10 of the best: Secondhand bookshops

Any Amount of Books on Charing Cross Road, London In a street committed to ­bookselling this shop stands out for its rapid turnover, eclectic stock and reasonable prices. Outside, there are £1 paperbacks and the basement is given over to ­bargains. Curiosities are paraded in the window display, which alters daily, and the main shop floor is a general mix of literature and non-fiction. For £10-£15 you can buy tooled leather bindings to give your living room that stately home library ambience. A different stock is available in an online catalogue. 56 Charing Cross Road, London WC2 Tel: 020-7836 3697 anyamountofbooks.com Photograph: Linda Nylind

Barter Books, Alnwick Station, Northumberland “The British Library of secondhand books,” raved the New Statesman. Part of the thrill is the setting – in an ­elaborate Victorian railway station, buffers and ticket grille still in place. You can leave the children in the ­playroom and browse among the books before an open fire in the waiting room, with a cup of coffee. The shop was established as a book swap centre 20 years ago and you can still exchange your old tomes for other people’s. Prices range from 30p to £20,000 and most subjects are covered through the seven packed rooms. The catalogue is available on the website and you can purchase online. Alnwick Station, Northumberland 01665 604888 barterbooks.co.uk Photograph: PR

Bath Old Books in Bath, Somerset You won’t find dog-eared Harold ­Robbins here – only decent literature in good condition. The shop is a co-­operative run by five approachable dealers, each of whom takes turns at the counter, each with specialist knowledge. Art, architecture, literature, travel and children’s books are the focus – mostly hardbacks, prices starting at £5. Inside it’s crammed but orderly and beneath the modest facade there’s also a large basement. 9c Margaret’s Buildings, Brock Street, Bath, Tel: 01225 422 244 Photograph: PR

Gresham Books, Crewkerne, Somerset In a workaday town, this is a cache of rare treasures. The shop tries to flatter every taste, provided it’s good taste, and it steers clear of the internet so that you have to come in and browse (you can order by phone or post). ­Unusually, it keeps its rarities on open shelves. Each ­section is ­meticulously detailed – you won’t find four collapsing editions of Alan ­Titchmarsh in Gardening, but specialist guides to all aspects of the subject. Early cookery, art, fashion and textiles are a speciality. 31 Market Street, Crewkerne Tel: 01460 77726 Photograph: PR

Scarthin Books in Cromford, Derbyshire It lures the nervous in with reassuring new titles – 40,000 across the range – then seduces them with the “aroma and mystique” of a similar number of secondhand books interpersed among them. This is a labyrinth – 13 rooms, cubby-holes crammed with volumes, plus an organic cafe, the walls of which are lined with literary curiosities. A children’s room contains 9,000 books old and new. There’s a large ­collection of secondhand sheet music and ­antiquarian treasures. The Promenade, Scarthin, Cromford Tel: 01629 823272 scarthinbooks.com Photograph: Alamy

Scriveners in Buxton, Derbyshire It packs 30,000 volumes over five floors and to encourage browsing, tea and coffee-making facilities plus cake and a donations box sit next to easy chairs. It specialises in antiquarian and first editions, but you’re just as likely to find that old Penguin for a couple of quid and the children’s section is expansive. There’s a tiny Victorian museum in the old cellar kitchen and an in-house bindery that will restore, rebind or create any book to order. 42 High St, Buxton, Derbyshire Tel: 01298 73100 scrivenersbooks.co.uk Photograph: Alamy

The Book shop in Wigtown, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland Scotland’s biggest second-hand ­bookshop and “A work of art”, according to George Galloway MP. It presides over Scotland’s national book town and, inside, a mile of ­shelving holds books on all subjects and prices. There are sofas in the gallery and good coffee. Local history books are a ­speciality. ­Customers tend to spend hours ­browsing and for those who can’t tear themselves away, the owners offer self-catering accommodation. 17 North Main St, Wigtown Tel: 01988 402499 the-bookshop.com Photograph: Alamy

The Haunted Bookshop in Cambridge Tucked down a winding passage in the shadow of a church, the Haunted Bookshop is small but richly stocked. Collectible children’s books occupy the first floor, ranging in price from a fiver to £1,000, and there is a more ­modest selection of cheap general fiction downstairs. The speciality is illustrated books and, though there is an antiquarian section bearing price tags of several thousand pounds, the atmosphere is relaxed and hospitable. “Hushed voices are banned,” says the owner. 9 St Edwards Passage, Cambridge Tel: 01223 312913 sarahkeybooks.co.uk Photograph: Alamy

Wenlock Books in Much Wenlock, Shropshire If you’re lucky, afternoon tea will be brought as you browse in a wicker chair in one of the nooks of this 15th-century building (later in the day you get a glass of wine with your cake). The ­hospitable atmosphere – there are regular ­reading groups – plus its wide ­selection of titles won it the Bookseller’s ­Association ­accolade of best ­independent ­bookseller of the year in 2006. New books are downstairs; ­upstairs, ­secondhand titles are crammed ­beneath the ancient beams. 12 High Street, Much Wenlock Tel: 01952 727877 wenlockbooks.co.uk Photograph: PR

Westwood Books in Sedbergh, Cumbria The idea is to borrow some of the chic sleek of new emporiums – a former ­cinema is the very place for such an experiment. Sedbergh is officially England’s book town and Evelyn Westwood and her husband moved their shop there from the Welsh equivalent, Hay-on-Wye, bringing with them the country’s largest selection of -­ologies, especially psychology. There are 70,000 antiquarian, secondhand and discounted new volumes; ground-to-order coffee and sofas are laid on. Leisure House, Long Lane, Sedbergh Tel: 015396 21233 westwoodbooks.co.uk Photograph: PR