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.
The 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.
Classics Display
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
Since this week is Indie Bookshop week I thought I’d share a handful of my favourite bookshops that I’ve visited in the last year. I love all sorts of bookshops from little tiny local bookshops, to themed bookshops and second hand bookshops. There’s something a little bit special about all of these.
The News from Nowhere Bookshop has been a mainstay of Bold Street in Liverpool and was established in 1974 as a not-for-profit radical and community bookshop. So, there’s no boss and no owner. Everyone who works at the shop shares tasks, responsibilities and decision making. All profits stay in the business to cover stock buying and running costs and each worker is paid the same hourly rate.
Of course these principles also inform the stock choices and it is such an interesting and challenging place to buy books. I come out with things I never expected! Social justice weaves through everything they do so they focus on feminism, anti-racism, LGBT+, worker’s rights, disability rights, sustainability and environmental matters, anti-capitalism, animal rights and veganism. They also stock fiction and I’ve bought some incredible fiction there, as well as I Hate Maggie t-shirts for my father. Because there’s such an interesting range of books I can be lost in there for hours. It’s so important to support shops like this so I pop in whenever I’m in Liverpool and order for my stepdaughter from there, because she’s at university and lives round the corner.
Scarthin Books has been a mainstay of my life since I was about 10 years old. It’s based in Cromford, Derbyshire since 1974 and I used to spend weekends at a static caravan site nearby where my Aunty and uncle had a caravan for several years. I would take pocket money and buy a book, or a notebook for my own poetry. This is such a higgledy piggledy little place I find it a little harder to get around now but downstairs has new fiction as well as second hand finds, upstairs has beautifully themed rooms for art books, music and travel as well as lots of other specialist categories. It’s cafe is great too.
The Rabbit Hole is a brilliant local bookshop to me, in the market town of Brigg, near Scunthorpe. I found them through visiting the town for my Christmas Decorations a couple of years ago. They had a stall on the market and I realised they did adult fiction as well as children’s books. It’s a great place for children because there’s a huge selection but also a great play area,
If you make your way to the rear of the shop you’ll find fiction, including a great selection of indie special editions and signed copies. They pop any new editions on their Facebook page so you can reserve them and drop in to pick them up. They hold great author events too,
Barter Books in Alnwick is one of my favourite bookshops in the country. I’ve been visiting for over eighteen years and I never come out empty handed. Solely for second hand books, this old station house is huge and covers pretty much every subject you can think of. If we’ve popped up to Northumberland for the weekend, the day we pack up and go is my day at Barter Books. I drop off any books I’m selling then go have breakfast in the cafe. Then I pop back and find out how much I have to spend before browsing. Each section is clearly labelled and the whole place has so much character with all original features on display. There’s a wall mural of famous authors and a mini train set whizzing around above your head. In the paperback section there’s a cozy seating area with an open fire where I’ve met some of the loveliest people. Be warned, it’s very easy to lose hours in there.
Like any good bookworm I have favourite bookshops wherever I go and with this being Independent Bookshop Week I thought I’d share some of them with you. Every single one of these bookshops is worth a visit for many different reasons and that’s the beauty of an independent bookshop. They have their own focus and place in the community, many specialise in the books they stock or have specific local interest sections. Some are a real hub and information point in their community, while others offer a great cafe alongside the books so you can lunch or have that vital piece of cake to keep your energy up while browsing. Others are beautiful little havens of peace and quiet, great for recharging and getting that library feel. Most have a smaller staff than the bigger chains so they really know their stock and are full of recommendations to add to your TBR. Some are just utterly beautiful and whimsical in their design. I’ve been a bookworm since I could read which adds up to almost 50 years of visiting bookshops and some of these I have been using for most of that time, so they’re very dear to me and yes, I do book holidays around my visits to my favourites.
