Secondhand and Antiquarian Bookshops in the UK and Republic of Ireland
News:
Linton Books has closed.
New listing Damascus Drum Hawick
New shop Night Owl Books East Linton
The Book Room Melrose closed in October 2024
new listing Scott's Selkirk
Open at advertised times
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Appointment necessary
Status unknown, update requested
We do our best to make sure these details are correct and up-to-date. However we recommend that you contact bookshops before making a special journey.
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Border Reader Bookshop/MELROSE/Old Melrose Furniture StudioRavenswood
The Border Reader Bookshop
Old Melrose Furniture Studio Ravenswood MELROSE TD6 9DF
map
tel:
01835 824597 e-mail
Open: 7 days 11.00 - 5.00
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Reached from a small right hand turn off the A68 just south of the roundabout. Small but select range of secondhand books; quality fiction and poetry, academic and general non-fiction, with an emphasis on philosophy, literary/ cultural theory, and history, plus classical CDs. Beautiful off road setting, with cafe, antiques, gifts and furniture showrooms on site.
Upstairs in farm courtyard off the A68. Good interesting stock. (No mass mkt p/backs and celeb. biogs.) Found 2 unusual art history titles. Stock not yet online so well worth a visit. Chris K 27.07.11
Well worth a detour, this small attic shop is completely devoid of coffee table and mass market clutter, and the focus is on quality titles. Prices very reasonable. At the time of writing, cards are not accepted so you will need to bring some cash. An added bonus is the little coffee shop below. Steven Kelly 21.11.13
Worth noting they put the book price on a slip of paper at the BACK, confusing at first as some old prices still exist at the front and only a smal notice to explain this. lovely place to visit. PaulP 01.03.14
Lovely location above a cafe and antique centre. Signposted from main road, not in Melrose Books well displayed (confusingly prices are on postit at back) but mostly very common titles, didn't find anything to purchase. HB 22.09.19
I'm afraid this has gone. A visit yesterday to the site marked on the linked map revealed no commercial activity, and the website is down. MO 08.09.24
I'm very sorry. I think that map has misled you. The marker is placed at the centre of the postcode area, which in sparsely populated areas can be quite large. The shop, antiques centre and cafe are in Old Melrose Farm, reached from the right turn south of the roundabout. I'll point this out in the description.
True, the shop website is gone, also their Facebook page. But Google Maps shows a photo of bookcases from November and the last review, a month old, mentions the books. TBG2 08.09.24
Damascus Drum/HAWICK/2 Silver Street
Damascus Drum
2 Silver Street HAWICK TD9 0AD
map
tel:
07707 856 123 e-mail web 
Open: Monday - Saturday 10.00 - 3.00
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Café and second-hand bookshop. Also sells Anatolian rugs!
Last Century Books/INNERLEITHEN/34 High Street
Last Century Books
34 High Street INNERLEITHEN EH44 6HF
map
tel:
01896 831759 e-mail web
Open: Monday - Saturday 11.00 - 5.00
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A few new books, good secondhand modern paperbacks & hard back fiction. Large selection of non-fiction, especially Scottish, sport, military, topography and some antiquarian. Now one of the Borders biggest secondhand, old and out of print bookshops with 19000 titles in stock and many more in store.
Easily found and also easy to park at, while it does have a small selection of antiques don't let that part of its name put you off. This is a medium sized shop with a good selection of books in a village in the Scottish Borders between Peebles and Galashiels. It has one main room with two smaller ones at the back and while perhaps a little cramped when there are a lot of browsers, it is worth going out of your way to visit. Jeremy Briggs
Shop attracts repeat customers with varied large stock, covering most genres. Best titles in a glass case or behind sales desk are online. Chatty, helpful knowledgable owners. WAD. Chris K 27.07.11
Another good bookshop. TommyG 09.12.11
Last Century Books vies with The Border Reader as best secondhand bookshop in the borders. Excellent prices, very wide stock, strong on Scottish titles, outdoor pursuits and classic fiction. Lots of classic children's books as well. Don't miss the Tardis-like cubbyhole in the middle of the shop which contains another room full of books. Well worth a detour. Steven Kelly 10.07.15
A traditional bookshop with wide variety of stock and friendly owner. Strong on Scottish interest. Some sections a little jumbled (eg history) but fun to browse. Prices reasonable. HB 22.09.19
A lovely traditional shop whose large interior belies the smallish facade. A very pleasant and helpful owner and a most productive visit. Wessexman 06.09.21
Nice old fashioned shop to browse and rummage through. Deceptively spacious and crammed with books. Pretty well organised. Run by a very pleasant fella with a very dry sense of humour. Most categories covered and prices very reasonable indeed.
