Bookshops in Scotland/South East Scotland

Border Reader Bookshop/MELROSE/Old Melrose Furniture StudioRavenswood

The Border Reader Bookshop Open at advertised times

Old Melrose Furniture Studio Ravenswood MELROSE TD6 9DF

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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 Open at advertised times

2 Silver Street HAWICK TD9 0AD

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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 Open at advertised times

34 High Street INNERLEITHEN EH44 6HF

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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 Open at advertised times

1 Bridge Street EAST LINTON EH40 3AG

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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 Open at advertised times

23 Quality Street NORTH BERWICK EH39 4HR

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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 Phone before travelling

11 Northgate PEEBLES EH45 8RX

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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

Reuse Scotland /NORTH BERWICK/19-21 Station Hill

Reuse Scotland Open at advertised times

19-21 Station Hill NORTH BERWICK EH39 4AS

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tel: 07793 559675 e-mail web

Open: Monday - Saturday 10.30 - 4.30, Sunday 10.30 - 4.00

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Recycling centre with a pay-what-you-want second-hand bookshop.

This large recycling outlet opened in October 2023 in the former Wilkie's clothing store in North Berwick town centre. A wide range of goods and products are donated here for reuse. There is a book department with a sizeable stock of fiction and non-fiction, including some vintage titles, as well as a good selection of children's books. As at the Zero Waste Reuse Hub in Dunbar, which is also run by Reuse Scotland, customers are invited to pay whatever price they think is fair for their books. All proceeds are donated to local food banks, charities and community groups. The premises are only a couple of minutes from the railway station. Booker T 13.06.25

Scott_s Selkirk/SELKIRK/18 Market Place

Scott's Selkirk Open at advertised times

18 Market Place SELKIRK TD7 4BT

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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 Open at advertised times

Waterston House ABERLADY EH32 0PY

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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)

St Columba_s Hospice Care/NORTH BERWICK/41 Westgate

St Columba's Hospice Care Open at advertised times

41 Westgate NORTH BERWICK EH39 4AG

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tel: 0131 287 6672 e-mail web

Open: Tuesday - Saturday 9.00 - 4.00

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Second-hand bookshop and café, opened in June 2025. Sizeable stock of books.

St Columba's Hospice opened this bookshop and coffee shop on 3rd June in the former Westgate gallery in the centre of North Berwick. It also sells gifts and stationery, but the second-hand books - which occupy the main part of the premises, with the café at the rear - are the prime focus. There is quite a large stock of books here. Before opening, more than 5,000 had been donated and the shop has been very busy in its opening fortnight. North Berwick, on the East Lothian coast, is a very affluent town indeed and a ready source of good-quality donations. The shop is a five-minute walk from North Berwick railway station, which has an hourly train service from Edinburgh. Bus services from Edinburgh (X5 and 124), Dunbar (120) and Haddington (121 and 122) stop very nearby at Beach Road. Booker T 13.06.25

Walk This Way/COLDSTREAM/60 High Street

Walk This Way Open at advertised times

60 High Street COLDSTREAM TD12 4DH

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tel: 01890 883355 e-mail web

Open: Monday - Friday 9.30 - 5.00, Saturday 9.30 - 1.00

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Militaria and army surplus shop, established in 1995. Wide range of stock, including second-hand military books.

The enjoyably idiosyncratic Walk This Way has been a fixture in the border town of Coldstream for 30 years. As well as medals, cap badges and insignia, clothing, and a wide range of British and foreign military ephemera including vintage maps and photographs, it has a fairly small but good stock of second-hand books on military subjects. There may be a few books on other topics, such as country sports, from time to time, but military life and history are the shop's raison d'être. The prices, although not cheap, are broadly reasonable. In the cellar of the premises is a small museum with interesting military items on display. The owner, Trevor, is enthusiastic and very knowledgeable. Dogs are made very welcome!

Coldstream is an attractive place, on the north bank of the River Tweed, just across the border from England. Walk This Way is right in the centre of town. The 67 bus runs every two hours and connects the town to Berwick-upon-Tweed, Kelso, Melrose and Galashiels. On Monday to Friday only, the 34 bus from Duns makes two return trips to Coldstream. Booker T 22.05.25

Zero Waste Reuse Hub (Reuse Scotland)/DUNBAR/Unit 2, Countess Crescent

Zero Waste Reuse Hub (Reuse Scotland) Open at advertised times

Unit 2, Countess Crescent DUNBAR EH42 1DX

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tel: 07793 559675 e-mail web

Open: Monday - Saturday 10.00 - 5.00, Sunday 10.00 - 4.30

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Recycling centre with a pay-what-you-want second-hand bookshop.

Dunbar is the headquarters of Reuse Scotland, a charity that works to divert reusable materials away from landfill for community benefit. The Zero Waste Reuse Hub opened here in a former supermarket in 2017. It has a large second-hand book department with a wide choice of donated books. Customers can choose what price to pay. All proceeds are ploughed back into the community, helping the disadvantaged and vulnerable, and improving the local environment.

The premises are about a seven-minute walk from Dunbar railway station, which is served by eight trains a day from Edinburgh (five on Sundays) during the hub's opening hours, with a similar number of trains from Berwick-on-Tweed. Buses from Edinburgh (X7 and 253, the latter Monday-Saturday only), Musselburgh (107), North Berwick (120) and Berwick on Tweed (253, not Sundays) stop nearby on the High Street and at the railway station. Booker T 13.06.25

Secondhand and Antiquarian Bookshops in the UK and Republic of Ireland