Secondhand and Antiquarian Bookshops in South Wales

Bear Island
Stalls 178-180 Central Market
CARDIFF CF10 1AU
tel: 02920 388631 map
Open: Monday - Saturday - 8.00 - 5.30.
Very good range of stock, pretty good layout, reasonable prices. Found this by accident wandering round market, was one of the best bookshops in the city, well worth a visit. - The Wanderer 30.10.09.

Books To Go Bookshop
The Victorian Arcade  The Pumping Station  Penarth Road
CARDIFF  CF11 8TT
tel: 07779 245 440  e-mail  website  map
Open: Tuesday - Sunday 10.00 - 4.30.
We have a wide selection of books for sale including vintage paperbacks, film tie-ins, contemporary fiction, kids books and Welsh interest. Find us downstairs in the Victorian Arcade (opposite the lion) next to the cafe.
    Poor, small stock (yes I know they say size doesn't matter, but they lied), nothing to make the trip out from city centre worth the effort. - The Wanderer 30.10.09.

Broadleaf Books
16 Monk Street
ABERGAVENNY Gwent  NP7 5NP
tel: 01873 857127  e-mail  map
Open: Monday - Saturday 10.00 - 5.00.
Good selection of local history, natural history and just plain history. Photography, architecture and art along with cooking and gardening as well as much more. Always welcome to visit in this historic market town. Books are bought as well as sold.
     Broadleaf traded for over five years in Blaenafon and has now moved to Abergavenny. - TBG 23.06.09.

Browning Books
33 Broad Street
BLAENAFON Torfaen NP4 9NF
tel: 01495 790089 e-mail website map
Open: Tuesday - Saturday 10.00 - 5.00.
Stephanie and Andrew Nummerlin specialise in childrens' literature and also stock books on transport and local interest.

Capital Bookshop
27 Morgan Arcade
CARDIFF  CF10 1AF
tel: 02920 388423  e-mail  map
Open: Monday - Saturday 10.00 - 5.30.
    A glorious looking shop in one of Cardiff's most elegant arcades, but let down by the stock which is getting rather old and tired and needs a good clearing out and restocking. - George Marshall 26.02.09.
    I last visited six years ago (and the owner recognised me!) and it seemed that the stock had hardly changed. Pleasant time chatting and browsing. Told that the landlord had upped the rent so steeply the shop might not have a future. Very little rare material but nice general books. - Chris Harte 03.09.09.
    Disorganised, shabby and not a lot worth looking at. Got to agree with George Marshalls comments from 26/02/09. - The Wanderer 30.10.09.
    Negative comments can do a bookshop a great deal of damage. The negative comments you post on your website re the above shop put me off seeking it out but I stumbled upon it while walking though Morgan Arcade anyway and found your negative reviews wholly unjustified - a shop where the stock is not on the web is always worth a visit and this is no exception. I think you should remove your perjorative [sic] reviews - you are supposed to be helping not hindering the booktrade. - Ian Mathieson 22.11.09.
    I have had great books from here and love nothing more than a browse when visiting Cardiff. Yes it's shabby but I tell you there are some rare items for real enthusiasts. I had a mint set of 6 Heinrich Heine 1936 (Leipzig)for under £40 & you can't fault that. The illustrations were superb (even if you didn't speak Deutsch). A leather Columbus £15, Fabres Insects; Audabon; Crighton's History of Arabia 2 vols., Darwin's Beagle leather bound. Can't be bad. - audreyannmold 04.12.09.

Fully Booked
Abergavenny Market
Cross Street
ABERGAVENNY Monmouthshire NP7 5HD
tel: 07772 376672 website map
Open: Wednesday flea market and antiques fair third Sunday in every month.
Rare, antique, first edition, collectable, and interesting books.

Headwater Books
19 Broad Street
BLAENAFON Torfaen NP4 9ND
tel: 01495 791611
Open: Wednesday & Thursday 10.00 - 5.00, Friday & Saturday 10.00 - 3.00.
Art, poetry, history, military, spiritual and many other types of books. Also at Abergavenny Market

Oxfam Bookshop
36 St Mary Street
CARDIFF  CF10 1AD
tel: 029 20 222275  map
    General stock which must have been supplied from a central depot as all categories were uniform and just fitted into the right shelves. Nothing of value. - Chris Harte 03.09.09.
    Regarding your reviewer's comments - I volunteer here and our books are not centrally sourced. We collect direct from donors' homes in Cardiff and only sell good quality books. - marg.wat 04.09.09.
    I was surprised at the wide range of books and once you get away from the general paperbacks, prices were very reasonable. I actually liked the shop and even found the staff friendly. (now there is a novelty for me, praise for an Oxfam shop) - The Wanderer 30.10.09.

The Railway Shop
13a Broad Street
BLAENAFON Torfaen NP4 9ND
tel: 01495 792263 map
Please ring for opening times.
Railway hobby supplies in aid of the Pontypool and Blaenafon Railway. Has some new and secondhand books - TBG.

Serendipity Books
87 Broad Street
BLAENAFON Torfaen NP4 9NE
tel: 01495 793111 map
Books about spiritualism, witchcraft, magic, u.f.o’s and complementary therapies.

Stella Books
Monmouth Road
TINTERN  Monmouthshire  NP16 6SE
tel: 01291 689755  fax: 01291 689998  e-mail  website  map
Open daily 9.30 - 5.30
A large stock of 30,000 books on all subjects, specialising in children's and illustrated, UK topography, railways and natural history. Picture gallery with wide selection of antique views of local area. Free booksearch service. Catalogues issued. Stock available on web site. Featured Bookseller

Troutmark Books
39-43 Castle Arcade
CARDIFF  CF10 1BW
tel: 029 203 82814
Open: Monday - Saturday 10.00 - 5.00.
    Tucked just inside an arcade opposite Cardiff Castle, this is the largest (and I think the cosiest) second hand bookshop in Cardiff. Three floors offer a good coverage of all topics. Books are in good condition, well presented and include a good proportion of recent publications, Troutmark is especially strong on modern literature and dedicates its top floor to science fiction/ pulp magazines/ephemera and comics. - George Marshall 26.02.09.
    Many books over three floors. Huge number of paperbacks; lots of science-fiction; boxes of magazines but very little material pre-1960. Good for the general reader. - Chris Harte 03.09.09.
    Lovely shop, very well laid out andd large stock. Sadly though I found them to be rather overpriced with very few affordable collectables. Should have listened to Chris Harte. - The Wanderer 30.10.09.

Whitchurch Books Ltd
67 Merthyr Road  Whitchurch
CARDIFF  CF14 1DD
tel: 02920 521956  fax: 02920 623599  e-mail  map
Open: Monday - Saturday 10.00 - 5.00 .
    Very difficult to open the front door as this is now a storeroom with owner working on the internet. Impossible to browse. Only books visible to read the title were in front window. My detour was a complete waste of time. - Chris Harte 03.09.09.
    Jammed to the doors during my visit. Books overpriced. Staff were could-not-care-less; one was offensive. Very little on the area, Wales, and Welsh. Only the shops in the Castle Arcade (overpriced) and the Capital Bookshop are worth a visit. Cardiff is so poor for secondhand books - R Morgan 24.02.10

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