Ormidea is an independent publisher of books and mobile apps


Based in Greenwich we primarily produce guide books and apps for the local area, but also support local authors.

In book format we are covering places that are under represented by accessible information and our aim is to produce titles that explain the importance and historical background of these places in an interesting and educational way.

Our Android app MyGuide is a GPS enabled audio guide that forms a truly interactive guide book that can actually take you on a personalised tour. This available on the Google Play Store and free for Greenwich.




Factual: Historical Guide Books


Greenwich Park - The complete guide

Greenwich Park is without doubt one of London's most beautiful open spaces, but it is also one of its most historical and interesting too, a fact that the United Nations considered when they made it a World Heritage Site. This extensive guide to the park with over 200 illustrations leaves no Blackheath pebble unturned in uncovering its fascinating story.

Find out about:

- Its special natural environment

- Roman, Anglo-Saxon and Viking inhabitants

- How it became a Royal Park

- The Tudor's love of Greenwich

- Queen's and their house

- Fascinating underground tunnels and reservoirs

- Why Greenwich is zero degrees longitude

- An outrageous fair

- The secrets of its trees

- Pioneering gardens

- The deer and other wildlife


Go on a journey through time starting before the last ice-age through to the modern day. Find out about the hills that give the park its amazing views and made it an ideal place for people to settle.

See who came to the park and how it became a favourite place for kings and queens, starting with King Alfred and ending with Charles II who left when he could not have the giant cascade he wanted.

Find out about how the Naval College used the park to collect water, the crazy Greenwich Fair and the foundation of the observatory.

Finally, learn about the trees, widllife and deer. Identify the main trees and understand their unique regimented structure, and also what the deer get up to and the special insects and plants attracted to the park.

Whatever your interest in the park, this guide will have something for you. It makes a great souvenir as well as a handy guide to understanding all its features.


How to Purchase

You should find copies at the shop in the Greenwich Visitor centre, Pepys House 2 Cutty Sark Gardens, London SE10 9LW

If not, you can order on-line at amazon



Lesnes Abbey

What was intended to be one of the great religious houses of London now lies in ruins on the outskirts of Greenwich. Fronting a beautiful woodland on the river escarpment the ruins have a fascinating history and offer a fabulous escape from the city.

- Who founded the abbey and why

- Why is a lady's heart still buried in a ruined chapel?

- Which saint brought pilgrims here?

- Where was the brewery?

- When was the abbey closed down?

- How did the abbey fall foul of the law?

Kings, murder, intrigue, inheritance and corruption all contribute to a fascinating tale.


How to Purchase

You should find copies at Chestnuts Coffee Shop at Lesnes Abbey and buying there supports the Friends of Lesnes Abbey and Woods

If not, you can order on-line at amazon



Severndroog Castle and Shooter's Hill

A triangular tower in the form of a castle, hidden in woods, and with a very strange name.

Find out about the rich history of Severndroog Castle and those that were involved in its creation and survival over the last 250 years. Discover lots of interesting facts about Shooters Hill such as it's attractiveness to highwaymen and the production of mineral waters.

With a detailed account of the man and the battle it commemorates; its various uses during its life; a section on the surrounding area; plenty of illustrations and a map. This is a handy guide for any trip to Shooters Hill and possibly the best view point in South East London.


How to Purchase

You may find copies at local retailers, if not, order on-line at amazon



Fiction: Science Fiction Technological Thriller


Cloud Nine

An exciting read that takes you on a fast moving journey into a world that has paid the price of ignoring all the warnings about the seriousness of climate change. Engaging characters share the love, intrigue, politics, determination and good fortune of their lives as they help forge a master plan to save humanity funded by a reclusive billionaire.

"Not your typical science fiction book, feels very real, like it could all be happening tomorrow."

Mark Shepherd has fled to the depths of space trying to forget a personal nightmare forged in a world where men outnumber women three to one after a viral pandemic selectively killed women and skewed the birth ratio. As part of the Amos fleet he helps marshal the stream of carbon dioxide "bergs" to Mars, part of an effort to reduce global warming by the politically favoured direct extraction of the greenhouse gas from the Earth's atmosphere, but which is also viewed by many as an attempt to make Mars inhabitable.

