UK

Pub Date:03/08/2016 - In the summer of 1793 the Witts family arrived in Edinburgh for a stay of five years. A previously well-to-do (read more)

Pub Date:03/08/2016 - In the summer of 1793 the Witts family arrived in Edinburgh for a stay of five years. A previously well-to-do Oxfordshire/Gloucestershire family they were brought to near penury brought the failure of Edward Witts' woollen cloth trading business. Apart from the stigma of bankruptcy, their easy style of living was brought crashing down to a mere few hundred annually-the income from their marriage settlement which Edward's creditors could not get their hands on.

Within a few months Edward and Agnes had built a wide circle of friends and acquaintance in the upper echelons of Edinburgh society where Agnes's magnetic personality worked its usual magic. Agnes Witts was a remarkable woman with great zest for life. She required constant amusement and bored easily. (hide)

Be transported back to the heyday of modern style when architecture, design and style were de rigueur. This is an invaluable location (read more)

Be transported back to the heyday of modern style when architecture, design and style were de rigueur. This is an invaluable location guide for any art deco traveller in the United Kingdom and for all lovers of 1920s and 30s nostalgia and all that that entails: the opulence and decadence of the legendary Jazz Age era. Whether you are visiting the UK for business or pleasure or just wish to have a further insight into the art deco legacy left behind for us all to enjoy, this county-by-county guide highlights buildings and facades to see, local accommodation, theatres, monuments and associated places of interest.

Published: 28 May 2019 (hide)

In the heroic days of rail travel, you could dine on kippers and champagne aboard the Brighton Belle; smoke a post-prandial cigar (read more)

In the heroic days of rail travel, you could dine on kippers and champagne aboard the Brighton Belle; smoke a post-prandial cigar as the Golden Arrow closed in on Paris, or be shaved by the Flying Scotsman's on-board barber. Everyone from schoolboys to socialites knew of these glamorous 'named trains' and aspired to ride aboard them. In Belles and Whistles, Andrew Martin recreates five of these famous train journeys by travelling aboard their nearest modern day equivalents.

Sometimes their names have survived, even if only as a footnote on a timetable leaflet, but what has usually - if not always - disappeared is the extravagance and luxury. As Martin explains how we got from there to here, evocations of the golden age contrast with the starker modern reality: from monogrammed cutlery to stirring sticks, from silence on trains to tannoy announcements, from compartments to airline seating. For those who wonder whatever happened to porters, dining cars, mellow lighting, timetables, luggage in advance, trunk murders, the answers are all here.

Martin's five journeys add up to an idiosyncratic history of Britain's railways, combining humour, historical anecdote, reportage from the present and romantic evocations of the past. (hide)

Drawing on extensive knowledge and celebrating London's diverse riches, this quiz book invites you to come on a wide-ranging exploration (read more)

Drawing on extensive knowledge and celebrating London's diverse riches, this quiz book invites you to come on a wide-ranging exploration of the megacity the author calls 'The Big Onion'. Peel away its many layers in the company of one of London's top Blue Badge tourist guides. These 22 tours will inspire you, your family, colleagues and friends to leap from page to pavement in the entertaining company of a local expert.

Have fun! This is the first in a series of regional quiz books written exclusively by Blue Badge guides - 'Britain's best guides' - local, professional guides rigorously examined by the Institute of Tourist Guiding, the industry's standard-setting body. World-renowned for their knowledge, interpretation skills and enthusiasm for their area! (hide)

This is much more than a book of recipes, though (glorious as they are). It's also about the importance of the table, of feasting, (read more)

This is much more than a book of recipes, though (glorious as they are).

