Stanfords Blog

5 Maps We’re Talking About

Here are five maps that have caught our attention recently at Stanfords:

National Parks of Europe Greenground Map

£24.99

NEW

From the graphic designer and map maker that brought you our Map of the Month back in May; The London Greenground Map, Helen Ilus has just launched this new minimalist map that aims to connect Europe’s National Parks with official long-distance walking and cycling routes. With 400+ National Parks, 12 official E-paths and 17 EuroVelo routes, the map is a useful tool for planning nature adventures across Europe either on foot or on bike. The visually stylised map makes the connections between National Parks easy to see and helps with the planning as well as being an inspiring wall map between the adventures.

An Opinionated Guide to London Bookshops

We are honoured to be featured in the new book from Hoxton Mini Press. In An Opinionated Guide to London Bookshops with text by Sonya Barber and James Manning and photography by Ellen Christina Hancock, you will find a double page spread on Stanfords and 63 other places, including many of our fellow indie bookshop friends. It also contains an introduction and a ‘best for….’.

We think this is a perfect book to arrange a bookshop tour with. If you start at Stanfords you can also buy one of our London maps and plot your bookshop route around London.

London Bookshops is available now from Stanfords for £10.95

Book Launch: Sunbirds by Penelope Slocombe

Last night we hosted the launch of Sunbirds by Penelope Slocombe published by John Murray Press.

This is a perfect summer read if you are looking for some fiction with a sense of place. Set in the Himalayas.

Children’s Book of the Month: Atlas of Cats

Our Children’s Book of the Month for August 2024 is the Lonely Planet Atlas of Cats by Frances Evans, illustrated by Kelsey Heaton.

Embark on a purr-fectly delightful journey with this fully illustrated guide that’s packed with fun facts about cats from around the world. Large continent maps show the origin of over 100 weird and wonderful breeds like the Sokoke from Africa – the rarest variety of domestic cat in the world – plus discover ancient cats, wild cats, record- breaking cats, and their super senses.

Book of the Month: War & Peace & War: Twenty years in Afghanistan

Our Book of the Month for August is War & Peace & War: Twenty years in Afghanistan by the award-winning journalist and former BBC foreign correspondent Andrew North.

In early 2022, Andrew North was kidnapped by the Taliban. By the time he found himself imprisoned in a jail cell, he had been reporting from Afghanistan for two decades, coming to know hundreds of Afghans along the way. This book brings together both his and their stories.

NEW MAP: London Flipped

Urban Good launches London Flipped, the first ever full-size upside down map of London. This innovative map offers a unique perspective on the capital, challenging conventional viewpoints and inviting Londoners and visitors alike to explore the city in a whole new way.

A Fresh Take on London

London Flipped rotates the traditional map of London by 180°, placing south at the top and north at the bottom. This playful yet thought-provoking reorientation is designed to disrupt conventional navigation and encourage users to reimagine their spatial relationships with the city.

Author Event: The Fun in Life and Travel with Ben Aitken and Ash Bhardwaj

Last night we hosted a wonderful conversation with travel writers Ben Aitken and Ash Bhardwaj where they talked about their latest books Here Comes the Fun and Why We Travel. They spoke about discovering the connections between our need for fun and our desire for travel, and exploring how a bit more of each can enrich our lives and boost our wellbeing – without breaking the bank or the planet.

Ten Street Trees to See Near Stanfords

By Paul Wood

My book, London’s Street Trees, which has just been published in an expanded and revised third edition, sets out to show you that London is in fact an urban arboretum. Any self-respecting botanical collection would be hard-pressed to grow the variety of trees that can be found gracing pavements across town. I reckon there are over 400 different species you can encounter in this great green city. No matter where you live, there are bound to be dozens growing within a few hundred metres of your front door.

To prove my point, I went in search of street trees near Stanfords’ Covent Garden shop. Here are ten different species I found:

Honey Locust (Gleditsia tricanthos) WC1. Image credit Paul Wood

1. Honey Locust, Slingsby Place – Just round the corner from Stanfords an elegant North American honey locust can be seen outside Bill’s restaurant. It is interesting to compare this tree to those on Endell Street, which you should approach with caution: they have weapons- grade thorns growing straight out of their trunks. The Slingsby Place tree is a thornless cultivar, so is a much safer bet for those intent on brushing up on their tree IDs.

NEW Editions of My Ibiza and My Formentera Guides

We are very excited to have new editions of My Ibiza and My Formentera as our customers love them which we know because they always feature on our list of bestsellers.

These guides are so popular as they are unlike any other guides. Written, produced and illustrated by Hjordis Fogelberg, born and raised on the island of Ibiza, these guides are a personal collection of experiences gathered through trial and error.

Originally started in 2014 as the “My Ibiza & Formentera” guide, and was then split into two separate guides in 2018. Every year the guides are revised and every 2 years a new edition is published.

Mike Hall Maps

Currently on display on our gallery wall in the Stanfords Coffee House in our Covent Garden store, is a beautifully curated selection of Mike Hall’s maps.

The full collection of Mike Hall’s Retro London Boroughs are available to buy from Stanfords for £34 each.

These bold, colourful illustrated maps of London’s 32 boroughs and the City of London are inspired by colourful, modernist graphic design of the 1950s and 1960s.