Miss Havisham’s Books, Bedale: Yorkshire bookshop owner's hidden Yorkshire gem where you barely see anyone else

My then husband (he was from Hull), and I decided that it would be a brilliant idea to run a pub, and we heard that The New Inn at Hunton was on the market. We drove up, looked it over, and decided to give it a go.

We ran the pub for about a year, before we realised that we had bitten off far more than we could chew. If you ever hear someone telling you that being landlord and landlady is a delightful doddle, tell them it isn’t. Running a pub is round the clock hard work.

What’s your favourite part of the county?

The area around Bedale, and the town itself, such a friendly and welcoming place – and so is Ripon, which has that glorious cathedral, lots of independent traders, and some excellent charity shops, where I seem to buy all my clothes these days.

What’s your idea of a perfect day out in Yorkshire?

Getting over to York, and spending a lot of time in that bookshop by the Minster, the one on five floors, or taking a long walk along the River Ure at Masham.

Do you have a favourite walk?

I love going over to the Swinton Estate, and visiting their superb Bivouac café, and then strolling down in the direction of the Druid’s Temple, walking through the trees, and catching a glimpse, every now and then, of the water beyond.

Which Yorkshire author, past or present, would you like to take for lunch?

It would be wonderful to invite all three of the Bronte sisters to lunch, and to gently ask them about their inspirations – where on earth did they get all their characters from?

And if we could be joined by their n’eer-do-well brother Bramwell, so much the better. He, of course, had a reputation for enjoying his drink a little too much, but that might lead him to being superbly indiscrete. It would definitely be a meal to remember!

Which Yorkshire stage or screen star, or past or present, would you like to take for dinner?

Many years back, I was lucky enough to see Sir Ben Kingsley playing Othello, and it was a remarkable and thought-provoking performance that I shall never forget. If that fine actress Joanne Froggatt would care to join us, so much the better.

What’s your Yorkshire ‘hidden gem’?

It’s not really “hidden,” because it’s huge, but Jervaulx Abbey is one of our least visited medieval monasteries, and it is such a beautiful place.

My daughters Jessica, 23, and Chloe, 25, and Chloe’s little boy Frankie (he’s now four years old, and he already loves his read, as do him mum and his aunt) often go over for a stroll, or a family picnic. And we hardly see anyone else!

If you could own one thing in Yorkshire for a day, what would it be?

The Bronte Parsonage in Haworth. With no tourists, no visitors, and none of the staff. All to myself, to absorb the atmosphere, and the channel the spirits of that remarkable family.

What do you think gives Yorkshire its unique identity?

The friendliness, the camaraderie, the fact that people stop and talk to you. And the countryside, great expanses of it. The landscape as it slowly changes from East to West, South to North. Nothing is the same. Breathtakingly lovely.

Do you have a favourite restaurant, or pub?

Johnny Baghdad’s Café on the Square, in Masham, Great food, lovely people, eccentric décor, and fantastic coffee. It’s always busy, and easy to see why.

Do you have a favourite food shop?

Our local Co-op, because it supports our community, and Lewis and Cooper in Northallerton, which is always a treat. There’s also Ripon market for all sorts of fresh meat, fish, fruit, and vegetables. If you have a local market, use it – if you don’t, it will vanish, and it’ll never return.

How do you think that Yorkshire has changed, for better or for worse, in the time that you’ve known it?

There hasn’t been a lot of change in our neck of the woods, but there are now all sorts of new estates of houses going up. One part of me says ‘Great, young people need affordable housing,’ and the other half argues back: ‘Yes, but at what price, there goes another few acres of countryside.’

Is the infrastructure always ready for it? And some of the designs are so bland and predictable. Soulless. Give me an old building any day.

Who is the Yorkshire person that you most admire?

I shan’t give her name, but there’s a lady who I often see in Bedale, and she comes into the shop. She’s ninety years old, fiercely independent, dresses to suit her own taste.

She loves animals and people, and is one of the wisest people I know. She has morals, and values, and she is an exemplar for us all. Bonus – she loves her books, as well!

Has Yorkshire influenced your work?

In every conceivable way. It’s meant that I have achieved my dream, and that I am in constant contact with like-minded people. I get so annoyed with people who say something like “I’m bored.” How can anyone be bored if you are in the company of a book. A book is a magic door that opens to worlds without number.

Name your favourite Yorkshire book/author/artist/CD/performer.

Emily Bronte for Wuthering Heights, and Kate Bush for her musical version of it. Did you know that both ladies were born on the same day, July 30th? Emily in 1818 and Kate in 1959. Two inspirational women, linked down the centuries.

If a stranger to Yorkshire only had time to visit one place, it would be?

Richmond, because it encapsulates everything that is Yorkshire – the castle, the walls, the traditions, the marketplace with all the shop and some great pubs, all the tearooms, there’s something for everyone. And, of course, that great cultural space, The Station.

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