WITH Christmas rapidly approaching you may be looking for an unusual gift for someone with an interest in the local area.

New book Dorset's Legacy in Rural Bus Shelters is the very definition of quirkiness.

Written by Uploders resident Michael Wood, this perfect stocking filler is a guide to bus shelters with plenty of character.

Michael wrote the book because many of these rural bus shelters are becoming redundant.

He said: "Many village bus shelters are becoming redundant.

"Before they start to disappear forever, I photographed a wide variety of bus shelters across Dorset and discovered some of the stories behind them.

"Modern urban and main road bus stops are generally soulless varieties of reinforced glass and tubular steel, whereas village bus stops and shelters have a story to tell.

"I have tried to show the variations throughout Dorset on the theme of protection from the weather for travellers waiting for their country buses."

The book details some of the county's most intriguing shelters divided according to their construction materials.

Dorset's Legacy in Rural Bus Shelters also informs us of the story of bus shelters.

When buses were well used in the 40s, 50s and 60s, the shelters really came in handy for a trip to the cinema or on a cold and damp winter afternoon.

But now because so many people own cars, rural bus services are diminishing, Michael writes.

It was directly after the Second World War when many rural bus shelters were constructed, the book tells us.

"The bus enabled village dwellers to get to town for work or pleasure.

"It was the universal means of transport for country people, and during this period many village bus shelters were constructed.

"They were usually built on the initiative of the local parish council and were often commemorating an event such as the coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II or the death of a prominent parishioner."

At the end of the 20th century some shelters were built or refurbished to commemorate the millennium.

"Today, ironically, there are some villages that have good shelters but no bus service," Michael writes.

Much of the author's interest in village bus shelters comes because they tell us a great deal about the social history of the 20th century and the people who built them.

*A particularly interesting shelter featured in the book is in Cheselbourne.

It was built in 1966 in memory of Nora Hosford, a parishioner and local benefactor, and is used today by local people as a book exchange.

*An attractive shelter featured in the book is that of the shelter at Thorncombe - it's made from brick, stone and wood with very elegant tiling on the roof.

*There are royal links to the bus shelter in Burton Bradstock, which was built in 1953 to commemorate the coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

In 2002 a plaque marking the Golden Jubilee was placed alongside the shelter.

*Osmington's attractive bus shelter on the A353 stands as a reminder of the Second World War.

It was built in memory of Lt. David Parry Jones, of the 1st Battalion of The Rifle Brigade who was killed in France, fighting the Germans, on August 3 1944.

His father was a well known dentist in Weymouth who lived in Osmington and funded the construction of the shelter.

*The very cute-looking Little Bredy shelter is the oldest wooden shelter in Dorset.

It was given by villagers to mark the Silver Wedding Anniversary in 1933 of Little Bredy residents Philip and Margaret Williams.

*Also explored are the more modern iron and glass constructions - with this cast iron metalwork shelter in Poundbury harking back to the Victorian and Edwardian era

*Dorset's Legacy in Rural Bus Shelters priced at £12 is available to buy from the website dorset-legacy.co.uk/

It is also available to buy from The Book Shop, 14 South Street, Bridport or direct, post free, from M.R. Wood, Matravers Farm, Uploders, Bridport, DT6 4PH

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