Our Time at Barter Books

There are bookshops, and then there's Barter Books.

Housed inside Alnwick's magnificent old Victorian railway station, this is one of those places where you walk through the door and immediately feel you've discovered somewhere rather special. Old station rooms, towering shelves, worn wooden floors, rugs, railway architecture and thousands upon thousands of books make it feel less like a shop and more like somewhere from another time.

There's a little magic about the place. We half expected to turn a corner and find an old gentleman settled into an armchair, reading The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to a small group of children gathered around his feet.

You can happily lose an hour or two here without really intending to. Wander the shelves, hunt down an old favourite, discover something you've never heard of, browse the collectable books or simply find a comfortable corner and enjoy being surrounded by the written word.

And when Northumberland inevitably supplies one of those days when the rain is coming sideways, Barter Books suddenly becomes an even better idea. Warm, dry, wonderfully atmospheric, dog friendly and with a coffee shop inside. Frankly, the weather can do what it likes.

H&S says: Don't rush it. Come for a browse, stay for coffee and leave with a book you had absolutely no intention of buying. That seems to be how Barter Books works. 😄