Maiklem likes to kneel down with her nose inches from the foreshore: “I breathe in the muddy aroma of silt and algae and listen to the sound of water drying on the stones: a barely discernible fizz-pop as it evaporates and the lacquered shine turns to a powdering of fine grey silt. I found each chapter— which starts at Tidal Head and slowly progresses downriver and out to sea, to be a fascinating mini-adventure; full of surprising details and discoveries, as well as a thoughtful and contemplative journey by the author, Laura Maiklem. She uses her explorations and her finds to relate the past of the river - Roman, Middle Ages, Tudor, Restoration, Victorian, and more - along with a little about her personal relationship with the water.

A handpicked selection of stories from BBC Future, Culture, Worklife and Travel, delivered to your inbox every Friday. So much of what the author shares with us has a visual component and I felt this was missing in Mudlarking.book that's almost equal parts a love letter to London's history and its relationship to the Thames as much as it is about Maiklem's experiences of mudlarking and the array of objects she's found over the years. Whale bones found their way into many products, but sometimes, as here, they were used whole if builders found themselves short of timber.

When Maiklem came across a sixteenth-century posy ring, she had to report it to the Museum of London as potential Treasure (which under UK law belongs to the Crown or to the City of London) so they could decide if they wanted to purchase it from her. There are many captivating stories to be found here relating to the finds which incredibly included a Victoria Cross.And all her personal relationship information and genealogy for many past ancestors just so monotonous. I'm amazed that so much 'stuff' is still being found although Maiklem explains how building, erosion etc can constantly reveal new treasures. The only thing I would have wished for was more pictures - there were some glossy photographs in the middle of the book that showed some of her finds, but I often wanted to see something she described that wasn't among the photos. The type of mud under the river and fact that the area’s been home to civilisations for so long also means that there’s a lot to be found there. Hosted in Southwark Cathedral in celebration of London mudlark Lara Maiklem’s recent book, A Field Guide to Larking: Beachcombing, Mudlarking, Fieldwalking and More (2021), the event displays a number of found treasures.