On my holidays I visited the loveliest little bookshop and I do like to share new book haunts with everyone. Gallovidia Books is in the Scottish Town of Kircudbright (pronounced kir-coo-bree if you want to avoid being laughed at like my husband did when I tried to pronounce it). Kirkcudbright has a sheltered position in the estuary of the River Dee on the north Solway shore and is a busy fishing port, behind the harbour the streets have housed generations of creative artists. This is clearly a tradition maintained today because there’s a flourishing colony of painters and craftworkers with lots of pop-up shops and galleries to look at. This has led to it being called “The Artists’ Town“. Other well known features of the town are the pastel coloured houses and wide streets. Set on a corner, Gallovidia books is a quirky little shop, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in its beautifully presented stock and a cute children’s nook.
I found plenty of signed books, including one by my comedy hero Bob Mortimer that I was very pleased about. There were also a great range of classics in special editions and I couldn’t resist yet another copy of Wuthering Heights, this one with illustrations, maps and letters.
The lovely owner was incredibly welcoming and we bonded over a pet hate of people photographing books then loudly declaring they’ll buy it on Amazon. I always ask when I want to photograph bookshops for that very reason. Stewart knew a lot about the books I’d chosen and his wife Elizabeth has been in touch since to ask if I’d let them know how I get on with another choice – John Banville’s Venetian Whispers which came highly recommended. Another collection of mine is books set in Venice and I’m itching to start it. The couple opened the shop in 2021 with experience in library work and the arts in general. Stewart was founder of the Louder in Libraries projects and he’s booked both Sam Fender and Adele as she started her career. Elizabeth’s background is in youth community projects with a passion for connecting young people with books.
There were some lovely bookish and stationery extras including some cute little notecards with a book print that I can when I’m sending a giveaway book. All in all it was a lovely visit and I’ll certainly return.
If you’d like to know more about Gallovidia Books you can visit their website
https://gallovidiabooks.co.uk/
There you can find out about their loyalty scheme and their monthly book club membership.
The Lotus Readers 