Today I discovered another independent bookshop in Bedfordshire that includes books on local history in its stock.
Buzzard Books is at 1 High Street Mews, just off the High Street and shopping area in Leighton Buzzard. Tucked away but easily visible to anyone glancing down the mews, its crisp blue bookshop sign is difficult to miss. The shop was set up in 2006 by Colin Ashby, fulfilling a 25 year dream to own his own bookshop after working for national booksellers.
It is a small shop and, when I visited it for a book launch, it was overflowing with people and books. That didn't stop me having a good look round as well as chatting to people at the launch. There was a prominent display of the book being launched, Leighton Buzzard and Linslade: a History, and a bookcase of books about Leighton Buzzard, the surrounding area and some of the recent books on Bedfordshire as a whole. I also noticed a selection of Cassini historical maps for the area.
The rest of the shop was eminently browsable and my companion remarked especially on the excellent quality of the children's books. They also feature in the links on their website http://buzzardbookshop.tbpcontrol.co.uk which lists some of the stock and provides for online ordering.
Of course it is not necessary to visit a bookshop to buy books these days, but it is so much more fun to do so and discover hitherto unknown books. So, if you are passing by, buzz down the Mews and discover local history books for Leighton Buzzard and the area and experience the independent bookseller's boast of a shop with 'great service, great knowledge and pleasant atmosphere'.
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