BOOK lovers are invited to this weekend’s Ilkley Book Fair where they will find an enormous range of items to browse and buy.

The Provincial Booksellers Fairs Association (PBFA) Ilkley Book Fair takes place at the King’s Hall and Winter Gardens, Station Road, Ilkley on Friday, July 27 from noon to 6pm and Saturday, July 28 from 10am to 4pm. Admission is free.

Bookseller and fair manager Louise Harrison, who runs TP Books, of Addingham, said: “Ilkley is a free admission fair and we hope always to encourage visitors who are not particularly used to book fairs to come in and look around to see the enormous range of items on sale. It is heartening to hear comments about finding brilliant little things for presents or that a visitor has found a missing link in family history contained within a pamphlet about a local church or some other record of life and social background of the area. The fair is one of long standing and has a loyal following of serious collectors too who still manage to find missing items from their collections and always enjoy a chance to chat with 50 plus dealers and other like minded folk about books found and lost. The venue provides three areas for stalls, the main King’s Hall and also the adjacent Winter Gardens and Winter Gardens balcony. The latter area has access up a grand staircase but also a disabled lift. There is a cafe offering soup, sandwiches (freshly prepared), cakes and drinks throughout the two day event and most of the seating for this is situated up on the balcony offering a good view of the stalls on that level and also those below. Many of our visitors search, chat and return for refreshment several times during their visit. Our aim is to host a friendly event with broad appeal in a wonderful building which has been the centre of Ilkley’s programme of productions, festivals and specialist fairs for generations. Ilkley is already the destination of choice for many at this time of year, with the moors, lido, riverside parks and plentiful variety of shops, cafes and watering holes a great place to spend the day any time but the Ilkley Book Fair provides an annual opportunity to meet dealers from all over the country and spend time renewing old connections and finding new ones.”