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Creasy Spines

“Every crease is a story.”

The Bookshop Atlas

Bookshops in the United Kingdom

1,471 independent bookshops in 620 towns, 295 of them selling secondhand.

Unfolding the map…

SecondhandAntiquarianNewCharity

Worth the pilgrimage

Featured in the United Kingdom

New & secondhand in Aberystwyth, United Kingdom

A bookshop with a strong Welsh-language focus.

New & secondhand

Independent bookshop in Abingdon, United Kingdom

An Oxfordshire independent known for its children's events.

Secondhand in Alnwick, United Kingdom · since 1991

One of the largest secondhand bookshops in Britain, housed in a Victorian railway station in Northumberland. A model train runs along the tops of the shelves, there are open fires in winter, and the old waiting rooms now serve tea. It is also where the original 'Keep Calm and Carry On' poster was rediscovered.

General stockChildren'sRailwaysCaféStep-free access

Independent bookshop in Bath, United Kingdom

A publisher's shop reprinting neglected twentieth-century writers, mostly women, in signature grey covers.

Independent bookshop in Belfast, United Kingdom

An Irish-language bookshop in Belfast's Gaeltacht Quarter.

Independent bookshop in Belfast, United Kingdom

A crime-fiction specialist that won the most recommendations in an Irish Times survey of readers' favourite shops.

Independent bookshop in Birmingham, United Kingdom

A Kings Heath bookshop named the UK's independent bookshop of the year in 2025.

Independent bookshop in Bishop's Castle, United Kingdom

A shop that 'prescribes' poems for the soul, in a former Shropshire chemist's.

Poetry

Independent bookshop in Brighton, United Kingdom

A Brighton neighbourhood independent.

Towns and cities, A–Z

Page 3 of 4. Each has its own guide with a map and, where the shops are close enough, a walking route.

Towns and cities

Finding bookshops in the United Kingdom

How many bookshops are listed in the United Kingdom?

The Atlas currently lists 1,471 active bookshops across 620 towns and cities in the United Kingdom. This is the number in our directory, not a claim that every shop in the area has been recorded.

Can I find secondhand bookshops in the United Kingdom?

295 listed shops are categorised as selling secondhand books. Stock changes frequently; ask a shop directly if you need a particular book.

Are the opening hours and accessibility details checked?

The Atlas displays available source information. A listing without opening hours or access details is incomplete, not necessarily closed or inaccessible. Check each shop's website and confirm anything essential before travelling.

Can I add a shop or correct a listing?

Yes. Send the shop's name, location and a reliable website or other source. Suggestions and corrections are reviewed before changing the Atlas.

Suggest a shop

Shop data © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database Licence, with descriptions of featured shops by Creasy Spines. Opening hours change — check before a long journey. Suggest an edit