One of the reasons we started our Instagram account was to shout out amazing independent bookshops. When we go on our travels, we always try to visit a bookseller and buy a couple of titles so we’ll be posting about those trips on here, but before we get started, I’d like to give you a tour of our fantastic local bookshop, Scrivener’s Books & Bookbinding. Situated in the UK spa town of Buxton, it has five floors of full of second-hand books ranging across a huge variety of subjects from fiction through to conjuring to caving. The shop also sells rare titles online via Abebooks.
When you first walk in, you’re greeted by shelves of first editions and a busy bookbinding workshop. I always get side-tracked by the collectible children’s books next to the counter.
There’s an immediate sense of discovery and anticipation which continues as you climb to the first floor past a small, yet well-curated stationery section to my favourite room which houses fiction, children’s books and a little tea station complete with comfy armchairs. Don’t forget to stroke the tiger!
If you can tear yourself away from the snug and take the stairs to the second floor, you’ll be rewarded with yet more treasures. On the way, there’s a bookcase full of Folio Society editions, followed by a series of rooms containing sheet music, plays, poetry and sheet music, as well as a harmonium that you can play if you fancy having a go.
All good adventures involve an attic. This one’s no exception. Filled with maps to everywhere, travel guides, boxes containing strange and wonderful tomes, it’s worth the ascent. After a good browse, it’s back down to the bottom, most likely with a pile of tottering books!
But don’t leave before checking out the cellar. There’s a surprise waiting down there for you – a tiny Victorian museum with the original range cooker as well as more books, this time history, art and sport.
You can easily spend a few hours in this wonderfully rambling bookshop, but Buxton has lots to do if you’re planning a full day or a weekend away. In Martha’s own words ‘I love Buxton – it has fresh air and fresh water.’
Here are some other places of interest that we recommend:
