Literary Travels: Barter Books, Alnwick UK
Literary Travels: Barter Books, Alnwick UK
ABOUT BARTER BOOKS
Rambling, quirky secondhand bookstore, with open fires, armchairs, model trains and a simple café.
Information sourced from BarterBooks.co.uk
The shop has many extra features: open fires in the Winter, beloved by all. The Station Buffet with good plain food, coffee, tea and cookies. Plus Paradise, the new ice cream parlour. A model railway acting as a link between the book columns of the central room, along with poetry lines. Three stunning 40-foot murals. Numerous restored station features. Generous seating. A children's room with enough toys to allow parents and grandparents to browse elsewhere in peace - provided one guardian is left to look after the children! And a whole huge room lined with over forty glass cases containing many of the more interesting antiquarian books.
Preservation and Restoration: because of its architecture and history, the owners have done what they can (and felt privileged to do so) to restore and enhance their holding - as and when they could afford to. To that end, the lovely old canopy outside has been re-exposed, the fireplaces put back into working order, a missing skylight glassed in, rooms plastered and repainted. All of which, to our pleasure, has brought, after its closure in 1968, public life back to a building that was made for it.
But there's still much work to be done. And probably always will be. Just as Stuart dreams of bringing trains back into the station, for example, I dream of restoring the entire glass roof. And we both dream of having the time to just read a book.
GALLERY
My Visit
When my parents asked me where I wanted to go for my birthday this year there was only one place I had in mind.
Barter Books.
I have been stalking their Instagram avidly ever since a close friend of mine told me how bowled over she was not only by the selection of books- which Barter Books boasts to be one of the biggest second-hand selections in the UK- but also because of its undeniably quaint location- within the remnants of Alnwick Train Station. My dad loves trains and the history surrounding them, so this was a no-brainer for both of us. As of writing this, I have just returned from Barter Books and I have to say that I am knocked over by the uniqueness of this little gem and can’t help but wonder why more people aren’t talking about it? They have a great little buffet, and an Ice Cream parlour, the entire place is dog-friendly too so I got to see some cute doggos- bonus!
I knew going in that being a secondhand store I wasn’t going to find the latest Tik-Tok favourites, but I was especially happy to discover their phenomenal selection of first editions, special folio society printings, and reference books they had to offer, and picked myself up a whole stack of titles I’d never expected to find. The condition of most of the books was fantastic, and most of the ones I purchased personally were near enough immaculate.
The store itself gives off a laid-back vibe with smooth jazz coming in over the speakers for you to hum to as you peruse the seemingly endless stacks. The selection in this place is astonishing, and from the road, you really cannot appreciate how big this place is on the inside. I was in love with the fact that the entire store has a model railway running across the top of the bookshelves, with working trains to boot. So cute!!! Working fireplaces, original train station décor, vintage lighting and quirky furniture brings this whole place together as the most random yet fantastical place to sit and read. If you are passing by Alnwick, I cannot suggest you drop into this store enough. It has hundreds of places to sit and read, and even better, if you spend over £30, they give you a 10 Percent discount! I came away with quite the haul today, and I’m hoping to return again later in the week.
Have you been to Barter Books before? What did you think? Find any hidden gems? Let me know in the comments!
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON BARTER BOOKS GO TO BARTERBOOKS.CO.UK
Can you believe it’s March already?
I wrote the last Life Lately post in December, and it feels like a week ago, not twelve! Quite a bit has happened in the last 3 months, so I thought I’d so a little update post. After all, things can get so busy, it can be nice to look back and reflect on things once in a while.