Ouse Valley Books

Recently I attended a Provincial Booksellers' Fairs Association fair near my home. The first stand I came to was Bedfordshire-based Barrie Farnsworth's - and I bought a Bedfordshire book immediately.

Barrie's secondhand stock includes Bedfordshire history. He does not have a website yet but says that enquiries to ousevalleybooks@btconnect.com are welcome.

Buzzard Books, Leighton Buzzard

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'.

The Book Castle, Dunstable

The Book Castle on Dunstable’s Church Street is a stone’s throw from the High Street and is located in one of Dunstable's most historic buildings, dating from 1872 and used as a drill hall by volunteer soldiers for many years. The bookshop was established nearly 30 years ago and is the largest independent bookshop in the area.

The Book Castle has three strings to its bow: although principally selling new books for all the family, it has a large range a second hand books for all tastes and - uniquely in the whole country - it is also a publisher, specialising in history, autobiography, pictorial and walking guides about its catchment area of Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and the Chilterns. With over 120 titles to date, this is an impressive record.

The shop prides itself on being a really traditional bookseller, offering excellent customer services – fast new book orders and out-of-print book search. It has also kindly lent books for review by BHRS on this blog – much appreciated!

If you can’t get to the shop itself, visit the website where its local interest titles and more are listed.

The Book Castle, 12 Church Street, Dunstable, Beds LU5 4RUTel: 01582 605670 Email: bc@book-castle.co.ukWeb: www.book-castle.co.uk

County Town Books, Bedford

On a recent visit to Bedford I browsed around County Town Books, a marvellous bookshop, situated in the heart of the town opposite St Paul's Church and round the corner from the Swan Hotel on the Embankment of the river Ouse.

For anyone in the north of the county wanting a first rate choice of books about Bedfordshire, this is the place. On the left just inside the shop are around a dozen shelves (possibly more) devoted to Bedfordshire - parish histories large and small, the marvellous book on Bedfordshire Bridges, books on Bedfordshire regiments and airfields, picture books of bygone eras, railways, pubs and some of the current and older publications of BHRS.

I came away with more than I had intended buying - inevitably. One of the specialist books was Bedfordshire Barrels: a directory of commercial breweries in the county by Keith Osborne, which sets out the rise, fall, mergers and amalgamations of Beds breweries over the last 150 years or so. Of a general nature was Sandy Chrystal's Bedfordshire at work on old picture postcards. It shows the wide variety of work undertaken in this "rural" county and is a must for anyone interested in work and working conditions.

County Town Books does not have a website but a phone call or a visit would be well-worthwhile for anyone looking for books on Beds.

County Town Books, 7 High Street, Bedford MK40 1RN
Tel: 01234 341789