This is the most detailed description of why the countryside of England now looks the way it does, covering the geology, archaeology and history of each area and what effects each has had on the landscape we see today.

It includes: landscapes of power and control environment and the landscape cultural topography; regional patterns in an ancient landscape; the peopling of the South East and the evolution of settlement patterns; changing ways of life and the landscape; urban living; urban landscapes; London lives; landscapes and reactions landscape and the creative imagination; and the theatre of the South East.