The Canal du Midi was built in just 15 years, from 1666 to 1681, to provide an inland water route through southern France between the Atlantic & the Mediterranean. In his guide, L.T.C. Rolt describes how this extraordinary engineering achievement was inspired & led by pierre Paul Riquet, a provincial tax collector, how he won the support of Louis XIV, & how he overcame formidable technical, economic & social problems which threatened to stop the works. Rolt was a founder of the movement which successfully campaigned for preservation of Britain's waterways heritage & his writings have a wide following. This historical guide, first published in 1973, bears the stamp of his unique combination of in-depth knowledge & almost poetic sensitivity. David Edwards-May, writer of books & guides on European waterways, has brought the story up to date with a postscript, & has added maps, plans & drawings to also make the book an indispensable companion for tourists discovering the canal. ...

” The peculiar formation of the great Caledonian valley
- long, deep & comparatively very narrow, & occupied by a regular chain
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Continuing where her hugely successful Voluptuous Delights left off, best selling author Sophie Dahl offers up a seasonal almanac of bountiful dishes alongside warm food-filled memories & musings. Taking a gastronomic journey through the seasons, from the Victorian Beeton era to a recent sodden Parisian evening, Dahl captures the smoke filled days of Autumn with a nostalgic Squash & Parmesan soup, the blooming warmth of an English garden in high summer with Grilled Peaches with Pistachios & Ricotta; & the burgeoning beginnings of Spring with a Butter Lettuce, Lobster & Crayfish Salad. Bursting with moreish yet nutritious recipes for budding foodies & seasoned gourmets alike, stunning photography & Sophie`s delightfully quirky illustrations, this latest offering promises pleasure, indulgence & of course, simple, good food. ...

Over the years, authors, artists & amblers aplenty have felt the pull of the Thames, & now travel writer Tom Chesshyre is following in their footsteps. He’s walking the length of the river from the Cotswolds to the North Sea – a winding journey of over two hundred miles. Join him for an illuminating stroll past meadows, churches & palaces, country estates & council estates, factories & dockyards. Setting forth in the summer of Brexit, & meeting a host of interesting characters along the way, Chesshyre explores the living present & remarkable past of England’s longest & most iconic river. ...

Over the years, authors, artists & amblers aplenty have felt the pull of the Thames, & now travel writer Tom Chesshyre is following in their footsteps. He`s walking the length of the river from the Cotswolds to the North Sea
- a winding journey of over two hundred miles. Join him for an illuminating stroll past meadows, churches, palaces, country (and council) estates, factories & dockyards. Seeing some familiar sights through new eyes, & meeting a host of interesting characters along the way, Chesshyre explores the living present & remarkable past of England`s longest & most iconic river.
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There is an undoubted interest in the ability to see a subject from a slightly different angle. Aerial photography provides a unique overview of a subject, allowing the viewer to put into context sights that may be highly familiar from the ground. Combine this fascinating angle with the undoubted popularity of the ' Then & Now' approach
- to show continuity & change in the landscape
- & that ability is considerably extended. It is only from the air that the enthusiast can gain a true impression of how far the railways dominated the landscape & how far even relatively unimportant locations were dominated by the railway. Moreover, it is through the comparison that the reader can fully appreciate how far the importance of the railway has declined in many places & how far society itself has changed over the past decades. The first collection of ' Then & Now' comparison shots using the superb archive of the Aerofilms company was published to critical acclaim in 1998 & was subsequently reprinted. However, with a collection that encompasses many hundreds of thousands of images over an 80-year period, the first volume used but a fraction of the number of ' Then' photographs available. This second collection, therefore, goes further into the archive, delving deep to produce a fascinating range of locations
- from major railway towns like Darlington to rural branches like Bridport
- to illustrate the changing face of the British landscape over the past decades. As with the previous book, specially commissioned contemporary photographs provide a remarkable contrast between the scenes recorded more than 30 years ago & those of the present day. Each entry is provided with a detailed account telling the reader the story behind the photographs &, where necessary, key maps are provided to pin-point specific locations.



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With passion & wit, Bernard Levin describes his travels on foot through the beautiful countryside of south-eastern France. He follows in the mighty footsteps of the great Carthaginian enemy of Rome, Hannibal, who made the expedition with an army & elephants nearly two millennia before. From the Camargue via the Rhone Valley, across the Alps & into Italy during August snowstorms, he comments on the social & historical importance of the landscapes he passes through, taking detours to the table of chef Jacques Pic at Valence & the Arles region immortalised by Van Gogh. The journey would not have been complete without enjoying the hospitality of the Moussets
- the fifth generation of their family to produce wine at Chateauneuf-du-Pape, before turning eastwards, to face the greater challenge of the Alps.
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” This collection has a straightforward ambition: to redirect the interpretive perspective that readers bring to Lawrence Durrell`s literary works by returning their attention to his short prose.”
- From the Introduction Best known for his novels & travel writing, Lawrence Durrell defied easy classification within twentieth-century modernism. His antiauthoritarian tendencies put him at odds with many contemporaries--aesthetically & politically. However, thanks to a compelling recontextualization by editor James Gifford, these 38 previously unpublished & out-of-print essays & letters reveal that Durrell`s maturation as an artist was rich, complex, & subtle. This edition promises to open up new approaches to interpreting his more famous works. Durrell fans will treasure this selection of rare nonfiction, while scholars of Durrell, modernist literature, antiauthoritarian artists, & the Personalist movement will also appreciate Gifford`s fine editorial work.
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From the Fatherl&, with Love is set in an alternative, dystopian present in which the dollar has collapsed & Japan`s economy has fallen along with it. The North Korean government, sensing an opportunity, sends a fleet of `rebels` in the first land invasion that Japan has ever faced. Japan can`t cope with the surprise onslaught of ` Operation From the Fatherl&, with Love`. But the terrorist Ishihara & his band of renegade youths
- once dedicated to upsetting the Japanese government
- turn their deadly attention to the North Korean threat. They will not allow Fukuoka to fall without a fight. Epic in scale, From the Fatherl&, with Love is laced throughout with Murakami`s characteristically savage violence. It`s both a satisfying thriller & a completely mad, over-the-top novel like few others.

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The award-winning gardens at Pashley Manor have been open to the public for over 20 years. It`s hard not to love the tulip festivals & the magnificent roses, or get lost in the scent of lilies. The garden`s soft pink brick walls radiate heat in the summer months, ripening the berries, pears, figs & tomatoes that grow alongside it. They neatly contain rows upon rows of vegetables & bristling heads of parsley, thyme, rosemary & other herbs. Hattie`s family have cooked with all these good, fresh produce for years. From the Garden brings together some of her family`s best recipes from the gardens & the kitchen table at Pashley Manor. Photographer Leigh Clapp has captured the mouth-watering images. With over 100 recipes broken down into chapters including: Leeks, onions garlic & shallots; courgettes, squash & cucumbers; tomatoes & potatoes, roots; greens; salads; tree fruits & so much more, From the Garden introduces you to delicious recipes using fresh produce & will make a beautiful special gift for anyone who loves to cook with fresh fruit & vegetables. ...