Much Ado Books
8 West St Alfriston East Sussex BN26 5UX
This diminutive village bookshop (complete with chickens clucking around in the yard outside) is fabulous from top to toe – and don’t just take our word for it: Much Ado won Independent Bookshop of the year in 2007, and in 2012 was named one of the UK’s top booksellers by The Independent, and one of the best independent shops in the country, no less, by The Guardian. Run by two welcoming Americans, Much Ado stocks thousands of carefully chosen, eclectic new books alongside a range of old and second-hand titles, with a good selection on the artists and authors of the Bloomsbury Group, whose country home, Charleston Farmhouse, is just a few miles away. It's all beautifully presented, and virtually impossible to leave empty-handed. Alongside the books there's a room of gorgeous greetings cards, plus wrapping paper, framed prints from old books and Much Ado’s own unique notebooks, made using the covers from old books that would otherwise be thrown away. Events, ranging from author talks (drawing some big names) to excellent craft workshops, take place upstairs.
