The streetscape of London's historic square mile has been evolving for centuries, but the City's busy commercial heart still boasts an extensive network of narrow passages and alleyways, secret squares and half-hidden courtyards.Using his wealth of local knowledge, historian David Long guides you through these ancient rights of passage – many dating back to medieval times or earlier – their evocative names recalling old taverns, notable individuals and City traditi...

Walk in the footsteps of William the Conqueror with Blue Peter Award winning author David Long, who expertly unearths the captivating history, culture and legacy of the Norman era.In 1066, William the Conqueror led a formidable army across the English Channel, changing the course of British history. Descended from fierce Viking raiders, the Normans became ruthless rulers who built monumental castles, established a new social order and merged their customs with thos...

The bustling metropolis of London is home to scores of unusual and unique places and spaces. In this feast of peculiarities, author David Long guides you off the beaten path and allows you under the skin of the hidden city that is modern-day London, revealing a new side to the capital you thought you knew.

Beyond the Gatehouse is a lighthearted, witty but factual biographical account of the eccentric lifestyles of the builders and residents of some of England's best-known country houses.Extraordinary buildings require extraordinary people, and over the centuries our historic houses have produced more than their fair share of oddballs. Insulated from the outside world by vast wealth, rolling acres and the social status that a title implies, aristocrats have a...

An alternative journey around England, visiting the sights that are definitely not on the average tourist trail. In this charming book, David Long introduces the reader to some of the oddest and most interesting sights in England, such as: * Devon's Gnome Reserve * Britain's smallest pub * A church for dragon slayers * A subterranean ballroom * The Phone Box Museum and much more. From weird buildings to eccentric museums and from mystical superstitions to remnants of magical rites, this is...

Millions live there, millions more visit each year – but how many really know London?Find out:How New York's famous Central Park came to be modelled on a seventeenth-century London squareWhen Primrose Hill almost gained a pyramid even larger than the Great Pyramid of CheopsWhy about 640 people came to be drowned in the Thames in a single nightWhat the royal family might do to escape London if the balloon ever goes up...

Delve into London's architectural curiositites and discover the unexpected gems waiting around every corner.London is full of extraordinary, enigmatic and, above all, unexpected buildings: a pirate castle in Camden, an art gallery made of shipping containers, underground ghost stations, and much more. Here David Long reveals the very best of the capital's extraordinary buildings, some of which are passed by every day, hidden in plain sight.

The summer of 2022 saw the celebration of the seventieth anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation, the first time in British history that a monarch has reached this remarkable milestone.As the event was the first of its kind to be televised, images from the ceremony inside Westminster Abbey are instantly recognisable. Far less familiar are the scenes in the streets outside, where huge crowds assembled to see a procession of state coaches and historic regiment...

From land-speed record-breakers to unforgettable rivalries, buckle up for an exhilarating ride through the evolution of motorsport with Blue Peter Award winning author David Long.When automobiles arrived in Britain in the 1890s, Queen Victoria was among the many who thought they were noisy, smelly machines. By 1906, the first Grand Prix was speeding through the French countryside, igniting a global passion for motorsport.From daring land-speed record attemp...

From the Wright Brothers' twelve seconds aloft to the Moon landings less than a lifetime later, the story of aviation is not just a series of astonishing advances made at breathtaking speed. It's also about the courage and ingenuity of the men and women who made such rapid progress possible; about the romance of soaring above the clouds; and perhaps most of all about the exciting and exhilarating realisation of a dream which is literally centuries old.

From a slave posting himself to freedom to daring prison breaks, award-winning David Long captures the astonishing true stories of the greatest escapes of all time.From the author of Survivors, the winner of the Best Book With Facts Blue Peter Book Award 2017.From slaves fleeing captivity to wartime heroes and heroines being smuggled across occupied Europe, from dangerous criminals tricking their way out of jail to ordinary people wh...

Many of the world's most famous hats have their origins in Britain; in the Middle Ages there were civil and religious laws requiring hats to be worn and in Victorian Britain a person would no more leave home without a hat than a pair of trousers. It is no surprise that London's oldest surviving shop, Lock and Co., is a hatter. From practical everyday caps and bonnets to military headwear, top hats, and even the coronation crown, hats of all sorts have passed through its do...