From the world's largest tripe factory to the Battle of Wigan Lane; from the Peterloo massacre to the first British canal – Lancashire can claim it all.It was one of the poorest parts of Britain due to its difficult terrain, poor soil, estuaries and bogs, but it went on to become one of the wealthiest through coal, cotton and slavery. Lancashire had:• the first town to be lit by gas• the first council houses• the first motorway.Its people included:...

A charming gift book of the strangest and most intriguing stories of London.A fascinating tour of London's strangest and most intriguing locations. Ranging from architectural evidence of past incidents and stories of life beneath the city, to anecdotes of magic, mystery, and murder, this is a perfect companion for anyone curious about London.It includes: A Museum of Magical Curiosities; The City's Lost Tunnels and Citadels; The Ghost of a She-Wolf; The Bawd...

The Sunday Times BestsellerA glorious insight into Britain over the last 150 years – its history, landscape and people – from the window of Britain’s many and magnificent railway journeys.Inspired by George Bradshaw, a 19th-century cartographer who mapped Britain’s railways as they sprung up around him, Charlie Bunce and Michael Portillo take a journey along nine classic British railway routes and surround themselves with the history, the charm and the people at the heart o...

A fascinating tour of London's strangest and most intriguing locations. Ranging from architectural evidence of past incidents and stories of life beneath the city, to anecdotes of magic, mystery and murder, this is a perfect companion for the curious Londoner.It includes:A Museum of Magical Curiosities; The City's Lost Tunnels and Citadels; The Ghost of a "She-Wolf; The Bawdy House Riots; The Story of 'Jack the Stripper'; The Atmospheric Railway; The Thames Ringway Bicycle ...

Charting the quirky past of one of the most important cities in the world, 'London, A Very Peculiar History' will challenge what you thought you knew about this great capital and blow your mind with things you most certainly didn't. From Roman roads to the congestion charge, this title takes a whistlestop tour of iconic London landmarks and eras, whilst poking its head round the corner of the back alleys to see what's really been going on behind the scenes. Alongside the Top Ten Tourist At...

Why did London Underground once employ a one-legged man to ride up and down the escalators at Earl's Court tube station? What did Hitler plan to do with Nelson's Column? Why is London's only medieval mummy a prostitute named Clarice la Claterballock? How did a beer flood in Tottenham Court Road drown nine people? Where can you see a pair of Queen Victoria's knickers?Containing chapters covering London past and present; buildings and streets; famous and unexpected Londoners; arts, li...

The I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue team of Barry Cryer, Graeme Garden and Tim Brooke-Taylor, in the company of their esteemed chairman Humphrey Lyttelton, have been recording their BBC radio show around the UK for longer than any of them can remember ... that's about a week - or twenty minutes in the case of Barry Cryer. At each venue Humph would present a short history of the location, written by Iain Pattinson, to the mutual delight of the audience, the team and their delightful sco...

England, says Matthew Engel, is the most complicated place in the world. And, as he travels through each of the historic English counties, he discovers that's just the start of it. Every county is fascinating, the product of a millennium or more of history: still a unique slice of a nation that has not quite lost its ancient diversity.He finds the well-dressers of Derbyshire and the pyromaniacs of Sussex; the Hindus and huntsmen of Leicestershire; the goddess-worshippers of Somerse...

*The Little Book of London *is a funny, fast-paced, fact-packed compendium full of the sort of frivolous, fantastic or simply strange information which no-one will want to be without. London's looniest laws, its most eccentric inhabitants, the realities of being royal and literally hundreds of wacky facts about the world's greatest city combine to make it required reading for visitors and locals alike.

From the world's oldest indoor loo to a theatre where spectators fill their pockets with poo, the definitive guide to the stranger side of Scotland shows there's a lot more to the place than tartan, haggis and tossing the caber. Inside you'll find:The world's longest man-made echoA city where aliens are welcomeWhat the Royals really think of itBritain's weirdest wigThe worst Scottish accents everOur tallest hedge and oldest treeLoch monster...

The London Pocket Bible offers entertaining advice for the visiting tourist or life-long Londoner, as well as:- Essential travel tips for the first time visitor; from not getting caught in the rush hour to understanding London's famous tube map- Being easy-to-use and small enough to take on the move as you travel around London- A handy reference guide; dip into as you visit sites such as the London Eye or Big Ben- A guide to fun days out with friends or the whol...

Did you know?In the eleventh century, Edward the Confessor banished nightingales from the royal palace at Havering-atte-Bower because their singing disturbed his devotions.In 1913, Benny Hucks of Stansted Mountfitchet was the first person to perform a loop-the-loop in an aircraft.On Boxing Day 1946, Hatfield Heath villagers challenged local German and Italian POWs to a football match – and lost 11–0.Brentwood was the first town i...