This post is a celebration of Bristol’s marvellous indie bookshops. Yesterday, I joined a Bookshop Crawl — think of it as an old-school pub crawl, but with books and bookish people. There were two competing tours that day; we chose the longer, four-hour walk. We visited eight bookshops in total, but there are so many more that we’ll be doing Part 2 soon to cover the route we missed.
Shop #1: Max Minerva’s
This was a brilliant start to the day. I was slightly worried about buying too many books and carrying them for four hours, so I didn’t purchase anything here — but I’m planning to return for their author event with the wonderful Emma Stonex in July. I loved her novel The Lamplighters. The staff here were lovely!
Shop #2: Gloucester Road Books
I’ve always wanted to visit this shop, as I pass it regularly on the bus to work. They had such an intriguing collection — so many books I’d never seen before. We had to edge carefully around each other because we filled the whole space. I picked up Evenings and Weekends by Oisín McKenna. I’ve been meaning to get it for a while, ever since attending a Faber editing course with him a few years ago, where I got to read an excerpt from his work in progress. His writing gave me chills — so beautiful and impactful.
Shop #3: The Amnesty Bookshop
The woman in this shop was incredibly helpful. She told us there’s a treasure trove of books in the basement — if we spotted an author but not the title we were after, she could check downstairs. As a second-hand bookshop, it has an eclectic mix that reflects the diversity of the Bristol community. I found a very dusty old book titled The Sexual Responsibility of Women with some truly bizarre advice about pre-marriage health checks and the “myth of frigidity.” I also found a miniature book called On Great Men — not sure why it was so tiny, or why there were so few men in it.
Shop #4: The Haunted Bookshop
A female-owned indie bookshop specialising in witchcraft, the occult, folklore, fantasy, and horror. This was my favourite stop so far — I bought The Corn Bride by the legendary Mark Stay and Bitterthorn by Kat Dunn, which sounds fabulous and has a gorgeous cover. They offer tarot readings downstairs, but none of us were brave enough to try it. The shop is tiny but perfectly curated, with a wonderfully witchy vibe — right up my alley.
Shop #5: Second Page
This place was a fantastic surprise. I’ve been to The Galleries so many times and never noticed it before. They were playing melodic anti-fascist Italian songs in the background, with comfy stools for browsing the lower shelves and armchairs for relaxing. We even got a sneak peek behind the scenes — a secret book-filled trove through a dim hallway leading us into bookish Narnia. As each member of our group entered, the look of wonder on their faces was delightful. We bought three books here — the standout was The Wild Imperium by Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis, with rough-cut pages and stunning artwork.
Shop #6: Beware of the Leopard
👉 bristol.gov.uk/st-nicholas-markets/shopping/beware-of-the-leopard-books
Tucked away in the heart of St Nicholas Market, this bookshop is named after a reference from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Lots of intriguing books here — my husband picked up a poetry collection. Do note, it's a cash-only shop, but there's a convenient cashpoint nearby.
Shop #7: Arnolfini Bookshop
By the time we reached Arnolfini, we were starting to feel the miles — but this art-focused bookshop still made an impression. It’s part of the Arnolfini contemporary arts centre and has a distinctly creative, high-brow vibe. A book on lost spells caught my eye, but we moved on before I could buy it — I’ll be going back for that one.
Shop #8: Bookhaus
This is our local shop, and we pop in most weeks. The team is lovely and incredibly knowledgeable. The collection leans toward political radicalism — if my husband were a bookshop, he’d be Bookhaus. Their feminist table always draws me in, leaving me equal parts fascinated and furious. I’ve signed up for their feminist book club and can’t wait to join.
After all that walking, we ended the day with a well-earned pint at The Junction on the corner of Wapping Wharf, then headed home for a well-deserved nap.
There are more bookshop crawls around the country — we’re already planning a few day trips to explore more.