Barter Books

© Stephanie Forster

Hi everyone!

I thought I'd do something different today and post about my favourite bookshop.

The bookshop is called Barter Books and it's situated in Alnwick, Northumberland. It is quite a while away from me, but I don't mind the drive and so I go to the shop reasonably frequently. If any of you visit or live in the North East of England, I would highly recommend taking a journey there - it's certainly worth it and I know a lot of you would absolutely love it.

Barter Books is one of the largest secondhand book shops in Britain - it is actually a converted railway station which means it's very different, but that is why I adore it so much. As soon as you step through the door, there's a very homely atmosphere - there are seats around the fireplace as well as in other areas of the store as well as a buffet station, so you could definitely make yourself at home for a while. The decor is absolutely fantastic - it's nothing fancy, but it's gorgeous nonetheless. There is a huge painted writer's mural above the main room and there are painted wooden beams all throughout the station featuring pieces of writing from famous authors. Of course, being an ex-railway station, there is even a train inside - a small model train that goes around tracks above the tall bookcases, linking them in the main room. 

There is almost everything you could possibly want in this shop. There is everything you can imagine - from your modern teenage fiction, to specialist books on subjects such as engineering, religion and botany, to maps, to local books, to antique editions and rarities- a lot of these behind glass cabinets and costing thousands of pounds! There are a lot of more affordable old versions of books too, which are lovely to look at and search through - especially the children's books with their illustrations and fun covers!

As you may have figured from the name of it, customers can bring their old, read books in and exchange them for 'Barter' - money you can use in exchange for other books in the store, though this certainly isn't compulsory.

Another interesting fact is that Barter Books is the home of the original 'Keep Calm and Carry On' WWII poster - some of you may have seen it featured on the news recently.

I visited Barter Books yesterday and had my camera with me, so here are a few photographs that I hope you'll enjoy:

For more information, visit the official website @ www.barterbooks.co.uk

Have you visited Barter Books before or do you plan on visiting in the future?

Please leave your comments below - I'd love to see what you think!