Curious Tales of London

This fascinating new book is packed with amazing things you didn’t know about the capital, such as the fact that it’s still forbidden to run, carry an umbrella or whistle in Burlington Arcade. Mingle with the most impressive handlebar moustaches in the country, pay your respects at the dog cemetery in Hyde Park, visit a Masonic temple, take trapeze lessons in a former power station, pray in a floating church, sail on a disused reservoir, discover the stone from which Arthur drew Excalibur, admire the sacred penis of a pharaoh, have a game on the City’s last bowling green, examine a cucumber straightener, a stuffed mermaid or a cow’s heart, go stargazing at Greenwich Observatory. Far from the crowds and the usual cliches, London still reserves any number of hidden treasures for those who know how to wander off the beaten track.