Second Hand Books – Barter Books, Alnwick
I don’t think Barter Books can be beaten when it comes to second hand and collectible books. Run from the old station house at Alnwick in Northumberland you can easily spend a day in here and with an on-site cafe, that’s usually got a queue ten deep by 10am, you can take a pit-stop too. Every time we go to Northumberland, I take a bag of books I’d like to sell and on the day we leave our accommodation we go here for the day. I leave my books with the appraisers, go get a cooked breakfast and then come back to see what I’ve got to spend. Right at the back are the first editions and signed copies, then moving forward is an A-Z of fiction hardbacks followed by every subject you can think of and quite a lot you probably never imagined anyone writing about! There’s a good children’s section, crime and mystery novels where the tills are and this part has a huge mural of different authors and a little train track running above the book shelves – part can be chaotic so I keep it brief in here. Then in the entrance there’s a beautiful old fireplace, kept well stocked in winter to keep readers warm, with old armchairs where you can sit and enjoy a few pages of your latest acquisition. I meet the friendliest and most interesting people sitting here. The shelves in this front section are stuffed to the brim with fiction paperbacks and romances. This is absolutely my firm favourite when it comes to bookshops and I always look forward to my next visit.
Most Beautiful Bookshop – Scarthin Books Cromford.
While there are a few candidates for this I’m not sure they could beat this little gem in the Peak District. I used to come to Matlock Bath from being primary school age, when we would stay with my Uncle Ron and Aunty Linda who had a static caravan in walking distance of this shop. It was Mum who used to take me back then and I’ve carried on going ever since. I think it’s become more beautiful over the years. The shop is like the Tardis, with it’s endless rooms and corridors on three levels and even manages to hide a little cafe away inside. Each area of the shop is decorated differently with the music room wallpapered in old music scores and the art room filled with examples of the featured artists work. Throughout the shop there are big armchairs to sit down and look through your potential purchases. Each subject has it’s own area, with fiction just inside the entrance – when I can get upstairs ( my MS doesn’t always allow this) I start in the art room and work my way down. They also have a lovely collection of stationery and notebooks, another personal vice of mine. Situated next to the river Derwent, the views from the upper windows are beautiful. One of the best comments about this bookshop on the website is: ‘Every time I come, I’m going to spend NO MONEY – but I always do!’ Who tries to go to a bookshop without spending?? I always spend more than I want to, but I’m always happy with my diverse and quirky finds.
Why is it great?
Clever layout with subjects in different rooms
Beautiful decor and comfy reading chairs
Extensive art and music sections
Knowledgeable Staff – Cogito Books, Hexham.
Cogito Books in Hexham is a little gem. Tucked away from the main drag this bookshop is very well stocked and has great sections towards the front for gift books and children’s books – I’ve bought a lot of art and fashion books here. Plus they have all the trimmings, wrapping paper, gift boxes and cards. Then at the back it opens out into this huge room full of fiction and other subjects. It has a big chesterfield sofa for lounging, or for sitting and working out how much you’ve spent. They really know their stuff here, up to date with all the latest releases but really also good with recommendations based on your chosen purchases. I always spend more than I intend to and end up hanging around afterwards just chatting books. They’re also remarkably knowledgeable about Moomins which is always the way into my heart.
What makes it great?
Has a lovely quiet and restful feel
Has a great gift book section plus gift wrap and cards
Colourful and vibrant
Knowledgeable staff
Small but Beautiful – Atkinson-Pryce, Biggar, Scotland.
When we were on holiday in Scotland last year this perfect little bookshop was only ten minutes up the road and ideal for a bit of last day browsing. While it’s not the biggest shop I did find a lot of beautiful Virago classics here as well as the usual latest releases. It’s so pretty inside as you can see and really pushes Scottish authors and local interest books too. I could see it held lots of bookish events too for the locals. I whiled away a couple of hours here, browsing butalso chatting to the lovely friendly owners. I will make sure this is my go to shop when I’m around this part of Scotland again.
What makes it great?
Really beautiful visual displays
Good emphasis on Scottish authors and beautiful copies of classicS
Lovely friendly owners.
Events, Books and Cake- Linghams, Heswall.
