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This is one for all you fellow book geeks out there!
I've been meaning to blog about Barter Books for a long, long time, but for some reason I never quite got round to it. I don't know why - it's one of the single, greatest places I have ever visited! In actual fact, I could quite happily live there.
Based in Alnwick, Northumberland, it's a former railway station converted into a second-hand bookshop. Don't you just love that?! As soon as you step inside, you're greeted by warm, cosy open fires, while a huge model railway scoots its way around the ceiling of the shop (I walked nose-first into a stack of books because I was so busy trying to trace its movements!)
The scent of second-books hits you like a wave as soon as you walk in which, if you're a freak like me, is possibly one of the most comforting smells in the world.
Anyway, Barter Books is truly a place to get lost in. As one of the largest second-hand bookshops in Europe, it has a ridiculous amount of books by every author imaginable, with an unbelievable array of subjects covered.
If you want to cosy up with a book or ten, there's a great cafe full of homemade cakes and tea, which also happens to be the perfect place to sit down and write. There are also incredible first-editions worth billions of pounds (a little exaggeration), while Barter Books are the ones you have to thank for re-discovering the Keep Calm and Carry On war posters, so there's plenty to spend your pennies on...
I love the fact that each aisle is lined with famous literary quotes too! If you're looking for places to discover this summer, make this one of your first stops - I promise it's worth every penny in petrol!
Sam x