Being an expert in Artificial Intelligence, he is unexpectedly called back to Earth to work on ways to speed up the process. Based on Cloud Nine, the first of the enormous floating platforms built by Atmenco that contain spaceports, casinos and manage the whole carbon dioxide extraction process, he finds himself working for the confident and successful Supriya Rai and she soon begins to help him rediscover himself.

Two mysterious disappearances draw Supriya, Mark and their friends into the very heart of an unexpected grand plan to save humanity initiated by the owner of Atmenco who has obtained information revealing that unexpected events in the Antarctic have brought the earth much closer to disaster than anyone had thought. Using advanced AI, robotic technology and global media in a race against time, they are on the cusp of success when things are brought to an abrupt halt by a rogue scientist who has exploited his position of trust in an attempt to gain power.

Cloud Nine explores humanity's current and future relationship with the Earth and the effects of global warming on Antarctica, London, San Francisco and many other places, while always aware that politics, commerce and people's personal feelings drive decisions, decisions that very rarely look far ahead and are rarely completely logical.

An accessible science fiction thriller that exposes the beauty, fragility and complexity of our planet through the eyes of ordinary people living their lives in a world different from ours and yet with the same human challenges. It explores some of the science and technology that might appear over the next decades to revolutionise transport, radically alter our relationship with computers and begin to repair our planet.


Places: Antarctica, London: Greenwich, San Francisco, New York, Atacama Desert, Easter Island, Russia/Japan: Kuril Islands.

Themes: Technology, Love, Exploration, Travel, Religion, Global Catastrophe.


How to Purchase

Available on Amazon as Kindle e-book or in print



Android Applications


MyGuide Greenwich

A tour guide in your pocket

My Guide is like an audio guide for the great outdoors. It shows you where you are, and the best places to visit. Choose a walk or tour based on the time you have available and what you want to see and it will guide you to each destination where you can listen to a commentary as you look around. Alternatively just wander about and discover places in your own time with My Guide notifying you whenever you reach a point of interest.

Enjoy your visit at your pace... want to stop for a picnic... seen a nice bar... then stop and carry on later.

Reliable... The map and guide can be downloaded to your phone so if there is no signal or you are on expensive roaming charges you don't need to worry.


Find out more about MyGuide 


How to download

You can get it from Google Play... only available on android!



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People

Ormidea is run by Chris Hawkins who has lived in Greenwich for more than 30 years

"Greenwich is a fabulous place. I love the fact it is located on the river and has so much green space as it feels so open, but there is still all this incredible history crammed into a relatively small area. It has changed a lot since I first moved here, but although some of the old world character has been lost, overall it has really got much more beautiful and interesting over the years. It is a real pleasure to be able to write about it and share it with others"


Ormidea was the unwanted love child of Aphrodite and Hermes.

Ignored by her parents, insecure and desparate for attention, she seduced the sea god Poseidon. He immediately fell in love and offered her marriage, but she rejected his proposal saying she hated living in the sea as it was so cold and dull like him.

Filled with a tempestuous rage he chased her out of the sea and across the land in the form of a three headed serpent at the head of a raging tsunami.

Just as her hope of escape began to fade the ground began to rise leaving Poseidon thrashed angrily on the rocks, the heads of his serpents spitting with fury.

Amazed by the spectacle and Ormidea's courage, the secretive mountain building god Orogenus welcomed her to the safety of his sacred mountains.

Aphrodite and Hermes mourned the loss of their daughter who they assumed Poseidon had taken, regretting how badly they had treated her.

However, Orogenus was teaching Ormidea how to craft the beauty of every peak and valley. Hating Poseidon, the sea and her parents, she now learnt to love the land more than anything else.

With the help of Orogenus' wife Aether, the goddess of the wind, she learnt to fly and spent her time as a sprite, bewitching any mortal who entered her realm into seeing unspeakable beauty all around them.