Sir, – As a Yorkshire woman presently exiled abroad you can imagine my pleasure at returning for a long-awaited holiday home this July. And, of course, the county lived up to all my expectations and was as beautiful and welcoming as ever.

The only blot on the landscape was an unfortunate incident in Hawes. Walking along the main street I noticed a second-hand book shop and ventured inside.

My way was barred by a chap who said: “Now I’ll tell you how this works!” and proceeded to tell me that there was an entrance fee of 50p! “If you buy a book you get your 50p knocked off the price,” he continued.

Never in my entire life have I been charged for entering a shop. I told him I had no intention of giving him 50p, on principle. “Put your principles aside for a moment,” he said. Clearly, principles were a foreign concept.

Obviously, I left the shop – luckily good second hand book shops abound in England – but I did think that Yorkshire’s reputation was tarnished by this rather grubby little example of “entrepreneurial” excess.

G MATTHEWS Ireland.