LONDON'S HIDDEN RIVERS
A walkers guide to the subterranean rivers of London.
London has many rivers, but they are often hidden under centuries of development. Rivers like the Walbrook, the Fleet or the Effra have left their mark on the city and still form an important part of our subterranean world.
David Fathers shows the courses of London’s Hidden Rivers in a series of detailed guided walks covering over 75 miles, illustrating the traces they have left and showing the ways they have shaped the capital.
This is the third in the series of guides to the waterways of London.
Above: Holborn Viaduct over the subterranean River Fleet.
Written, designed and illustrated by David Fathers
Published by Bloomsbury/Conway.
Available from Stanfords, Waterstones, Amazon, and other bookshops
BBC World The Travel Show
Talking and walking the River Fleet, London. A recent video from BBC World News.
REVIEWS
Q. Any good books about river walking?
I like London’s Hidden Rivers: A walkers Guide to the Subterranean Waterways of London by David Fathers. So many of London's rivers have been concreted over and made into sewers. Fathers presents walking routes along hidden rivers. So, for example, you could start at Hampstead Heath, following the River Fleet all the way to Blackfriars, being entertained and beguiled by him as you go.
Feargal Sharkey (Walk - The Ramblers Magazine)
Fathers has a mighty talent for combining London trivia with delightful illustrations… This book completes an aquatic trilogy that is so accomplished, we half expect to see a cover endorsement from Old Father Thames himself.
Matt Brown
Londonist
The clear and attractive maps, and consistency and attractiveness of presentation make this a lovely book just to idly read through, or alternatively it is an ideal guide book to walk the routes yourself. It is clear that the author has considerable passion for the subject, and has created a work of the highest possible quality, design and accuracy.
Oliver O'Brien
Mapping London
In all, 12 rivers are profiled in this sumptuous paperback.
Sarah Henshaw
Waterways World