Product Description

Aimed at visitors and Londoners alike, this fully updated edition of "Secret London" unlocks the city's most fascinating secrets - both above and below ground. Celebrated historian Andrew Duncan strips away bricks, mortar and tarmac to uncover parts of the capital that even born and bred Londoners may never have seen. Below ground, he guides readers through an extraordinary honeycomb of structures - from the government's vast system of offices and tunnels under Whitehall and through abandoned Underground stations to Clerkenwell's amazing network of subterranean prison cells. Above ground, he leads the way through narrow alleyways and cobbled mews, revealing unexpected treasures and describing rarely seen interiors and special collections. Opening times and addresses, detailed route maps and evocative photographs complement a fascinating text that is sure to delight all urban explorers. Both cover and inside design have also been comprehensively updated for this edition.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2232 in Books
• Published on: 2009-05-25
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

About the Author
Andrew Duncan is a celebrated historian and expert on London. He has walked and guided popular tours in the capital for many years, always combining a love of places with a professional interest in their history. His other books for New Holland - including Walking London, Walking Village London, Walking Notorious London and Andrew Duncan's Favourite London Walks - are best-sellers.

Customer Reviews

A Good Guide!
I ordered this book with a view to planning a day of walking around the city with a friend. There are several walks planned out for you, with details of places of interest, places to stop for refreshment etc. The only problem was that, on the particular route we followed around St. Pauls, the map didn't appear to be 100% accurate and we had to rely on our backup copy of the A-Z. Not a huge problem, in fact it's sometimes fun to drift slightly off course just for the satisfaction of finding your way back again. This is probably partly due to the fact that London seems to be continually changing and most maps are out of date as soon as they are published.

A good guide book, but just make sure you've got an A to Z handy as well!

An essential book for those who love exploring London
What a great book! It is full of fascinating facts and information that your average London guide book doesn't give you! It made me want to explore the city in much more detail! I was rather disappointed to see that the House of Detention in Clerkenwell has actually closed down now, so perhaps the book needs to be updated? Nevertheless, the chapter on all the subterranean tunnels under London, was fascinating - especially the section on disused tube stations. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys discovering the other side of London.

Good clear book on the secrets of London
This is a 'nice to have' text rather than a 'must have', a proportion of the book refers to places and things that are not really 'secret', more hidden from public view (elements of the library in parliament for example) which was not really what I was expecting when I ordered it. There are however some excellent walks described in here which are probably worth the purchase price for alone.