THE former owner of the Ex Libris Bookshop in Bradford on Avon has published two new walking guides.

Roger Jones ran the bookshop in The Shambles from 1980 until 2005 until he retired.

He has been publishing books for more than 40 years, including his perennial best-selling walking guide, Where Wiltshire Meets Somerset.

Mr Jones, 76, said: "During the recent months of lockdown I embarked on a couple of small projects in order to raise money for Oxfam which, like so many charities, is strapped for cash as a result of the Covid pandemic.

"One was an eight-page pamphlet, Environmental & Nature Walk around Bradford on Avon, which is selling for £2.50, to publicise the work of Climate Friendly Bradford on Avon, which is 15 years old in 2021. The second was Trowbridge: Town and Country Walks, a 28-page booklet selling for £4.50."

"I had suggested the idea to one of my Trowbridge-based authors who has written a number of walking books for us but he considered it difficult to find satisfactory walks around the town. So I was tempted to rise to the challenge.

"The result is a 28-pager which features seven walks and I had fun exploring the town and surroundings."The books have been published by Ex Libris Press. They were launched at the Bradford on Avon artisan market in Lamb Yard on Saturday.

They are available at Ex Libris Bookshop, the BoA Tourist Information Centre and at Trowbridge Town Hall Arts.