This visit will allow us to see how the vast stock of the British Library is managed and how the operation at Thorp Arch provides a massive archive facility and supports the main reading room in London. It is a large site and the tour requires about a mile of walking, with 60 steps up to the viewing platform in the automated warehouse. The tour will last about 75 minutes.

We will meet in the reception area at the Library, with the tour starting at 10.45. Car parking is available on the site and is a short walk from reception. For those who want it, there is the opportunity to use the canteen facility for a coffee before the tour.

To follow the tour, I have booked a table at the Windmill Inn at Linton for 13.00. We may arrive al little earlier than this but that shouldn’t be a problem. This pub has recently reopened and offers a good menu of classic pub dishes. Conveniently, it is just 2 or 3 minutes off the direct route back to Harrogate.