Carnforth Bookshop, Carnforth, Lancashire
Let’s start close to home, with a bookshop that claims to have over a hundred thousand books on their shelves; and as you climb several flights of stairs, I would definitely believe that! Not only do they have new books on the ground floor, ranging through classics, general fiction, history, and local interest, but upon going up a flight of stairs you reach the first floor: second-hand treasure trove. Depending on what your interests are, you could honestly spend hours going through the shelves looking for hidden treasures, because given the sheer number of books, there’s going to be hidden treasures to find! On this floor there is also a section dedicated to antiquarian books, and there is an in house specialist to answer questions and source antiquarian tomes.
One thing I found funny when I was in there just the other day, is that they’ve put a working train time ticker on the first floor above the door (Carnforth train station is just down the road). I asked why they had it, and a colleague said that it was because they’ve had people miss their trains because they were too busy looking through the shelves that they lost track of time. I can definitely believe that that could happen, it sounds like something that I would do!
Visit Carnforth Bookshop Website.
Forum Books, Corbridge, Northumberland
The original bookshop of what has now become three (one in Corbridge, one in Alnwick, and one in Whitley Bay) lies inside a converted chapel building, it’s an independent bookstore that I just love to go and have a good browse whenever I’m in the town. It’s a beautiful shop and wonderful to spend wiling away some time – if you ask my mum who’s been left waiting more than once, sometimes too much time!
The only thing that does sometimes get me and my ADHD brain is that they don’t separate by genres through most of the fiction/non-fiction (there are some collections that are separate (crime for example)), but the majority are mixed together, organised by author, meaning you have to search through to find what you want. To be honest, this is probably due to space and trying to maximalise the space that they have. Also, this is a clever way of doing things, because rather than being able to go straight for the history section, or just look at fantasy, you have to look through the whole shelf, potentially finding other authors and books that catch your eye along the way, it’s just a bit more time consuming.
It is a beautiful bookstore, and I love having a good mooch. If you need something specific, and don’t have the time to go digging, the friendly staff are incredibly helpful and will find out whether they have what you need, or order it in if they don’t. I have spent many a happy hour in there, browsing along the shelves. I got a book voucher for Christmas and literally started at one end of the shelves and made my way along them, looking for anything caught my eye. I’m going back up to Northumberland in June and I’m sure will be visiting again.
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Little Ripon Bookshop, Ripon, N. Yorkshire
This bookshop opened in my hometown when I was still at school there and was probably where about half the money from my Saturday job got spent on the regular! It was a lovely shop then and at the time was only the half the size it is now, so they’ve clearly done well over the years in order to expand – good for them! The shop was always light and bright, welcoming and airy, and I loved discovering what new releases they had in. I seem to recall they always good with their history section… it’s been a few years since I visited, I hope that’s still true! I’ll have to go back in the next time I head through my old hometown…
Every Tuesday from 11.30am-noon they run a story time for preschool aged children and their grand/parents/carers, free of charge, where a storybook is read and free drinks and biscuits are shared. I think this is a lovely idea and activity to do, and a great way to introduce kids into reading (free of screens!), and the magic of storytelling. Less and less children are getting into reading, and think that any action to try and combat this is excellent and worthy of praise and attention. I always had dreams of running my own bookshop… one day… maybe… and this would definitely be something I would host if I ever had the opportunity to do so.
The shop also hosts it’s own Book Club and other events including poetry evening and author signings, as well as working with local schools. It’s so lovely to know that there is a thriving independent bookshop in the town I grew up in.
Support your local independent bookstores and high street retailers, rather than the online delivery services – it’s worth it! These bookstores are a beating heart of our communities and provide spaces for people to gather, learn, and find new interests. We must protect them!
Visit Little Ripon Bookshop Website.
Do you have a favourite independent bookstore that’s located in the North? Let me know by commenting below, or send me an email at bryony@thenorthishlass.co.uk.