I found this bookshop entirely by accident. My mum comes from the outskirts of Liverpool so we’ve visited the city since I was a small child. When I met my husband we took my stepdaughters there too and it’s a special place for the family. A couple of years ago I was looking for a particular special edition online and found they had one in stock here. I ordered it, but had accidentally marked it as a pick up rather than for posting. I spoke to the owner on the phone and thought since we would be in Liverpool the following week we’d drive over to the Wirral and collect it. I was surprised to arrive and find it was closed for filming and there was a very panicked looking director who said he knew nothing about books. Imagine my surprise months later when I was watching a new comedy on the iPlayer and saw a whole scene playing out in this very bookshop! I love this shop so much that when we go to visit my stepdaughter at university we now stay in the village. The cafe in the shop is amazing, particularly for breakfast and traybakes. Who doesn’t like a slice of cake while they’re deciding on final purchases? The layout of the shop is really well done and there’s a great children’s section with a little train and games to play. They run a brilliant list of events with visiting authors, book groups and community events too. I also recommend perusing the charity shops nearby, because I’ve found some great nearly new books and even a couple of signed editions inside.
What’s great about it?
Colourful and easily accessed layout
Great children’s section
Excellent coffee shop on site
Interesting program of events.
My Local Bookshop
This beautiful building houses my closest independent bookshop, set in the old part of Lincoln called the Bailgate area just round the corner from the castle and cathedral. This is a tiny bookshop so can’t hold a huge amount of stock, but it always has something interesting to offer. It was from a recommendation here that I found The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern which is one of my all time favourite reads. I love the quirkiness of building and the history of this part of Lincoln so this is a great pit-stop when you’re visiting the tourist attractions. Nothing is too much trouble for the staff here and they do run a great series of author events using our local museum The Collection.
What’s great about it?
It’s my local, only 15 minutes drive away.
The historic building and area of Lincoln
Great author events and ordering service (particularly during COVID)
A Community Bookshop – News from Nowhere, Liverpool.
Situated on the very ‘studenty’ area of the city between cafes and vintage shops on Bold Street. I visit every time we’re in the city because it has a great fiction section, but also has great sections on counselling and psychology that I found really useful when I was a student. This is a left leaning bookshop with specialist sections on politics, feminism and LGBTQ+ interest. The huge noticeboard as you go in has community events, political events and local support services info for homelessness, mental health and people struggling financially. There’s an excellent section at the back with t-shirts and mugs, badges and books that are political satire and anti-Tory. There’s also an interesting second-hand section for both fiction and text books. When I go there I always feel like I’m going to learn something and read outside my comfort zone.
What makes it great?
It’s political stance and the way it supports minority and own voice authors.
The support it gives to students and it’s local community.
The sections that focus on politics, psychology and social policy.
It takes me out of my reading comfort zone
Children’s Bookshops
The Rabbit Hole is my other local independent, situated in the small market town of Brigg, North Lincolnshire. I was put onto the shop by my lovely friend Anne Cater and now I use it regularly, especially in the run up to Christmas. As you walk in the whole section is for children’s books and it’s beautifully laid out with books at toddler level, a doll’s house and a giant tiger. It’s a comfortable place for kids to browse and play where you’re not worried about them getting in the way. Up a few steps is the start of adult fiction and this ranges over a few different areas. My husband always finds something to read in the area upstairs for non-fiction, usually something around aviation, the RAF or the county’s contribution to WW2. I love that I can come here and find bookish gifts for most members of my family. They do have special editions and visiting authors, with A.J. West coming up in July. This is a lovely shop, with friendly and knowledgeable staff, and I love to support it whenever I can.
What makes it great?
The large browsing and playing area for kids.
Staff who know their stuff.
Varied subjects and genres covered.
Wonderland Bookshop, Retford.
