Books and Maps
Posted by Mark Moxon on 27 March 2008
How do you go about planning a walk along a huge network like the Tube? You start off with some research, and here are the books and maps I’ve found most useful over the last few months.
The good old Tube map is an obvious place to start, particularly as it was recently updated to include the London Overground, and it’s important to plan a walk like this with the most up-to-date version. I’m not walking the Overground or the Docklands Light Railway, as they aren’t part of London Underground, but if I’d used last year’s map, I’d still be walking the East London line, which was closed at the end of last year and will be incorporarated into the Overground. In this case, it pays to be current.
Second, I picked up a copy of Christian Wolmar’s The Subterranean Railway, a very readable history of the Tube that’s particularly good on the very early days of the Metropolitan and District lines, as well as the development of Metro-land along the further reaches of the Metropolitan. I finished the book feeling rather fond of the old Tube, which is a good sign.
Third, I wanted a map of central London showing points of interest and walking opportunities, and I found an excellent one by Andrew Duncan, author of a number of popular walking guides to the capital. His London Walks Map details loads of walks in and around London, all on one handy map, and where his route and mine coincide, I’ve doffed my hat and followed him with gratitude.
Along the way I’ve picked up a number of other books, including the following:
- London’s Underground by John Glover: A detailed reference book on the Tube that’s not as readable as The Subterranean Railway, but which is crammed with useful facts
- City Secrets: London by Tim Adams: This guidebook contains a number of relatively unknown attractions throughout the capital, some of which I’ve tried to visit in my route planning
- Secret London by Andrew Duncan: Contains a few walking routes, but as it’s mostly text, it has proved less useful than his excellent London Walks Map
- What’s in a Name? by Cyril M. Harris: This thin tome explains the origin of each Tube station’s name, and is more interesting than it might sound
- One Stop Short of Barking by Mecca Ibrahim: A humorous look at the Tube, unfortunately written with a sense of humour that is incompatible with mine
All of these books and maps are available through Amazon, and I can particularly recommend The Subterranean Railway and the London Walks Map. I owe them a considerable debt.
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