There is something truly magical about stepping inside a good bookshop. The smell of printed paper hits you right away. You can easily spend hours looking at colourful covers and reading the first few pages of a story you have never heard of before. Buying a book online is easy, but it simply cannot match the joy of walking down the quiet aisles of a real shop.
The UK is home to some of the most wonderful bookshops in the world. Some are hidden on boats floating down city canals. Others are housed inside old railway stations or grand historical buildings. You can find tiny independent shops packed with local stories and massive multi floor stores that seem to sell every book ever written.
If you love reading as much as we do, you might want to plan a whole trip just to visit a few of these spots. Perhaps you are looking for a few new titles to read instead of comfort eating. If so, check out this guide to books to read instead of eating chocolate. Maybe you need a gripping story for your next holiday. I also found a great list of beach reads for your summer holiday.
Whatever type of story you are searching for, you will find it in one of these brilliant shops. We have gathered a list of 50 amazing bookshops across the UK that every reader should visit at least once.
Top bookshops in London
London is a dream for readers. The capital has a shop for almost every type of book lover. If you are packing for a weekend trip to London, take a look at this winter city break capsule wardrobe guide so you have plenty of room in your suitcase for new books.
- Word on the Water: This shop is actually a 100 year old Dutch barge moored on the Regent’s Canal near King’s Cross. It has a wood burning stove and a fantastic selection of books.
- Daunt Books, Marylebone: Famous for its long oak galleries and beautiful skylights. It arranges books by country, making it perfect for travellers.
- Foyles, Charing Cross Road: A massive store with over 200,000 titles. It has a great cafe and a wonderful children’s section.
- Hatchards, Piccadilly: This is the oldest bookshop in London, opening in 1797. It holds three Royal Warrants and feels incredibly grand.
- John Sandoe Books, Chelsea: A beautiful independent shop packed to the ceiling with carefully chosen books.
- The Atlantis Bookshop, Bloomsbury: A historic shop specialising in magic, myth and the occult.
- Book Bar, Finsbury Park: A fun and social shop where you can enjoy a glass of wine while you choose your next read.
- Gay’s The Word, Bloomsbury: The UK’s oldest LGBT bookshop. It has a rich history and a very welcoming atmosphere.
- Stanfords, Covent Garden: The best place in the world to buy maps and travel books.
- Backstory, Balham: Recently named the best independent bookshop in London. It has a great local feel and hosts regular events.
- Any Amount of Books, Charing Cross Road: A fantastic secondhand shop where you can find rare editions and cheap paperbacks.
- Lutyens & Rubinstein, Notting Hill: Every book in this shop was recommended by a reader, making it a very special collection.
- Round Table Books, Brixton: An inclusive shop dedicated to celebrating underrepresented authors and diverse characters.
- Housmans, King’s Cross: A long running radical bookshop focusing on politics and social justice.
- Marchpane, Charing Cross Road: The place to go for rare and out of print children’s books.
Beautiful bookshops in Scotland
Scotland has a rich literary history and some truly breathtaking places to buy books.
- Leakey’s Bookshop, Inverness: Located inside an old Gaelic church. It is the largest secondhand bookshop in Scotland and features a massive log fire.
- The Book Shop, Wigtown: Wigtown is Scotland’s National Book Town. This shop is the largest secondhand bookshop in the country, boasting over a mile of shelving.
- Topping & Company, Edinburgh: A huge, elegant shop with rolling library ladders and complimentary pots of tea for browsers.
- Voltaire & Rousseau, Glasgow: A charmingly messy shop where books are piled high on the floor. You might even spot the resident shop cat sleeping on a stack of novels.
- Book Lovers Bookshop, Edinburgh: Recently crowned the best bookshop in Scotland. It is a lovely independent spot with very friendly staff.
- Golden Hare Books, Edinburgh: A gorgeous shop with a carefully curated selection and a striking wood burning stove.
- The Portobello Bookshop, Edinburgh: A bright, airy and modern shop located by the seaside.
- Category Is Books, Glasgow: A fiercely independent queer bookshop that is deeply loved by the local community.
- Armchair Books, Edinburgh: A brilliant, slightly chaotic secondhand shop with floor to ceiling shelves.
- Lighthouse Bookshop, Edinburgh: A radical, independent bookshop celebrating diversity and progressive politics.
- Far From The Madding Crowd, Linlithgow: A lovely shop in West Lothian known for its great recommendations and community events.
