London is a city of markets: markets in meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, money, insurance, shipping &, occasionally, in stolen goods. As both a major port & the nation`s capital, it was almost inevitable that commerce became the bedrock on which the city has risen to be one of the world`s greatest modern marketplaces. Many of today`s street names remind the observant pedestrian of the commercial centres that were to be found in them in times past: Bread Street, Milk Street & Ironmonger Lane; London`s market history is all around us. Stephen Halliday`s book is a comprehensive account of the long, lurid & often controversial history of London`s markets, from Roman Londinium to the London of Boris Johnson, as well as a guide to visiting them (and emerging with a bargain). He explores the historic markets still in existence, & the sites of those that no longer exist, & recounts the fascinating stories of the famous, not-so-famous & sometimes infamous Londoners who have populated them, both as buyers & sellers, through the ages. ...

Walking through most parts of London produces puzzles entire buildings or bits of street furniture, monuments or memorials that seem out of place, out of time or simply inexplicable. Sometimes they become so familiar we cease to notice their strangeness, sometimes we are intrigued enough to explore their stories. The findings are collected here as oddities though the word has many different nuances. Some things would be odd under any circumstances, some are the work of very odd people, some are odd by being relocated in new contexts, such as a Wren spire grounded in a 1960s housing estate or a South Seas whalebone in a suburban street. Some seem odd now because of the way the world has changed around them. So, take a seat next to Spike Milligan, discover the dead letter box used by spies in Brompton Cemetery, & dance on the grave of one of the world s greatest clowns. ...

London’s Overthrow by China Miéville is an essay on the social, economic & political conditions of contemporary London. Gritty colour photographs accompany the text, creating a realistic journey through the streets of the capital. Miéville’s passionate reflections "ations from the Londoners he speaks to connect the landscape to the people who inhabit it. He reveals the mood in the city & explores the issues behind the Tottenham riots of 2011 & the public sector strike of November 2011, as well as housing, inequality, racism etc. London’s Overthrow is a compelling read for anyone interested in current affairs, London, & social & economic matters. ...

London`s Parks & Countryside in the Pathfinder Guides series, produced in association with Ordnance Survey & published by Crimson; comprising a range of walking guides to popular British destinations. Each Pathfinder guide

Includes:: 28 varied walks ranging from easy strolls to exhilarating hikes & is accompanied by 1:25, 000 Ordnance Survey mapping with marked, colour-coded routes. Introductory sections profile the county or region covered, with recommendations on the best time to visit & a brief explanation of GPS. An ‘at-a-glance’ table gives an overview of the walks covered in the guide, with information on the starting point, National Grid reference, distance, time, highest point & general brief comments. Each walk described in the guide has a dedicated information box profiling the walk, with useful information such as the starting point, distance, approximate time, parking, refreshments & the relevant Ordnance Survey map for navigation. Clear & easy to follow directions are provided & are accompanied by practical information about the route, including the location of toilets, refreshment areas & picnic sites, as well as colour photography illustrating some of the highlights of the walk. A Further Information section contains information on walking safety & responsible walking, as well as a list of useful contacts.

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Applying the winning formula of London`s Best Pubs to focus on riverside watering holes, London`s Riverside Pubs shows the best that the capital has to offer along the Thames & the Grand Union Canal. Extending from Walton-on-Thames to Thamesmead, the book features 100 pubs, giving a variety of venues for the perfect afternoon by the river. Divided by area & accompanied by photography showcasing both exteriors & interiors, the pubs described here will appeal to a broad range of visitors, both tourists & London residents alike. Each entry features an overview of the cask ales on offer, together with informative historical & architectural snapshots & details on the character of each pub. This title is suitable for visitors to London who are looking for great riverside locations, as well as London residents who are looking for a break from their usual pub choices. ...

The skyline of Victorian London was dominated by sinister mounds of rubbish, graphically described in Dickens`s novel Our Mutual Friend. Surprisingly these dust mounds were where hundreds of so called running or flying dustmen made a meager living. Working in the open air in all weathers, amid the dust & smell, they separated out the refuse, selling much of it on, in an early form of recycling. They turned a profit from mere rubbish
- the ` Alchemy of Dust`. In time the fear of cholera & other epidemic diseases resulted in public health legislation that banished the dust mounds, & 150 years later Londoners do their own recycling. In this pioneering book Peter Hounsell explores the changes in the management of London`s rubbish over the last two centuries.
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London`s wealth of world-class attractions are renowned & covered in numerous excellent general tourist guides. Not so well known are London`s numerous smaller attractions, most of which are neglected by the throngs who descend upon the tourist-clogged major sights. What London`s Secret Places does is seek out the city`s lesser-known, but no less worthy, `hidden` attractions. ...

London`s Secret Tubes: wartime citadels, subways & shelters uncovered, written by Andrew Emmerson, Tony Beards & members of Subterranea Brittanica, deals with the less familiar aspects of London’s network of underground structures. Build for strategic purposes between the 1930s & 1960s, a substantial number of tunnels exist under London’s streets & buildings, most little known to the general public, & the book tells the story of these structures, separating fact from fiction with the help of considerable new research between its original publication in 2004 & this second 2007 edition. Illustrated with numerous, mainly contemporary photos plus plans & diagrams, the book describes shelters used during the war years by the cabinet, other governmental organizations & the BBC or to provide protection for ordinary Londoners, as well as tunnels used by the Post Office, British Telecom, etc. Many little known facts from London’s history are included: how many Londoners know that the Clapham South wartime shelter was used in 1948 as a temporary base for housing 236 Jamaicans who sailed on the Windrush & had nowhere to stay when they arrived in Britain. ...

London`s Secret Walks is a walking book with a difference, taking in many of London`s lesser-known, but no less worthy sights. As Samuel Johnson said to his friend Boswell in the 18th century, on the occasion of the latter`s arrival in London: ”survey its innumerable little lanes & courts.” By extension, wander off the beaten tourist track & you`ll discover a world of fascinating sights & attractions that not many tourists
- or even Londoners
- get to see.

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Walking makes a lot of sense in London, whether it`s for pleasure, exercise or simply to get from A to B. Although the city has a comprehensive public transport system, it`s also one of the world`s most expensive & very crowded, so walking is often the quickest & most enjoyable way to get around
- at least in the centre
- & it`s also free & healthy! London`s reputation for rain is largely unfounded
- it actually enjoys lower annual rainfall than New York, Rome & Sydney
- & is rarely too hot or too cold to make walking uncomfortable (but take your brolly just in case). London has a somewhat haphazard street pattern (to put it mildly), the result of having grown organically over 2, 000 years, rather than being planned logically like some modern cities. As a result, many attractions are off the beaten track, away from the major thoroughfares & public transport hubs. This favours walking as the best way to explore them, as does the fact that London is a visually interesting city with a wealth of stimulating sights between destinations; you don`t see a lot from the seat of a cab or bus
- & see nothing at all when cocooned in a tube train! The starting point for this book was Samuel Johnson`s advice to his friend Boswell in the 18th century, on the occasion of the latter`s arrival in London: ”survey its innumerable little lanes & courts.” By extension, wander off the beaten tourist track & you`ll find a world of fascinating sights, as you would expect in a city as large & old as London. There are 25 walks contained in this book. Most of the walks can be done in half a day or less, depending, of course, on how quickly you walk & how long you spend at the highlighted sights, particularly the pubs & restaurants. The walks don`t always follow the most logical route, but that`s deliberate & part of the fun: the aim is to maximise enjoyment & provide a flavour of the area, rather than to get from the start to finish as quickly as possible.




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