Barter Books
Alnwick Station Alnwick NE66 2NP
Mary and Stuart Manley's secondhand bookshop in Alnwick has a worldwide reputation – a fame partly down to their rediscovery and production of the World War II 'Keep Calm and Carry On' posters, but also because the bookshop is just so darned fantastic. It's housed in Alnwick's massive old Victorian railway station for a start, which explains the model railway running around the book stacks, the station clock, and drinks and food from the 'Station Buffet'. But who else would put down rugs, light open fires in the winter, fill a room with toys for kids and stick comfy seats in every available corner? It's an amazing testament to the power of the humble book – or not so humble when it comes to the valuable antiquarian collection. We hesitate to suggest you can find any book you want in here, but it's certainly worth devoting – ooh, let's say a month – to try and find it. Planning on going somewhere else in Northumberland today? Good luck with that.
