And then there was....Astley Book Farm in Bedford....

...and of course, when I read that according to their website, 

Astley Book Farm & Coffee Shop

 

 is the largest second-hand bookshop in the Midlands, 

we had to to make a pit stop there on our way back down to the South and the ferry.

 Parents beware though, 

a sign at the door to this booklover's heaven, 

threatens with the distribution of a cup of espresso and a free puppy to unattended kids.

You can spend a couple of hours here, browsing the shelves or sitting in the cozy little cafe.
The shop is open every day from 10am to 5pm. Even though I found it more difficult to navigate the shelves and to find things than at the Bookbarn, it is nice to browse at leisure and to spend some time there. We had a lot of fun and found a couple of nice books.





This is where you can find all the science fiction and fantasy books...


...and American and Biritish history are not far either.
The whole place is charming and really nice. I really enjoyed
my time there - and my family as well. We ran out of space after that stop though....

I must admit that the wonderful secondhand bookshops are one of the things that I enjoy most when traveling around Great Britain. Especially two years ago when I went to 

Haye-on-Wye and to Wigtown, two of the three book towns in Great Britain, I was blown away by the number and the quality of the secondhand bookshops. Of course there are also many secondhand bookshops in my part of the world as well but usually, at least those that I know, they are more chaotic and less cozy - and of course, the books are not in English, at least not many of them.

These are the books that I bought on this trip....

Should I mention that I wasn't alone and that there were three other booklovers around....?

Another wonderful trip is over and I'm back home - and I even found a place for all my new (book) friends!