Throughout the bookshop, you will find comfy armchairs to sit and browse through your selection. We also have review publications for you to browse; always without any obligation. If you are not able to make it upstairs, we will of course be happy to bring a selection downstairs for you to look through.
Contact:
The Wedale Bookshop, 231 Galashiels Road, STOW, Scotland TD1 2RE
Telephone: 01578 730 431
Email: hello@wedalebooks.scot
Website: www.wedalebooks.scot
Twitter: @WedaleBookshop
Instagram: @wedalebooks
Facebook: facebook.com/TheWedaleBookshop
In their own words…
How did you come up with the name of your bookshop?
Wedale is the ancient name of the valley where we’re situated in the Scottish Borders, a name sadly seldom used nowadays. This part of Scotland is often a little overlooked as folk zoom through between the south and Edinburgh but there is a rich, fascinating history here and we wanted a name that reflects both where we are located and that we are very much a local bookshop for the Scottish Borders.
Who are you? Owns the bookshop? Bit of a bio and pics, please
Gordy and Tom – Gordy orders the books and Tom keeps the books!
Why a bookshop? What made you want to get into bookselling?
For Gordy, quite simply a life-long ambition. Books were hugely important to him as a child and his parents fostered a love of reading that endures. Having reached a milestone age a couple of years ago, Gordy decided that if he was ever going to try and fulfil his dream, he better get his finger out. So he did.
General background/history of the shop please.
Not quite a year old, the bookshop opened in April 2023 on a part-time basis. We weren’t able to undertake the bookshop in a fulltime capacity – yet – and needed to test the waters, to see if it would be viable. The bookshop is located in small village of around 700 folk but has attracted a regular customer base from across the western Scottish Borders and beyond. We are the only indie bookshop in the Borders that you can reach by rail and we are also located right on the A7! The building is a modern, cabin-like environmentally-friendly construction and has been called “the most beautiful shop they’ve visited” and “utterly charming” by customers. It is also immediately next to the ruins of a medieval church and stands on the site where the village undertaker once made coffins!
Do you stock a variety of genres or do you specialise?
We are a small general bookstore with a distinctly Scottish Borders and Scottish heart but with an international outlook. We also demonstrate our environmental, ethical and inclusive ideals throughout the shop and are proud to be an LGBTQI+ safe space.
We have been delighted that our crime, fiction and folklore / witchcraft sections have been particularly successful.
Do you mainly sell new or second-hand books?
Only new. For now.
What makes your bookshop special?
Hopefully, the careful selection of books and the warm, characterful appearance of our store. Customers have been pleasantly surprised by the range and variety of the books on our shelves. We try and stock books which may be a little forgotten or overlooked and also try to showcase books that you might not see in other independent bookshops nearby. We’re lucky to be part of a growing number of indie bookshops in the Borders, so you could follow a trail from bookshop to bookshop, from Jedburgh to St Boswells, Melrose to Stow and you would find hugely different selections in each – that’s one of the joys of independent bookshops! We have also held a number of very successful events in our local community-run venue, the Station House, which is a unique, beautiful location for author events.
Describe your store in three words.
Welcoming. Imaginative. Bigger… (on the inside than it looks from the outside!)
What is the nicest thing a customer has ever said to you?
“Thank you for making the village a happier place in which to live”! You can’t ask for a better commendation, surely?
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