It's also about the importance of the table, of feasting, of friendship, of the white cloth napkin on your knee. And it sings of simple but wonderful pleasures: a bacon sandwich and a glass of cider, a doughnut and a glass of champagne.' Diana Henry, The Telegraph'The Book of St. JOHN, part food gospel, part memoir, part recipe book.' Observer Food MonthlyJoin the inimitable Fergus Henderson and Trevor Gulliver as they welcome you into their world-famous restaurant, inviting you to celebrate 25 years of unforgettable, innovative food. (hide)

Bookshop Tours of Britain is a slow-travel guide to Britain, navigating bookshop to bookshop. Across 18 bookshop tours, the reader (read more)

Bookshop Tours of Britain is a slow-travel guide to Britain, navigating bookshop to bookshop. Across 18 bookshop tours, the reader journeys from the Jurassic Coast of southwest England, over the mountains of Wales, through England's industrial heartland, up to the Scottish Highlands and back via Whitby, the Norfolk Broads, central London, the South Downs and Hardy's Wessex. On their way, the tours visit beaches, castles, head down coal mines, go to whiskey distilleries, bird watching, hiking, canoeing, to stately homes and the houses of some of Britain's best-loved historic writers - and last but not least, a host of fantastic bookshops. (hide)

It is the scene for our hopeful beginnings and our intended ends, and the timeless experiences of coming and going, meeting, greeting (read more)

It is the scene for our hopeful beginnings and our intended ends, and the timeless experiences of coming and going, meeting, greeting and parting. It is an institution with its own rituals and priests, and a long-neglected aspect of Britain's architecture. And yet so little do we look at the railway station.

Simon Jenkins has travelled the length and breadth of Great Britain, from Waterloo to Wemyss Bay, Betws-y-Coed to Beverley, to select his hundred best railway stations. Blending his usual insight and authority with his personal reflections and experiences - including his founding the Railway Heritage Trust - the foremost expert on our national heritage deftly reveals the history, geography, design and significance of each of these glories. (hide)

Canals of Britain is a comprehensive and absorbing survey of the canal network of the British Isles - the first of its kind. It provides (read more)

Canals of Britain is a comprehensive and absorbing survey of the canal network of the British Isles - the first of its kind. It provides a fascinating insight into the linked up waterways as well as the isolated cuts and quiet waters which may not be fully navigable by larger craft. Infinitely varied, it passes picturesque open countryside, wild moorland, coastal harbours, historic industrial buildings, modern city centres, canalside public houses and abundant wildlife.

Stuart Fisher looks at every aspect of the canals - their construction, rich history, stunning scenery, heritage, incredible engineering, impressive architecture and even their associated folklore, wildlife and art. Enticing photographs give a flavour of each place and places of interest close to the canals are included. For those who are keen to explore that little bit further, taking smaller boats to points beyond which others usually turn back, there is information on little-known parts of the system, offering a new insight into this country's unique, surprising and beautiful canal network. (hide)

The Capital Ring is a 78-mile (125 km) walking route encircling inner London that links the astonishing number of islands of green (read more)

The Capital Ring is a 78-mile (125 km) walking route encircling inner London that links the astonishing number of islands of green space - parks, woodlands, abandoned railway lines, towpaths and nature reserves - which still survive in the very heart of the city. The Ring takes in many of London's leading attractions - for example, the Thames Barrier, Eltham Palace and Richmond Park - as well as overlooked gems such as Oxleas Meadows, the Parkland Walk and Abbey Mills Pumping Station, and gives a close-up view of the ever-changing Olympic Park. This guide divides the route into 15 sections, each starting and finishing at a public transport point, and is packed with a vast amount of information. (hide)

Navigate your way around Cardiff with this detailed and easy-to-use A-Z Street Atlas. Printed in full-colour, paperback format, this (read more)

Navigate your way around Cardiff with this detailed and easy-to-use A-Z Street Atlas. Printed in full-colour, paperback format, this atlas contains 107 pages of continuous street mapping. The main mapping covers Cardiff and Newport at a scale of 4 inches to 1 mile, featuring postcode districts, one-way streets, park and ride sites, and safety camera locations.

Areas covered include:* Pontypridd* Caerphilly* Cwmbran* Pontypool* Caerleon* Penarth* Barry* Rhoose* Llantwit Major Separate coverage of Chepstow, Caldicot, Magor and Cowbridge is provided. The large-scale street map of Cardiff city centre - at a scale of 8 inches to 1 mile - includes:* Postcode map of the Cardiff area* Road map of the Cardiff area* Waterbus stops (hide)