Top Ten Tuesday is a listicle created by That Artsy Reader Girl. It was created from a love of lists, books and creating bookish friends. Each Tuesday she assigns a new topic for others to join in with. Here is where you can learn more information about Top Ten Tuesday.
The latest Top Ten Tuesday prompt was bookish places that you’ve visited. I was planning on writing about places that I wanted to visit, but quickly realised I have visited quite a few bookish places. Maybe I’ll share my bookish places bucket list another time…
1. Bath
I visited the Jane Austen Centre in 2023, though I’d only read one of her books by then, and really enjoyed it. Whilst there, my friends and I got the Jane Austen cream tea, which was very fun, and we felt like we were in the Regency period. Especially amongst the servers dressed in Regency wear! It has made me really want to visit Jane Austen’s house in Hampshire
There are also so many bookshops in Bath; I visited these:
- Topping & Co. – I think my favourite bookshop!
- Persophene Books
- Mr B’s Emporium of Reading Delights
Bridgerton is also filmed in Bath; I used this walking tour when I visited.
2. Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre
My siblings and I treated my mum to Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre tickets last summer to watch The Merry Wives of Windsor. I’ve read a few Shakespeare plays during school, but otherwise I’ve not read much Shakespeare. My mum wanted to see a comedy play, so we went for this one. I had no idea what it was about until I read the programme! The play was amazing, and the set was just beautiful. As it’s an open-air theatre, it made the play even more atmospheric, so that was pretty cool to experience.
3. Lyme Park, Cheshire
Lyme Park is a National Trust site located in Stockport, Cheshire. I visited the site last year when I was living in Cheshire, and it was a really lovely site. It was October, so the garden access closed early, and I didn’t get a chance to see the iconic view filmed in the BBC’s Pride and Prejudice of Mr Darcy’s Pemberley house with the lake. I was hoping to go back but didn’t get around to it.
4. Oxford
Oxford feels like a very bookish city, with many British writers having attended Oxford University. It is also where the first Blackwell’s Bookshop was opened back in 1879, and since then three more have appeared in Oxford, with others up and down the country.
Bookshops visited:
- Blackwells
- Last Bookshop – Books £5 or under
- Bad Girl Books – Romance/fantasy books
- Oxfam
- Gulp Fiction – Independent bookshop & cafe/bar in the Covered Market
5. Brontë Parsonage Museum, Haworth
Number 5 of the bookish places I’ve visited is the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth. Despite having only read one Brontë book (Jane Eyre), I thoroughly enjoyed visiting. I always find this type of thing very interesting, and you can completely imagine the Brontës sitting there writing away. After visiting, I read a short biography about the family: The Brontës by Kathryn White.
6. Acqua Alta Libreria – Venice, Italy
I visited Acqua Alta Libreria in Venice, which translates to ‘Book Store of High Water‘ whilst I was interrailing in 2023. As Venice frequently floods, the books are stacked high, kept in bathtubs, and even in a gondola! The famous staircase was built from old water-damaged books that the owner didn’t want to throw away. There are local cats that stop by to escape the rising water, though unfortunately I didn’t see one.
7. Stratford-upon-Avon
Another bookish town I’ve visited is Stratford-upon-Avon, which is Shakespeare’s birthplace. I really like visiting Stratford in the winter and going to the butterfly farm. However, I haven’t done many book-related activities in Stratford, apart from seeing the statue of Shakespeare.
8. London Bookshops
I have visited quite a few different bookshops in London, even though there seems to be a never-ending list of more that I want to visit.
Bookshops visited:
- Daunt Books
- Saucy Books – Romance bookshop
- Southbank Book Market – Quite pricey!
- The Poetry Pharmacy – Does this count as a bookshop?
- London Review Bookshop
- Any Amount of Books – Second-hand bookshop
- Foyles
- Waterstones
- Oxfam
9. The Lake District
Again, this is another of the bookish places where I haven’t visited a specific attraction. However, the Lake District is the home of William Wordsworth, and where he wrote many of his poems. You can visit Dove Cottage, where Wordsworth lived, and of course the beautiful lakes that inspired his poetry.
Beatrix Potter also lived in the Lake District, and wrote her stories there. You can visit the World of Beatrix Potter attraction, or for a more outdoors-based excursion there is the National Trust site, Hill Top.
10. Jamaica Inn, Cornwall
Number 10 on my bookish places list is Jamaica Inn, which is located in Cornwall. Daphne du Maurier based her novel, Jamaica Inn, on this very Inn. I haven’t read the book as it definitely isn’t a genre I would read, but I’ve visited Jamaica Inn a few times when I was younger, on our way to a Cornwall holiday. My main memory is eating the fish finger sandwich there, haha.
What are some bookish places that you’ve visited?
Caroline ♡
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