AS a now rather tarnished quiffed-up miserabilist Mancunian music legend once noted, “there’s more to life than books, you know, but not much more”. And it’s true enough. That said, there are also scones.

Books and home baking. Both high points of human civilisation. There is nothing better than cracking the spine of a new novel over a pot of tea and a slice of lemon drizzle cake. And if you are able to buy the book and the tea in the same place it just saves time and maximises the enjoyment.

While many chain stores such as Waterstones around the country offer a decent cafe option along with browsing opportunities, what about the nation’s indy book shops? Which of them provide food for the mind and sustenance for the stomach? Here are some of our favourites.

 

The Book Nook, Stirling

The Book Nook, 24 Upper Craigs, Stirling, FK8 2DG.

Ah, Stirling. Home to a very decent Waterstones, an excellent Oxfam book shop (in Murray Place) and, best of all, the Book Nook in Upper Craigs. Opened by Stirling Uni graduates Leanne Brown and Jasmine Stenhouse in 2020, this is a kind of ideal of the bookshop/cafe form. The perfect place to enjoy a flat white while opening the pages of that William Faulkner novel you’ve always meant to read. Stock is mostly secondhand and, with the university close by, often pleasingly wayward, while the cafe has quickly established itself as a real social hub in the city centre. We can particularly recommend the roast Mediterranean vegetables, hummus and applewood bagels. There are regular author events in the Book Nook too. Basically, a joy of a place.

Visit thebooknookstirling.co.uk

 

Thomas Tosh, Thornhill, Dumfries and Galloway

Thomas Tosh, 19 East Morton Street, Thornhill, DG3 5LZ.

Now, some of you might be asking, are we talking about bookshops with cafes or cafes with bookshops? Well, frankly, if the tea is freshly brewed, the pastries are sweet and the books interesting we aren’t too bothered about category definitions. Maybe Thomas Tosh falls into the latter subcategory, but that only means it has a larger menu than most.

David Cripps and Paul O’Keefe fled London (Hackney to be exact) back in 2006 and moved to Moniaive. Two years later they bought an existing business in Thornhill and set about transforming it into Thomas Tosh, which offers food, books and home goods and a perfect reason to travel down the A702. The book tables feature a mixture of local interest, general Scottish titles, history and outdoors books and a splash of fiction. The store also hosts exhibitions and special events. Celebrating 15 years in business next May, Thomas Tosh is a destination in itself.

Visit thomastosh.com

 

The Watermill, Aberfeldy

Aberfeldy Watermill, Mill Street, Aberfeldy, PH15 2BG.

The Hilary Mantel of bookshop-cafes. That’s what we’re saying anyway. Serious about books and writing and ideas, and yet also accessible and welcoming too. Officially opened in 2005 by a passing Michael Palin, no less, it was named as one of the world’s best bookstores by the New Yorker Magazine in 2016 and one of National Geographic’s top seven UK book shops and cafes earlier this year. Located in a three-storey former oatmeal mill in Perthshire, the book shop is a capacious space full of nooks and crannies (and full of fiction and non-fiction). The cafe is a purveyor of hearty soup and sandwiches. There are cakes too. You can also pick up homewares if you so require and there is a regular calendar of events. Next up, local author Ruary Mckenzie Dodds will be discussing his latest novel, Luc’s War – Desert Gold this coming Friday evening.

Visit aberfeldywatermill.com

 

The Mainstreet Trading Company, St Boswells, Scottish Borders

Mainstreet Trading, Main Street, St Boswells, Melrose, TD6 0AT.

“A bookshop so perfect, you might have dreamt it,” according to Maggie O’Farrell, author of Hamnet. Based in a former grocer’s store and wine merchants, Mainstreet Trading Company opened for business in 2008 led by Rosamund and Bill De Le Hey. More than 10 years on, it is still going strong and has picked up award after award along the way. There are more than 10,000 books on its shelves and the dog-friendly cafe offers locally sourced ingredients and all-day home baking. There’s also a deli and regular book events. Upcoming guests include Bake Off’s Peter Sawkins, Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan.

