I’m afraid I feared for my life on the short walk from the station to the library. There was a family screaming at each other in one of the houses, with neighbours standing outside ogling. I imagined drug deals and hit and runs around the corner. However, I am a Soft Southerner so that was probably the issue.

The central library is in a very impressive building but is now cut off from the town centre. The library closes for lunch (on a Saturday) so I only had 10 minutes to look around as I didn’t want to be one of the people that needed ushering out and delaying the staff’s break.

The foyer was grand with a statue in it and grand doors off the sides.

Although inviting the library felt a little in need of investment. It was mainly a large open area – there was a separate computer suite and an information centre upstairs. The large children’s library was sectioned off by bookcases.

The back of the building seemed to be a curved wall which was impressive but must have been a nuisance for the carpenters!

Off the middle of the wall were double doors to a lovely garden area. I’ve since researched this and found that it is a “pocket park” that opened in June 2016 set up with the aid of a grant: