New indie bricks-and-mortar bookshop has now appeared in Iddesleigh!
Exciting News!
The Hidden Bookshop in Iddesleigh is now open!
Keep an eye out on our social media pages to follow along with our progress as two new booksellers.
We look forward to seeing you soon! Happy reading!
~ Kay & Louise
@thehiddenbookshopdevon
Down Burrow Lane book signing with Michael Morpurgo and Clare Morpurgo
🌳 We are delighted to invite you to a book signing with Michael Morpurgo and Clare Morpurgo at The Hidden Bookshop in Iddesleigh, to celebrate Michael's lyrical memoir and "most personal and moving story ever", Down Burrow Lane, Life and Love on the Farm.
“Fifty years ago, Michael and Clare Morpurgo packed their young family into a car in London and set off for a remote farm in rural Devon down a narrow track called Burrow Lane. It was on this farm that Michael, then a young schoolteacher, became a writer”.
“Over the years, it would inspire many of his best-loved books, including War Horse and Private Peaceful. Here, Michael and Clare raised their family - and, in many ways, grew up themselves. They also welcomed more than 100,000 children from towns and cities to experience life in the countryside through their charity, Farms for City Children.”
“This is the remarkable love story of Michael and Clare, and an account of the joys and hardships of life on the farm across five decades: a journey through the seasons and years that shaped the land around them, and the lives of the children changed by their time there.”
This exclusive event will take place on Monday 21st September 2026 from 4.30pm to 6pm, which is on the anniversary of the birthday of Clare’s father, Sir Allen Lane, who founded Penguin Books. 📙
📚 You can purchase copies at the event or pre-order Down Burrow Lane with The Hidden Bookshop for the signing using the contact form below or pop into the shop.
✨ Other titles by Michael Morpurgo and Clare Morpurgo will also be available to purchase at the event, however, these will not be included in the signing.
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📆 Monday 21st September 2026
⏰ 4.30pm to 6pm
📍 @ The Hidden Bookshop, Iddesleigh, Devon, EX19 8BG
We kindly ask that any books to be signed have been purchased as a pre-order or at this event via The Hidden Bookshop.
Publication date: 17/09/2026
Threshing Day ~ Midnight Release Party
28/09/2026 10.00pm - 12.00am
Tally Ho!, Hatherleigh, Devon, EX20 3JN
Attention Cadets ...
Threshing Day is coming and we can't wait to dive back into the Empyrean world with you at our very first Midnight Release Party on Monday 28th September 2026 at the Tally Ho!, Hatherleigh.
Join us from 10pm to midnight for some exclusive giveaways, themed cocktails and mocktails, midnight book access, a quiz and other activities. You are welcome to come dressed in your quadrant attire!
Your ticket will include:
1 x Admission to this event
1 x Limited Deluxe Edition of Threshing Day by Rebecca Yarros
1 x Themed cocktail/mocktail
1 x Exclusive print and bookmark
Event tickets: £28.50
There are limited spaces available, please let us know how many tickets you would like. Booking is required via the contact form below. We will be in touch with further booking info during the week commencing 31/08/2026.
The countdown has begun ... see you at Basgiath!
Contact form
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Opening Hours
Our set opening hours are:
Tuesday - 2pm to 5.30pm
Friday - 11.30am to 7pm
Saturday - 11.30am to 7pm
We are also often open on other days and times which we announce on our social media pages.
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Address
The Hidden Bookshop
@ The Printers Shop
Iddesleigh
Winkleigh
Devon
EX19 8BG
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///invite.blotting.shielding
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Accessibility
There is one step up to access our shop. It is approximately 140mm in height. We have a portable accessibility ramp that we can use for wheelchairs, mobility scooters and pushchairs. The width of our door is: 710mm. Our lovely shop building is very old and petite, so once inside turning can be quite tight but we will try our very best to accommodate our customers. Please do ask if you need any assistance.
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Visiting by car/motorbike:
Parking is free on the roads around the village but please do park with consideration to our local residents and please kindly do not park in front of our shop as access is needed at all times... we won't be able to keep it full of books if we can't get in!
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Visiting by foot/bicycle:
Iddesleigh is on The Tarka Trail.
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Visiting by Bus:
The number 648 bus is operated by Taw ans Torridge via Okehampton runs on a Thursday an arrives at the village green at 13:22 hours. However, you will have to arrange alternative transport home again as there are no further buses that day unless you would like to stay for a week!
