Bookshops > South West > Devon > Barnstaple
Secondhand and Antiquarian Bookshops in the UK 2020
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Barnstaple Flea Market
The Pannier Market
Butchers Row
BARNSTAPLE Devon
tel: 01271 379084 web
Open: Monday - Saturday, Wednesdays Antiques & Collectables.
A handful of booksellers and other stalls with books.
Add a comment Read commentsHide commentsThree booksellers in the Pannier Market deserve a special mention. Sennash Books specialise in Henry Williamson, Exmoor and aviation, but also have general books on their stall. John Wilkinson, who deals in collectable children's books and toys, and Golden Books who had some high end West Country topography, as well as more general stock. - TBG 31.07.08.
Some of the personnel seem to have changed but there are still lots of books, ranging from holiday reading to collectable stuff. Worth a visit. - TBG 17.07.10.
I recently visited this long established market town and was surprised to find a thriving and bustling Pannier market with a number of excellent booksellers plying their trade. Some really nice books to be found here! - oko2020 12.12.14.
Disappointingly, on a recent trip to the South West I found that all the bookdealers mentioned above seem to have gone. There was one bookstall though, which had quite a decent selection of more unusual titles which made the detour worthwhile for me. - pol365 12.12.14.
In fact the large indoor market is open from Monday to Saturday. Currently the book seller Peter Hames has items for sale on Friday and Saturday. Well worth a look, but having already bought 15 books in my 2-week holiday, I was perhaps not quite ready to buy many more ... Peter Hames: Second hand and antiquarian books, including a wide selection of paperbacks. Also second hand CDs (jazz, folk, world music, classical. Speciality: North Devon topography (including Exmoor and Lundy). - Chris K 01.10.15.
SolBooks
2 Bridge Street Chambers
The Strand
BARNSTAPLE Devon EX31 1HB map
tel: 01271 327319
Open: Monday - Saturday 10.00 - 4.00.
Charity bookshop selling donated books.
Add a comment Read commentsHide commentsWorth a look if you're in town. - TBG 17.07.10.
Better than average collection for a charity shop; good range of subjects. All books seem to be on the internet but are for sale. - Norman Davies 22.09.11.
Revisited today - same comments still apply. Worth a look if in town. - Norman Davies 28.02.15.
Tarka Books
5 Bear Street
BARNSTAPLE Devon EX32 7BU map
tel: 01271 374997 web
Open: Monday - Saturday 9.45 - 5.00.
General secondhand bookshop with a selection of new titles.
Add a comment Read commentsHide commentsThe stock was so dull that I could find nothing to like, let alone buy. - TBG 31.07.08.
Is this really a second-hand bookshop? - Chris Harte 14.04.09.
As I run Tarka Books, I am of course biased, but in my opinion your comments where rude and unnecessary. We stock a wide range of titles and just because you didn't find anything to your liking on this occasion was no reason to call our stock dull. It is this kind of attitude that is the death of independent bookshops, your comments will be read by many people and as such should be given more thought or the next time you come to North Devon there may be no secondhand shops left and you will be left will just charity shops to satisfy your habit. - F. Broster, Tarka Books 24.04.09.
I visited Tarka Books last month and am astonished by the negative remarks of TBG and Chris Harte. Shame on them both! This is a well-stocked, well-organised, clearly-signed shop with a helpful lady presiding on the day I was there. The proprietor is right to be offended. If we all condemned a shop just because we we didn't find anything on the day we visited, there would be next to no secondhand bookshops left. - Laurence Purcell 12.10.09.
On frequent visits to N. Devon from W. London, I have visited Tarka regularly over the last 5 years and have purchased books there. I disagree with the comments of TBG and Harte and fully endorse those of Massrs Broster & Purcell. - Ian Haigh 15.03.11.
Back again after some years. Shop seems to have more stock, especially s-h fiction and children's. Found a £2 HMSO Long-Distance Footpath Guide, for the Somerset and North Devon Coast Path (1981, to add to my collection.- Chris K 01.10.15.
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