This is another little market town bookshop situated in Retford, Nottinghamshire. This is a bookshop solely for children’s and YA books. It has a good range from picture books, to paperbacks and collector’s editions of children’s classics like Alice in Wonderland – it also had a good range of books inspired by Alice. I was blown away by the decor in this shop and the attentions to detail. The decor is perfectly Wonderland with an upside down Mad Hatter’s tea Party on the ceiling, a backwards clock above the fireplace as well as top hats, playing cards and teapots everywhere. It would be a magical bookshop visit for a small child. I also loved that they have a gift registry for children’s parties. I would have loved all my birthday presents to be books!
What’s great about it?
Specialist children’s bookshop
Amazing Alice in Wonderland decor
Where next?
So where am I planning a visit to next? I happen to love the city of York and I’m really desperate to visit the new Criminally Good Bookshop as crime is one of my favourite genres. We’re also planning a holiday around Hay-on-Wye which I’ve visited in the past but not for a number of years now. Another bucket list visit is Wigtown in Scotland, a place I fell in love with when I read Three Things You Need to Know About Rockets by Jessica Fox, which details her visit to the village when she was on a career break. She’d always wanted to work in a bookshop and flew from the USA to help out during the book festival. Since then I’ve read both of Shaun Bythell’s memoirs about the bookshop too. I’m very lucky to have a husband who is happy planning his holidays around bookshops. Why not tell me about a book shop you love in your area?
Us bibliophiles always have favourite book haunts and I have them in all my favourite places. In fact, it’s rare for me to go on holiday in the U.K. without searching out a bookshop to visit. For me it’s part of the joy of going on holiday. Last weekend, me and my other half had a short stay in the beautiful village of Warkworth, Northumberland. We only had a three night stay so I had to edit what we would do; of course book shopping had to make the cut. As my fellow book lovers know, the best place to go for second hand books in this area is Barter Books in Alnwick.
In Country Living magazine, March 2020, a feature on Barter Books claimed that just as books transport us to another time and place, so can the best bookshops. Housed in the grand Victorian building of Alnwick’s train station, this is a bookshop the size of a warehouse! When I enter a bookshop I want the sense that time has stood still. Nothing going on outside matters in the time I spend browsing for books and whoever goes with me has to accept that we’re going to lose hours. Barter Books makes that easy because it’s such a spectacle inside. From the foyer full of paperback fiction, complete with a reading area by the fire, to the till area decorated with an incredible mural and working train set that whizzes around above your head, there’s so much to look at. The large room at the back houses huge shelves packed with books on every subject from cookery to psychology, and my particular favourite A-Z hardback fiction.
Glass cabinets running the length of the building house collector’s, first editions, and signed books. Here and there, large antique tables with comfy chairs allow you to take a break from browsing and look through your books before purchase. Next door, the station cafe serves brilliant breakfasts, snacks and cakes when you need an energy boost. I have lost whole days in this brilliant bookshop. This time I picked up a mix of paper and hard books that are new to me, a couple of books from the back catalogue of newly discovered authors and hardback copies of books I’ve had as a digital ARC or mobi file, but I’ve enjoyed them so much I need a proper copy. I have to set aside money for when I’m going up to Northumberland, everything else I do in my visit tends to be as simple as walking the dog on the beach and photographing beautiful places. So I can be sure of a little cash for books, even though I have no shelf room left.
This was one of my first trips out of the house since lockdown. We realised I hadn’t been in a shop since February. I have multiple sclerosis and a few breathing problems so I’ve had to be extra careful. This trip was incredibly daunting, I was surprised how anxious it made me feel to be near so many people when we stopped at motorway services. However, this trip to Barter Books was brilliant because customers were very well looked after without it being intrusive or alarming. For now, the coffee machine has gone from the reading area. But there was a hand cleaning station, a limited number of people in the store, everyone wearing masks and keeping their distance. In such a difficult and scary time, what I found most hopeful and reassuring was the queue of people wrapped round the station building waiting to go in. The book seller observed that it was amazing to see people willing to queue to get into a bookshop and I couldn’t agree more. We do use reading to escape, but we also use stories to make sense of our world and what’s happening within it. What a treat it is to have beautiful bookshops like this to enable that vital access to stories. If you’re in Northumberland do try to pay them a visit.
The Lotus Readers 