'Maldon: A Guided Tour' is both as an 'easy read' and a handy walking guide: The first written mention of Maldon was in the 'Anglo-Saxon Chronicle' of 913, although there was a settlement in this place for several hundred years prior to that. In 913 it was known as Maeldun, or 'monument on the hill'. Best known for The Battle of Maldon, for Maldon Sea Salt and perhaps these days for Maldon Mud Race, it is a flourishing riverside town with a population of over 60,000 inhabitants. Maldon sits atop a hill, overlooking the rivers Blackwater and Chelmer and beyond them, the North Sea. It lays some 40 miles northeast of London, with rail and road links to our capital city. One hour's drive northeast is the Port of Harwich with ferry links to Holland, whilst a similar distance to the northwest is Stansted airport with national and international flights carrying over 20 million passengers each year. In a circular walking tour, Ian Thurgood explores some of the best-loved parts of Maldon adding his own personal touches to the history and geography of the town. Byrhtnoth, Billio and Bright (Maldon's celebrated 'Fat Man') are all included in this guide, together with other locally well-known characters. The book is a guide rather than a definitive record of Maldon. It covers only that which can be seen from a walk of less than two hours, starting and ending at the riverside Promenade Park, to the east of the town. If it serves to amuse and perhaps educate, then it will have met its goal.