Barter Books in Alnwick

About 35 miles North of Newcastle, take the A1 then the turning for Alnwick
Huge second-hand bookshop set within a Victorian railway station - barter system in full working order        
One of the largest in the UK
Tea, coffee, snacks and meals served in the comfortable waiting rooms
Accessible to all

Barter Books in Alnwick has got to be one of the marvels of the North.  It was set up in 1991 by Mary and Stuart Manley and acts as a repository for all kinds of texts, art to zoology, comedy to theology, children's literature to military history.



Dink kindly allowed me to take his picture at the desk, where the records of how much your books are worth are kept.

Here you will find book-lovers of every sort too, children through to octogenarians, academics through to lovers of romance.  And all enjoying that peculiarly gentle ambiance created by the browsing of books, simply for the pure pleasure of it.  I think it's that atmosphere which brings us back again and again. 


The mural by Peter Dodd of famous writers - don't worry there is a "key" to help you out.

Obviously others feel the same because the place is usually crowded and one couple chose to get married here!

Himself trusts the place to both provide useful texts for his studies and to give him a fair price for his own books for the staff seem to be both expert and fair.



I enjoy the arts and crafts section and I also adore the visual details provided by the specialist books on display or the tiny, old books, which have been opened at particularly decorative plates.

Wander under arches imprinted with famous words; watch the toy railway running above your head; settle yourself on padded benches or at a round table; sit by the fire and pour yourself a coffee and munch a biscuit; decode the life-size, famous writers' mural; relax and read.

Nostalgia is sweet

The place is beautifully warm, a perfect way to end your afternoon off and it's just as nice in the winter months too, even better when you think about sitting beside a roaring fire with a book in your hands.