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Please no smoking/vaping/food or drink in the shop. Thank you.
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Dogs
We love dogs but unfortunately due to the small size of our shop please may we kindly ask that they wait outside due to health and safety reasons. If you have a guide dog or an assistance dog then please do let us know and we will try our very best to accommodate them.
There are some beautiful walks around Iddesleigh but please do remember to keep your dog/s on a short lead/s due to the wonderful farm animals, wildlife and birds that you may encounter on your walks.
The nearest dog bin is on the green by the red telephone box.
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Toilets
There are toilets inside The Duke of York Inn which is directly opposite us. "The Duke" is open from 11am.
Please note that to access the toilets there are three external steps and one internal step. There are no disabled toilets.
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What books do you sell?
Our goal is to have something for everyone. We sell new and pre-loved books in our shop and online and also audiobooks and ebooks online.
We can source books for you and you can also pre-order new releases from us too.
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National Book Tokens
Yes, you can use your National Book Tokens in our shop. We also sell them too, they make great gifts!
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Free Booktime Magazine
Exclusively available in independent bookshops, Booktime magazine is a free magazine all about books, reviews, author interviews, competitions and more.
It features new books published during the two months each edition covers, from adult fiction and non-fiction to children’s and YA, and there is also a digital edition.
You can pick up your free copy of Booktime from The Hidden Bookshop (subject to availability).
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Iddesleigh
The famous Duke of York Inn is directly opposite us and open from 11am, 7 days a week. It is the perfect place to stop for a delicious meal and a refreshing drink... there is often a welcoming fire roaring and outside there are stunning views of Dartmoor or a pretty beer garden at the rear. "The Duke" also offer accommodation.
St James' Church is next to us and here is where you will find, in the churchyard, the gravestone of James Ravilious, who is remembered as a photographer who "loved this countryside and its people".
The Northcott Hall is a short walk down the road.
"here is where the clock that has stood always at one minute past ten, hangs a small dusty painting of a horse." War Horse - Michael Morpurgo
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War Horse Valley Country Farm Park
Parsonage Farm has been farmed by the same family for nearly 100 years and is the farm around which the book War Horse by Michael Morpurgo was set, along with the parish of Iddesleigh.
It was also once home to Revd John ‘Jack’ Russell, first breeder of the terriers to which he gives his name.
You can explore War Horse Valley – its farming history, its people and its Wartime stories and of course the place where the story of Joey and Albert was born and finish off your visit with a lovely cream tea.
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Do we buy pre-loved books or accept donations?
If you have any pre-loved books that you would like to sell or donate then please contact us via the form on this page with a photograph of the spines, the condition and ISBN's.
Please bear in mind that we are a very petite shop and we have to be very selective of our stock due to space limitations.
Please may we ask that you kindly do not leave any book donations outside the shop.
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Local Indie Bookshops
Dogberry and Finch Books - Okehampton
The Bizarre Poetry Emporium - Okehampton
Walter Henry's Bookshop - Bideford
Book Relief UK - Bideford
Tipsy Books - Bideford
Goodliving Christian Bookshop - Bideford
The Appledore Bookshop, Appledore
Tarka Books, Barnstaple
Astor's Bookshop - Chagford
The Bookery - Crediton
Black Cat Books - Launceston
Aquila Fellowship Trust - Launceston
Book Stop - Tavistock
Lee Furneaux Books, Tavistock
Spencer Thorn Limited - Bude
Ark Angel Christian Bookshop - Bude
Liznojan Bookshop - Tiverton
Heartland Old Books, Tiverton
Ilfracombe Bookshop, Ilfracombe
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Local Libraries
Okehampton
Great Torrington
Chulmleigh
Bideford
Appledore
Barnstaple
Bude
Holsworthy
Crediton
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Local Literary Festivals
Appledore Book Festival - 18-27th September 2026
Bude - 2027 dates yet to be announced
Budleigh Salterton September Literary Festival - 23-27th September 2027
Dartmouth Book Festival - 18-20th September 2026
Dulverton Exmoor Book Festival
Falmouth Book Festival - 19-25th October 2026
International Agatha Christie Festival
Hartland Book Festival
North Cornwall Book Festival - 2027 dates yet to be announced
South Hams Literary Festival
Tiverton Book Festival