Visit mainstreetbooks.co.uk

 

The Ceilidh Place, Ullapool

The Ceilidh Place, 12-14 West Argyle Street, Ullapool, IV26 2TY.

Of course, sometimes not even books and cake are enough. When such moments arise, you need to go to Ullapool. The Ceilidh Place offers a book store and a cafe. But there’s also a restaurant, a hotel, a gallery and a music venue with a great programme of traditional music (Dallahan are playing on October 15). In short, you could spend a holiday here and not have to leave the building.

Originally opened in 1970 by the actor Robert Urquhart as a small cafe, it has expanded and expanded over the decades and it is now central to Ullapool culture. The book shop holds a wide range of stock, though it is particularly strong on Scottish titles.

Visit theceilidhplace.com

 

Bookpoint, Dunoon

Bookpoint, 2a Ferry Brae, Dunoon PA23 7DJ

Very much a book shop with a cafe attached, this one. The cafe in this case is compact and bijou (any Fry and Laurie fans out there?), but if you can grab a table it will give you somewhere to catch your breath after some frantic browsing. Because there is no shortage of choice on the bookshelves. No-one needs an excuse to take a trip to Dunoon, but make sure you add a visit to Bookpoint to your itinerary when you next go.

Visit bookpointdunoon.com

 

ReadingLasses, Wigtown, Dumfries and Galloway

ReadingLasses, 17 South Main Street, Wigtown, DG8 9EH.

Wigtown is book town, so it’s inevitably well stocked with suitable book/cake interface destinations. But ReadingLasses stands out. Billing itself as the “only women’s bookshop in Britain”, its front room is dedicated to books by and about women. It also stocks titles from the gorgeous Persephone Books imprint dedicated to neglected mid-20th-century titles from female authors (among the most beautifully designed publications on the market and proof, if you buy enough of them, that books do furnish a room). Proprietor Jacqui Robertson has created a quirky space for bibliophiles. And once you’ve browsed, you can fill up on home baking and soda bread.

Visit facebook.com/readinglasses17

 

Krem Karamel, Edinburgh

Krem Karamel, 68 Inverleith Row, Edinburgh, EH3 5LT.

And where are the big cities in all this? Ah, well, that’s the question. There’s no shortage of great indy book shops (we love The Golden Hare in Stockbridge and Glasgow’s LGBTQIA+ bookshop Category Is Books), but with the very recent closure of Outwith Books in Glasgow and Madigan’s Tea Room in Dundee earlier in the summer, the bookshop/cafe crossover is a little underrepresented. Thank goodness, then, for Didem Dogru, who moved from Turkey to Edinburgh in 2019 and opened Krem Karamel cafe and bookshop in Inverleith Row. Krem Karamel is a cafe first and foremost, and a lovely one. But if you’re seeking culinary reading there’s a small selection of cookery books on sale too.

Visit kremkaramel.co.uk

 

Books and Beans, Aberdeen

Books and Beans, 22 Belmont Street, Aberdeen, AB10 1JH.

More urban browsing and sipping. Books and Beans is a Fair Trade cafe and second-hand bookstore in Aberdeen’s city centre. There are 10,000 plus books on the first floor and there’s an exhibition space too. You’re bound to find something to your liking here. And a quiet corner to read it in.

Visit Booksandbeans.co.uk

 

The Damascus Drum, Hawick

The Damascus Drum, 2 Silver Street, Hawick.

Mediterranean salads and mezes, second-hand books and a selection of rugs from Anatolia for sale. For such a small space, the Damascus Drum certainly packs a lot in. “Best coffee in the Scottish Borders” is the promise. That’s the kind of thing you need to check in person. Ours is a flat white, please.

Visit damascusdrum.co.uk