There are a lot of good bookshops in London. Wandering around Daunt Books or Waterstones for a couple of hours, then reading my new purchase in a coffee shop, is my idea of a very good morning. But these three are something else. Not the newest or the biggest necessarily, but the ones that stay with you, and that you'll want to photograph from every angle.
A floating bookshop
Word on the Water
Books on a boat. Yes, you heard me right. Word on the Water is really unique, and I visited for the first time on my birthday this year. Located on a 1920s Dutch barge on the Regent’s Canal at Granary Square in King’s Cross, they sell a mix of both new and second-hand books. They also sometimes do live music on the boat roof. More popular than you would think, so it can get slightly busy on weekends.
They only got a permanent mooring in 2015, after years of being made to move every fortnight and a petition signed by 6,000 people. Proof that people still care about bookshops.
📍Regent’s Canal Towpath, London N1C 4LW
A cosy bookshop
John Sandoe
The one I keep returning to, and not only because it's pretty, but because its selection is impeccable and the staff very helpful. John Sandoe primarily sells new books, and the curation is incredible. Do not miss the upstairs floor when you go, you will find window seats and bookshelves that slide to reveal more books.
It's three eighteenth-century shops joined into one, and before the books arrived they were a tobacconist, a poodle parlour called Chloe of Chelsea, a secretarial agency, a dress shop, and a vet who looked after Churchill's dogs.
Grab one of their tote bags along with your book of choice, they're great. An all time favourite of mine.
📍 10-12 Blacklands Terrace, Chelsea, London SW3 2SR
A book fever dream
Hurlingham Books
This is truly one of a kind. The owner Ray Cole opened it in 1968 and still opens up every morning, and they claim to be the oldest independent bookshop in south west London.
The outside of Hurlingham Books is already impressive, with piles and rows of books going around the two façades. But it doesn’t stop there, and once you step inside it’s like being swallowed by books, almost a fever dream of stepping back in time. It’s tiny, but full of personality. You can browse for cheap books, and they have rare vintage books at the back. Because it’s in a quieter part of town, it’s usually not busy.
They also supply books to film and television, so if you’ve watched The Crown or Fantastic Beasts, you’ve seen books from this shop.
📍 91 Fulham High Street, London SW6 3JS
Which bookshop, anywhere in the world, has stayed with you?