A WELL-LOVED Christian bookshop celebrated 30 years since first opening on board a 70-foot canal narrowboat at the Canal Wharf in Bude on Thursday, May 26.

From humble beginnings, the ‘Book-boat’ as it was known then, has developed into a valuable resource centre for books, DVDs, gifts and much more.

Ark Angel as it is known now, also meets the needs of many visitors to the area who head straight for the shop, now on dry land in the town centre.

The venture was the vision of the late Rev A Dennis Burton who at the time was a Methodist minister based at Flexbury Park Church, he shared this with a small group of Christians and after much prayer and deliberation the floating bookshop opened with large crowds who witnessed the occasion.

In the early years many volunteers helped at the shop and this included people from a variety of churches in the town and surrounding areas.

A warm welcome awaits any visitor to Ark Angel where the staff will do all they can to help.