Our family loves books. Like really, really LOVES books. So if there’s a second-hand book shop in the vicinity, you’ll find us inside! Barter Books boasts being one of the largest second-hand books shops in the country and so it was a must visit when we went to Alnwick.
Housed inside the old Alnwick train station building, this is a seriously large shop. But it’s more than just a book shop. There are open fires with armchairs and plenty of seating to enjoy a book; there’s also a cafe and ice cream parlour too. There is even a model railway running above all the bookshelves. We happily spent over an hour here but, if we were without children, we could have spent a whole day there.
There are shelves upon shelves of books, all categorised into different genres and I was really impressed by the stock of books. It’s not the cheapest second-hand bookshop we’ve been in – there were no 50p or £1 bargains – but everything I was looking at was half price or less than the RRP. They also sell antiquarian books and there were over forty glass cases of those which were fascinating to look around. The young adult section was particularly impressive and Aggie came home with quite a stack of books. I managed to pick up several GCSE study guides and textbooks which were a great saving.
There was such a lovely atmosphere in there. It was a place full of books and people who love books. Everyone was there to relax; no-one was in a rush. It was a little slice of heaven.
If you ever find yourself up in Northumberland then Barter Books is a must visit. If you’re anything like us, perhaps set yourself a budget though before going in otherwise you may come out richer in books, but a lot poorer in purse!
Barter Books, Alnwick Station, Northumberland NE66 2NP
Open every day 9 am until 7pm including Sundays and Bank Holidays