- Main Street Trading Company, St Boswells: A beautiful rural shop that also features a fantastic deli and cafe.
- Waterstones, Princes Street, Edinburgh: Worth a visit purely for the cafe view, which looks directly out onto Edinburgh Castle.
Wonderful bookshops in Wales
Wales is famous for Hay-on-Wye, the town of books, but there are great shops all over the country.
- Richard Booth’s Bookshop, Hay-on-Wye: Opened in the 1960s, this massive shop helped turn Hay into a global book destination. It even has its own cinema.
- Griffin Books, Penarth: Named the best independent bookshop in Wales multiple times. The staff offer fantastic, personal book advice.
- Troutmark Books, Cardiff: A great place to dig for secondhand gems, comics and magazines.
- Palas Print, Caernarfon: A brilliant bilingual shop selling books in both Welsh and English.
- Browsers Bookshop, Porthmadog: A lovely, traditional shop located in a beautiful coastal town.
- Book-ish, Crickhowell: A lively independent shop with a great cafe and a strong sense of local community.
- Addyman Books, Hay-on-Wye: A beautiful shop with themed rooms, including a bat cave and a room dedicated to poetry.
Must visit bookshops in Northern England
The north of England offers some incredibly unique places to buy books.
- Barter Books, Alnwick: Housed inside a Victorian railway station. It has a model railway running above the shelves, open fires and a great cafe.
- The Portico Library, Manchester: While mainly a subscription library, its public exhibition space and small bookshop are stunning.
- Sam Read Bookseller, Grasmere: Located in the Lake District. This tiny shop has been selling books since 1887.
- News From Nowhere, Liverpool: A radical community bookshop run entirely by a women’s collective.
- Forum Books, Corbridge: Located in an old chapel in Northumberland. They host fantastic author events.
- Chapter One Books, Manchester: A quirky shop with typewriters on the tables and a lovely cafe.
- Salt’s Mill Bookshop, Saltaire: Located inside a massive old textile mill near Bradford. It has a huge selection of art and design books.
Hidden gems in the South and Midlands
From coastal towns to historic cities, the rest of England is packed with literary treasures.
- Mr B’s Emporium of Reading Delights, Bath: Famous for its reading spas, where staff talk to you about your tastes and give you a stack of recommended books.
- Topping & Company, Bath: Just like their Edinburgh branch, this shop features rolling ladders and an incredible selection of signed first editions.
- Falmouth Bookseller, Cornwall: One of the best independent shops in the South West, perfect for picking up a holiday read.
- Scarthin Books, Cromford: Located in the Peak District. It spans several floors and has a hidden vegetarian cafe behind a bookshelf.
- The Bookshop by the Sea, Aberystwyth: A lovely little shop right on the coast with a great selection of local history and fiction.
- Slightly Foxed, London (and online): Originally a magazine, they have a lovely selection of forgotten classics and memoirs.
- Jaffe & Neale, Chipping Norton: A beautifully designed shop in the Cotswolds with excellent coffee and cake.
- October Books, Southampton: A radical neighbourhood shop that famously moved premises with a human chain of volunteers passing books down the street.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the biggest bookshop in the UK?
Waterstones in Piccadilly, London, is generally considered the biggest bookshop in the UK. It claims to be the largest in Europe, with over six floors of books.
What is a “Book Town”?
A Book Town is a small rural town or village with a very high concentration of secondhand and antiquarian bookshops. Hay-on-Wye in Wales was the first ever Book Town. Wigtown is the official Book Town of Scotland.
Do independent bookshops sell new or secondhand books?
It depends entirely on the shop. Places like Daunt Books and Mr B’s Emporium sell brand new books. Places like Barter Books and Leakey’s sell secondhand books. Many independent shops will order a specific new book for you if you ask at the counter.
Keeping a record of your literary travels
Visiting different bookshops around the UK is a wonderful way to see the country. You get to explore busy cities, quiet coastal towns, and everything in between. When you return home from your travels with a heavy bag full of new books, you might want to share your adventures with your friends.
If you want to remember all the amazing places you have visited, have a look at this guide on unique ways to share travel memories with friends and family. You could start a scrapbook with the bookmarks you collect from each shop, or write a blog about the stories you picked up along the way.
Supporting these independent shops helps keep our high streets alive. The people who run these stores love reading just as much as you do. They are always happy to point you toward a great new author or an overlooked classic. So, grab a map, plan your route, and start ticking these beautiful bookshops off your list.