London Adventure Walks for Families
Tales of a City

From the authors of the highly successful Adventures Walks for Families In and Around London comes London Adventure Walks, offering 25 carefully devised, imaginative explorations of London - all starting from points easily accessible by public transport - specifically designed to appeal to children. Intriguing explorations of the historic (Tudor London/Dick Whittington/Fire of London/Florence Nightingale), literary (Dickens, Shakespeare, 101 Dalmatians, Paddington Bear), artistic and famous sights of the capital will draw them in and keep them enthralled.

1. Landmark London: The best sights in the shortest time
2. Out of the Ashes: The Great Fire of London
3. Mission Impossible: Spies and the Cold War
4. Great Expectations: Charles Dickens and a Victorian childhood
5. Paddington Bear and Portobello Market
6. What the Romans did for London
7. Time and Space at Greenwich
8. Poetry on Hampstead Heath
9. 101 Dalmations in Regent's Park
10. Kings and Queens: London's great Palaces
11. Birdsong at Rainham Marshes
12. On the Waterfront: Dockside
13. Festival of Britain: Modern Art and Architecture
14. Street Life: London's coolest markets
15. Dick Whittington and the City of London
16. Coram Boy: The story of a Georgian orphan
17. Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens
18. Shakespeare's City
19. King Henry VIII's Court at Hampton
20. Boat Race: Rowing on the Thames
21. Florence Nightingale and the story of medicine
22. Meadow on the Thames: Richmond
23. Mary Poppins: Battersea Park
24. The story of ice-cream: Regent's Canal
25. The Wild Wood: Dulwich Village

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We have written this book because we are parents raising our children in a great city and we wanted to find a cheap, green and easy way to show our children all the fabulous places and things there are to see and do. Even though we grew up in London, as parents faced with a clear day in the diary, we found it hard to know where to start. So we set off to create great urban adventures with a child-centred twist that would be tantalising enough to get the family off the sofa and into the streets of London.

London Adventure Walks will make it easy for any family to get to see all there is to see in London. Spend your time exploring, walking and talking together and less time waiting in queues for the obvious tourist traps. Discover all the secret places and hidden treasures that make up London's colourful story. Climb the tallest tower in the city; take a boat on the river; catch a fish in the canal; walk under water; ramble on the heath; discover spy hideouts; explore an ancient woodland; fly a kite; walk in the foot steps of the great Kings and Queens; gaze at the stars in sky.

These twenty-five child-centred walks focus on themes from favourite children's books to urban nature, architecture and history. These include unearthing what the Romans did for London, jumping into pavement drawings with Mary Poppins, eating buns with Paddington Bear, and chopping off heads with the Tudors. The great and the good of London's past including Charles Dickens, Harry Potter, Dick Whittington and William Shakespeare come out of the fog to inspire us all with their stories. And when your child comes home from school saying they are learning about the Great Fire of London, the Victorians or Florence Nightingale you will know just where to go and what to see to bring history to life.

This book tells you everything you need to know from the dates of the Kings and Queens, who built what, who lives where, what happened when plus lots of curious and intriguing London facts. As well as the essentials of places to eat, places to picnic, maps, museums and exciting stories to tell to get the most out of your day out in London. Each chapter has ideas of things to make and do, songs to sing and games to play to energise flagging feet.

This is the insiders' handbook for the family who wants to get the most out of being in London, whether they live here or are visiting for the day. It will be perfect for doting grandparents looking for a day out with their grandchildren. It will give inspiration for teachers looking for a new way to unlock history, it will give desperate parents and hard to please children a great day out. It will quench every inquisitive child's thirst for knowledge and adventure giving them a sense of freedom, wonder and confidence, breaking out of the daily rhythms of our lives. Don't make a big deal of it, pack a rucksack and hop on the nearest tube and have a great day trip.