London Bookshop Crawl is fast approaching, and with a whole weekend of events and 9 Group Bookshop Crawls to choose from, which are the best ones for you? Let me help! For more on what to expect from your group bookshop crawl, you can read our previous post here
Firstly throughout the weekend you can use our Self Guided Bookshop Crawl Kit (previously known as the Welcome Pack) to organise your own route with your friends or family. Share your adventures by tagging us across social media (@BookshopCrawlUK on Bluesky, Insta, Threads & Tiktok). The information below applies to our ticketed Group Bookshop Crawls where we do all the planning for you and take you around and you have the chance to meet other bookish folk.
On Friday we have our classic Bunk off and Book Shop events. These are 3 and a half to 4 hour bookshop crawls, including a snack stop (refreshments not included in the ticket price) and led by our friendly group leaders. The options are:
An eclectic range of bookshops including several second hand and charity bookshops, a lovely indie and a comic shop plus snack stop in Camden market. The camden half of this route is a little busier but the route is all walking, with only one longer walk between shops. Accessible by bus, Northern line or walking from Kings Cross area.
This route leans heavily towards the arty and literary fiction focused bookshops, with galleries, art bookshops, and some intriguing specialist bookshops alongside a long established indie and a newer indie that often appears on instagram. This route is also all walking with short distances between bookshops. Accessible by bus, Hammersmith & City or Circle Line from Kings Cross.
This route includes more indie bookshops than the others, and it also includes a bus journey between the start point in Teddington and Richmond. Time allowing, it may also incorporate one of my personal favourite second hand bookshops and another lovely indie in Kew. You'll get to see some of the literary landmarks of Richmond and say hi to Virginia Woolf along the way. Refreshment stop in Richmond will offer a variety of options, and there are likely to be lots of additional perks along the way on this route. Accessible by overground from Waterloo or Clapham Junction
On Saturday 15th February we're running four shorter and one longer Group Book Crawls. The shorter routes are 2 and a half hours with no snack stop, and encompass shorter, more walkable routes and generally 4-6 bookshops. These are:
A faster paced route, packing a minimum of 6 bookshops into the time and including a couple of second hand bookshops, a gallery , a children's bookshop and an excellent indie bookshop. This route will include a bus journey and some slightly longer walks between shops. The area has a really eclectic and interesting history, which is reflected in its bookshops. Accessible by bus or overground from central london.
This is a lovely area to walk around in, and the route is primarily general indie bookshops, with a really good charity bookshop in there for good measure. A good route for chatting to others and recommended for those coming on their own who'd like to get to know other book lovers. Although a snack stop is not included, one of the bookshops does have a lovely cafe! This route may include a bus journey. Accessible by bus or overground from central London.
Brand new for our 10th year, this route takes in one of my absolute favourite places to wander in London and is perfect for art and theatre lovers, including two theatre bookshops (both of which stock other things alongside drama), an art bookshop, a couple of general bookshops and of course the South Bank Book Market! This route will be entirely walked, with lots of interesting things to see along the way including Shakespeare's Globe! Accessible by walking from Waterloo/Waterloo East or Embankment.
Portobello road, Portobello road! (If you aren't immediately singing the song from Bedknobs and Broomsticks I am a little bit sad for you). This route runs from one end of Portobello Road to the other, taking in the market along the way. There's an excellent array of second hand and indie bookshops, and this route includes one of my favourite cookbook bookshops, so if you're into food writing at all this is probably the one for you! You might also recognise some film history along the way. Accessible by bus, central or district line from central London.
Please be aware that this group will clash with the Saturday Rare Books Rendezvous at the British Library
Our longer event on Saturday 15th will run along similar lines to the Friday groups, at 3 and a half to four hours with a snack break (refreshments not included, must be purchased separately).
The academic, radical, protest history of this area is really well represented through the bookshops on this route. It's all walking and includes a bookshop on a boat, an iconic LGBTQ+ bookshop, a subterranean second hand labyrinth and so much more! The route very naturally extends into Bloomsbury so if you have time or inclination you'll be able to get the bloomsbury itinerary from the Self Guided Bookshop Crawl Kit and explore more bookshops on your own or at a different point in the weekend. Accessible by overground, bus and most of the underground lines. Walking distance from Kings Cross and St Pancras International.
Please be aware that this route will clash with the Saturday Rare Books Rendezvous at the British Library.
The final group bookshop crawl of the weekend will be a shorter 2 and a half hour route in central london.
Starting in the old book selling centre of Charing Cross Road, this route will encompass a really interesting range of second hand, antiquarian and specialist bookshops as well as some icons of London's literary history, a travel bookshop and one of the most accessible graphic novel shops we've ever been in, where we guarantee they can find you something you'll like the sound of even if you've never read a graphic novel before. A great way to finish the weekend, this route is all walking and accessible via the piccadilly line or walking from Waterloo.
Please be aware that this group will clash with the Birthday Book Swap & Bookish Group, the Sunday Rare Books Rendezvous at the British Library and the Drawalong with Sophy Henn at The Alligators Mouth
You will find other downloadable itineraries in the Self Guided Bookshop Crawl Kit, if you'd like to mix and match your weekend. If you'd like us to do all the planning for you, the full programme is here.
To reminisce about previous London Bookshop Crawls or see what we've done in the past, our archive is here.
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