Tomes of Buxton
Second hand and antiquarian books



Ref: PB01
For immediate release
Date: 23 March 2009

Picture Books in Bamford opens in time for Easter
New picture and book shop offers an alternative to chocolate!

Are you fed up with all the Easter Eggs that have been crowding the shops since Valentine’s Day? Looking for a low calorie and local alternative? C Scapes and Tomes of Buxton have opened Picture Books, a new shop at the High Peak Garden Centre near Bamford. The shop sells locally produced Peak District landscape prints, cards and canvases, local hand-turned wood gifts, and second hand and antiquarian books. Picture Books opened on 1 March and is already thriving with a regular stream of visitors from the garden centre.

“All our pictures are taken in the Peak District, and we do as much of the production as we can. I take the pictures, and my wife Laura and I process them, and design, print and construct the cards, bookmarks and smaller pictures. We try to keep it local, sub-contracting out the canvasses to a company in Hathersage,” says Andrew Cartledge, the photographer behind C Scapes.

“We sell books on every topic under the sun, from modern fiction for adults and children to collectible classics, and from modern books on arts, handicrafts and gardening to historic books on travel – something for everyone,” says Tim Dudley, the bookseller behind Tomes of Buxton. “A good book is something to be enjoyed and can be cherished for a lifetime. A book makes the most absorbing of gifts for friends and family at any time of year, including at Easter.”

For both Tim and Andrew, this is the first move into a ‘bricks and mortar’ shop – both had previously run successful online businesses, and C Scapes was a regular sight at local craft and Christmas fairs.  

“Having a bricks-and-mortar bookshop has been my dream since I began selling books online, and this location is ideal, with visitors to the garden centre enjoying the opportunity to browse the books, and visitors to the book shop having the added bonus of free parking and somewhere to have a cup of tea,” says Tim. “It’s a great extra being right in the middle of the beautiful Hope Valley,” adds Andrew.

Picture Books is usually open Tuesday to Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm, but will remain open for the whole of the Easter weekend for books, cards and gifts.


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Editor’s notes

About the Picture Books shop

The Picture Books shop is at the High Peak Garden Centre just outside Bamford in the Hope Valley in the Derbyshire Peak District, on Hope Road, between Hope and Hathersage, near the turning for Shatton. Picture Books is open from 10 am to 5 pm, Tuesday to Sunday, all the year round, as well as some Bank Holidays.

About the pictures

Andrew Cartledge, founder of C Scapes, is a photographer based in Hope, Hope Valley, Derbyshire. He specializes in landscape photography of White and Dark Peak hills and valleys. C Scapes produces and sells Derbyshire Peak District handmade cards and bookmarks, and mounted and framed giclée (fade-resistant) prints and canvasses online and through the Picture Books shop in Bamford. Andrew also sells gifts, including locally hand-turned wood, and offers a ‘while you wait’ passport photo service on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

About the books

Tim Dudley is the founder of Tomes of Buxton, which sells second hand and antiquarian books online and through the Picture Books shop in Bamford. Tomes of Buxton has thousands of titles on a wide range of topics, including general fiction, science fiction, crime and horror fiction, biographies, crafts, gardening and DIY, all the 'ologies', education and travel. Tim offers mail order and a book-finding service for those ‘hard to find’ titles.

 About the High Peak Garden Centre

The High Peak Garden Centre has been established since 1947 and is therefore one of the oldest Garden Centres in England. It is a family-run garden centre and aims to provide a warm and friendly service at value for money prices. As well as the garden centre and Picture Books, the site also includes Hitch n Hike, specialists in walking, caving, climbing and back packing accessories; the Bay Tree Café; and Derwent Koi and Tropicals, for aquatics, ponds and liners, and Koi and tropical fish. The High Peak Garden Centre is open all year round, seven days a week.