Take note - opens at 11am. Don't worry too much if he's a bit late. Innerleithen is a lovely laid back place that seems to go at it's own pace a bit. He came along to open up about 10 minutes later, to be met by 3 of us waiting outside his shop. He offered us a 2.5% discount on all purchases as an apology - as long as we spent over £100. Told you he had a dry sense of humour... Recommended! Flip M 27.07.22
A good traditional secondhand bookshop with friendly owner. Slightly chaotic with piles of books on the floor but that’s what makes browsing fun. Also some prints, antiques, and bits and bobs. Lots of paperback fiction and Scottish interest. Prices very reasonable. All the internet stock seems to be in boxes on high shelves and not available for browsing. I quite understand why but it does mean many interesting books are hidden away. HB 20.06.24
Night Owl Books/EAST LINTON/1 Bridge Street
Night Owl Books
1 Bridge Street EAST LINTON EH40 3AG
map
e-mail web
Open: Thursday - Monday 11.00 - 7.00
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Independent bookshop, opened in 2022. Mainly new books, but also second-hand stock.
Pennyfarthing/NORTH BERWICK/23 Quality Street
The Pennyfarthing
23 Quality Street NORTH BERWICK EH39 4HR
map
tel:
01620 89 0114
Open: Monday - Friday 10.00 (ish) - 5.00, Sunday 2.00 - 5.00.
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Priorsford Books/PEEBLES/11 Northgate
Priorsford Books
11 Northgate PEEBLES EH45 8RX
map
tel:
07522 934770 e-mail web
Open: Wednesday - Saturday 10.30 - 4.30, Sunday 10.30 - 4.00 but check Facebook or Twitter
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Strong on children's collectables, also general Scottish interest, women's fiction, crime, Greyladies, Folio, social history, magazine, prints and literary gifts.
Small shop, beautifully laid out, some new books, also prints, magazines and book related gifts. Strong on children's, folio, John and Anna Buchan, women's fiction, orange penguins, Persephone etc Some Scottish interest. Not open every day. HB 22.09.19
Priorsford Books is changing ownership TBG2 07.07.21
Now advertising opening times of 10.30 am to 4.30 pm on Wednesdays to Saturdays, and 10.30 am to 4.00 pm on Sundays, subject to changes notified on Facebook and Twitter. Wessexman 06.09.21
Small but well laid out with stock generally in very good condition. Strong on Scottish interest, literary biogs, history and fiction, when I called in. Easy to browse - it is really just 2 small rooms. Sadly nothing in my interests (general and old TV/film biogs, military history and football) today. But if you're calling in to the shop in Innerleithen (and you should), this is only a few miles away so well worth the trip.
Peebles is very busy and touristy. Traffic is rather busy too. Park in the east car park near Sainsburys. Walk through Sainsburys and exit the opposite door - you're in Northgate 50 yards or so from the shop. Saves you a long walk. Flip M 27.07.22
Scott_s Selkirk/SELKIRK/18 Market Place
Scott's Selkirk
18 Market Place SELKIRK TD7 4BT
map
tel:
01750 22217 and 07934 978028 e-mail web
Open: Tuesday - Saturday 10.00 - 5.00
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Second-hand charity bookshop with wide-ranging general stock. Low prices.
The royal burgh of Selkirk has strong associations with Sir Walter Scott. An annual event is held on the first weekend of October in which the life and times of the author are celebrated, with street performances, readings, courtroom re-enactments, music, market stalls and many other activities. This long-established bookshop helps to fund the festival. It has a sizeable stock of second-hand books, mostly sold at low prices (typically £1.50), and also a few new books by local authors. The shop is in the heart of the town centre. It is the only outlet in Selkirk where second-hand books are sold in any quantity, so don't miss it if visiting. Selkirk railway station closed decades ago, but the town can be reached on the hourly X95 Edinburgh-Carlisle bus service (half-hourly on the Galashiels-Hawick section of the route, which serves Selkirk) as well as on the hourly 73 route from Galashiels. Booker T 08.04.25
Scottish Ornithologists_ Club Bookshop /ABERLADY/Waterston House
Scottish Ornithologists' Club Bookshop
Waterston House ABERLADY EH32 0PY
map
tel:
01875 871330 e-mail web
Open: Thursday - Sunday 10.00 - 5.00 or by appointment
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Secondhand books covering a broad range of (world-wide) ornithology and natural history subjects. Collections include New Naturalist and Bannerman titles. The SOC is a registered Scottish charity (SC 009859)
