Hovingham, York
YO6 4JZ
01653 629000
www.inntravel.co.uk

Not a book, this week, but a whole stack of them, and in a most unusual setting. Going on holiday in order to plan your holiday might seem like an indulgence too far, but a cappuccino or two at the Inntravel T-Shop - a travel bookshop, travel agency and coffee shop in a picturesque village outside York - should change your mind.

The specialist tour operator has been based at Hovingham, 20km north of York, for 15 years. Now they have converted a swish coffee-house and bookstore into the T-Shop that would not look out of place in downtown San Francisco.

A wide collection of travel guides, maps, travel writings and novels is available for browsing, alongside a lunch menu inspired by the cuisine of France, Catalonia, Norway and other areas covered by the travel agency.

With easy access to the North York Moors and Castle Howard, the T-Shop is probably best visited during a walking holiday or daytrip, though it's also a brief drive from the tourist honeypot of York itself. You can book an international holiday with the help of the specialist staff on hand. But, then again, you could just sip your coffee, peruse a book and fantasise. If only all bookshops, coffee houses and travel agencies were like this.