Urban Rambles 20 Glorious Walks Through English Cities

by Rudd-jones, Nicholas

• ISBN13: 9780711239746
• ISBN10: 0711239746
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2018-12-25
• Publisher: Frances Lincoln

Summary

An illustrated city walking guide like no other. Whether you’re a city-dweller who wants to explore your home turf, or a keen country walker who likes the idea of trying something different, or a discerning weekend breaker who wants to get under the skin of a city in a day or two, Urban Rambles is the book to inspire you to get out and explore your nearest city on foot.

Each of these 20 walks includes:

• a GPS enabled map configured for your mobile device
• specially commissioned illustrations of the route and walk data
• inspiring photographs of the things you will see along the way
• information on green spaces and architectural gems
• recommended cafes, pubs and independent shops

England's cities have become much more walkable places in the last decade, with huge investments in green spaces, redevelopment of old industrial areas and a complete urban planning re-think in favour of pedestrians. Walking in a city is the healthy lifestyle choice, offering you the chance to exercise and the calming powers of green spaces.

Choose from cathedral cities like York and Lincoln, seats of learning like Cambridge and Oxford, trading ports like Bristol and Liverpool, cities designed for pleasure like Brighton and Bath. Choose to visit Victorian industrial cities Manchester, Sheffield and Birmingham, and of course the nation’s capital, where a new 25-mile circular route takes you from urban regeneration through the Olympic Park and past rivers, parks and palaces.

Author Biography

Nicholas Rudd-Jones is the co-author of Pathways, a book on the origin of paths, published by Guardian Books in 2011. It was in the Top 10 Guardian bestseller’s list for several weeks, and was referenced in Robert Macfarlane’s seminal work, The Old Ways. He is also the co-founder of www.walkingworld.com, the UK’s largest online archive of walking routes, with over 6,500 walks across the whole country. Follow @urbanrambles and visit www.urbanrambles.org

Table of Contents

The book is organised into thematic chapters, highlighting the way that our cities have grown in very different ways, driven by their reason for being founded in the first place. All of the featured cities would make a great weekend visit.

• Cathedral cities - Exeter, Lincoln, Norwich, York

• Seats of Learning - Cambridge, Oxford

• Trading Ports - Bristol, Liverpool, Newcastle, Plymouth

• Designed for Pleasure - Bath, Brighton

• Victorian Industry - Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield

• Capital City - King’s Cross to Olympic Park (Islington, East End), Olympic Park to Tower Hill (London Docks, City) Tower Hill to Bayswater (Parliament, Royal Parks), Bayswater to King’s Cross (Residential, Regent’s Park)

Each city has 10-12 pages devoted to it, including:

• Commissioned map of the route and walk data (distance, typical time, start & finish, terrain).
• Instructions on how to get the GPS enabled map on your mobile, which shows where you are on the exact detailed route.
• Inspiring photographs of the things you will see along the way.
• Data box - population, date of origin, some famous inhabitants, films or TV series shot here, best spots for stunning cityscapes.
• Context – why the city looks the way it does (topography, economic drivers, architectural styles)
• Information on green spaces and architectural gems.
• Recommendations of cafes, pubs and unique shops along the way