling walks are all accessible from London's Underground network, meaning that the great outdoors is closer than you think. These 12 walks are well suited to a morning or an afternoon stroll. Ideal for dog walkers, families or individuals, this guide with Open Street Maps, is the perfect companion to take with you.




Walks of a Lifetime from Around the World


Book Description

Walking is simple, but it can also be profound. In an increasingly complex and frantic world, walking can help simplify and focus our lives, is an elegantly sustainable form of recreation, deepens our understanding and appreciation of the world’s great cultural landscapes, stimulates our thinking, and makes us healthier and happier in the process. In Walks of a Lifetime from Around the World, Bob and Martha Manning invite readers to join the walking community. The heart of the book is a series of first-hand descriptions of forty of the world’s great multi-day walks — walking vacations of a few days to a few weeks — spanning six continents, most U.S. states and Washington, DC, and ranging from inn-to-inn walks to backpacking treks. Many of these walks are among the world’s most iconic. Trail descriptions are richly illustrated with color photographs and maps.




Derelict London: All New Edition


Book Description

______________________________ The huge word-of-mouth bestseller – completely updated for 2019 THE LONDON THAT TOURISTS DON’T SEE Look beyond Big Ben and past the skyscrapers of the Square Mile, and you will find another London. This is the land of long-forgotten tube stations, burnt-out mansions and gently decaying factories. Welcome to DERELICT LONDON: a realm whose secrets are all around us, visible to anyone who cares to look . . . Paul Talling – our best-loved investigator of London’s underbelly – has spent over fifteen years uncovering the stories of this hidden world. Now, he brings together 100 of his favourite abandoned places from across the capital: many of them more magnificent, more beautiful and more evocative than you can imagine. Covering everything from the overgrown stands of Leyton Stadium to the windswept alleys of the Aylesbury Estate, DERELICT LONDON reveals a side of the city you never knew existed. It will change the way you see London. ______________________________ PRAISE FOR THE DERELICT LONDON PROJECT ‘Fascinating images showing some of London’s eeriest derelict sites show another side to the busy, built-up capital.’ Daily Mail ‘Talling has managed to show another side to the capital, one of abandoned buildings that somehow retain a sense of beauty.’ Metro ‘Excellent . . . As much as it is an inadvertent vision of how London might look after a catastrophe, DERELICT LONDON is valuable as a document of the one going on right in front of us.’ New Statesman ‘From the iconic empty shell of Battersea Power Station to the buried ‘ghost’ stations of the London Underground, the city is peppered with decaying buildings. Paul Talling knows these places better than anyone in the capital.’ Daily Express ‘[London has an] unusual (and deplorable) number of abandoned buildings. Paul Talling’s surprise bestseller, DERELICT LONDON, is their shabby Pevsner.’ Daily Telegraph ______________________________




Explorer's Guide 50 Hikes in South Carolina: Walks, Hikes & Backpacking Trips from the Lowcountry Shores to the Midlands to the Mountains & Rivers of the Upstate


Book Description

Seasoned hiking author Johnny Molloy details 50 hikes of varied lengths and difficulties throughout verdant South Carolina, from the Chattooga River to the varied terrain of the Midlands, including Congaree National Park, all the way to the Lowcountry, land of beaches and forgotten swamps and designated wildernesses. Specific emphasis is placed on the most scenic destinations and unique places that make the Palmetto State special. Each hike includes a helpful information section, trail map, trailhead directions, and stunning photographs, with intriguing commentary about the human or natural history along the way.




Historic Battlefields in 500 Walks


Book Description

Tour hundreds of historic battlefields across the world with this captivating guide to exploring the sites where empires rose and fell. Stretching across the millennia from prehistoric times to the 20th century and covering every continent except Antarctica, Historic Battlefields in 500 Walks is a guide to exploring hundreds of trails, paths, and landscapes on foot, with insightful commentary on the significance of each battle in world history. Whether you’re looking to travel to far-off lands from the comfort of your armchair or planning a trip that includes tours of these historic sites, you’ll find plenty of captivating facts about the places where the fates of nations and empires were decided, including the Battle of Hastings, the Fall of Constantinople, the Battle of Antietam, the Battle of the Somme, the Liberation of Europe, and more. Full-color photos and maps are included, making this a handy guidebook for anyone who is planning their next expedition.




Secret Walks


Book Description

Revised and Updated in November 2020! Secret Walks: A Walking Guide to the Hidden Trails of Los Angeles is a sequel to the popular Secret Stairs: A Walking Guide to the Historic Staircases of Los Angeles, and features another collection of exciting urban walks through parks, canyons, and neighborhoods unknown and unseen by most Angelinos. Each walk is rated for duration, distance, and difficulty, and is accompanied by a map. The walks, like those in Secret Stairs, are filled with fascinating factoids about historical landmarks—the original Bat Cave from Batman, the lake where Opie learned to fish on The Andy Griffith Show, or the storage barn for one of L.A.’s oldest wineries. The book also highlights the people who made the landmarks famous: the infamous water engineer William Mulholland; the convicted murderer and philanthropist Colonel Griffith J. Griffith; Charles Lummis, who walked from Cincinnati to Los Angeles to take a job on the L.A. Times; and tobacco millionaire Abbot Kinney, who dug canals to drain the marshes south of Santa Monica and create his American “Venice.” Written in the entertainingly informed style that has made Secret Stairs a Los Angeles Times best-seller, Secret Walks is the perfect book for the walker eager to explore but tired of the crowds at Runyon Canyon or Temescal Park.




History Walks in New Jersey


Book Description

Readers are treated to a comprehensive statewide guidebook to the Garden State that includes detailed information on 48 of the best sites for historical walks through green landscapes, natural preserves, and picturesque settlements. Illustrations.