Embankment SE1

"The thames shouldered its way past blackfriars bridge, impatient with the ancient piers, no longer the passive stream that slid past chelsea marina, but a rush of water that had scented the sea and was ready to make a run for it."

(J G Ballard)

"There is no river in the world to be compared for majesty and the witchery of association, to the river thames:"

(Hume Nisbet)

Barnes Common SW13

"For me, trees have always been the most penetrating preachers. I revere then when they live in tribes and families, in forests and groves. And even more I revere them when they stand alone."

(Herman Hess)

"Trees are corrupting our parks. They should be arrested for loitering. For deciduous trees, add littering and indecent exposure to that list of offences."

(Bauvard)

Florence

"May what I do flow from me like a river, no forcing and no holding back, the way it is with children."

(Rainer Maria Rilke)

"When you take time to actually listen, with humility, to what people have to say, it's amazing what you can learn. Especially if the people who are doing the talking happen to be children."

(Greg Mortenson)

Islington N1

"London and Fog! When these two come together it is time to be a writer."

(Mehmet Murat Ildan)

"This Melancholy London-I sometimes imagine that the souls of the lost are compelled to walk through its streets perpetually."

(William Butler Yeats)