Last week I was lucky enough to stumble across a wonderful second-hand bookshop in Alnwick, Northumberland.
http://www.barterbooks.co.uk/index.php
This shop, located in an old Victorian railway station built in 1887, was opened in 1991 and since then has grown a bit like Topsy. It is run by a couple with business and academic backgrounds helped by a variety of staff of all ages from 16 to 76. The New Statesman called it ‘The British Library of secondhand bookshops’. An accurate and very suitable compliment!
As you can see in this picture, in honour of the building’s history a railway line has been built linking the tops of some of the stacks and several trains with carriages run around it – there is a video on the shops’s website.
In the background you can see framed on the wall the original Keep Calm, Carry On poster.
Books on almost every conceivable subject (but nothing on Conductive Education unfortunately) are arranged by subject and easy to access. The old waiting room is now a cosy place with armchairs for spending time browsing your selection of books or having a cup of coffee, as a cafe is also on site.
I could have spent the whole day there. If you are ever in the area please do go and visit. I guarantee you will not leave without at least one book!