Location

Where is Barter Books?

Barter Books is located in the historic North East market town of Alnwick. As the town still has most of its original structures, it easily retains that spare northern beauty so much admired by visitors. At one end of the town, Alnwick Castle (seat of the Dukes of Northumberland) dominates the scene with its stunning skyline in the midst of a Capability Brown setting. At the other end of town, in an almost perfect counterbalance to the Castle, is another remarkable structure - the handsome old Victorian railway station, home to Barter Books. In between both is the new, much-publicised Alnwick Garden, already a major tourist attraction in the North East.

Barter Books is easy to get to -

By car: Alnwick is located just off the old and historic London to Edinburgh road (formerly called the Great North Road and now the A1). Roughly midway (c. 35 miles) between Newcastle upon Tyne and the Scottish borders, it is a glorious drive from whichever direction you come, north or south, with the magnificent unspoiled coastline on one side and the Cheviot Hills on the other.

Car Parking: The Barter Books car park has 42 spaces + 2 disabled spaces. Although this is fine for most of the year, please note that at busy holiday times it gets full to overflowing and there may not be space. Alternative parking can be found at nearby Wagonway Road, or at the town centre car park, which is a 5 minute walk away.

By rail: Whether you come south from Edinburgh's Waverley Station (c. one hour's ride) or north from London's Kings Cross (c. 3 hours), many of the East Coast Main Line trains stop at the nearby coastal village of Alnmouth. Alnmouth is only three miles from Alnwick and is, in itself, a charming coastal village with both taxi and bus service to Alnwick.

By bus: Regular bus services connect Newcastle and Edinburgh with Alnwick. Indeed, there is a bus stop within a few metres walk of Barter Books.

By air: Newcastle upon Tyne airport is about a 40-minute drive to Alnwick.