Charming UK 'book town' is packed with independent booksellers and a 'bookshop Airbnb'
As you plan your next staycation, you may want to consider this tranquil escape from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, transporting you into a world of fiction and fairytales.
Whether you're a bit of a bookworm or simply love finding a new location to add to your UK travel list then this town, often overlooked for its more popular neighbours, has plenty of charm to offer.
Wigtown is a beloved book town sitting within the Dumfries and Galloway region of Scotland, meaning it's surrounded by beauty and within a two-hour drive of major English towns.
Although, as you may have gathered, it is quite unique in its character, thanks to its high concentration of bookshops and annual book festival each year, similar to the likes of Hay-on-Wye, a well-known book town on the Welsh border.
As you wander through the stores and flick through pages, you experience a slower pace of life in this beloved town that visitors keep on coming back to. In fact, to immerse yourself in the full experience, you can even stay inside one of the very shops and live the life of an eccentric bookseller.
Unlike comparable booktowns, Wigtown doesn't have a deep-rooted history in literature; it became a town for readers with pure intention and, over the course of the last 20 years or so, has become a hub for literature lovers.
All together it has around 20 book-related businesses, some selling new and others second-hand, across a range of genres and titles. In fact, the biggest shop of them all is aptly named The Book Shop, which is the largest second-hand bookshop in Scotland and home to around 100,000 books.
After visiting the store, someone wrote on TripAdvisor: "One of the best bookshops I've visited. Lovely, friendly owner; a fantastic massive collection of books that are very reasonably priced. The charm of the shop is totally unique. Well worth visiting."
Other bookshops drawing in visitors include The Old Bank Bookshop, New Chapter Books, The Wigtown Emporium and Reading Lasses, a shop dedicated entirely to selling books written by and about women.
The female-focussed store also doubles as a quirky little cafe, with one visitor noting: "Outstanding. Wow, what a wonderful experience we have had during the Wigtown Book Festival.
"Readinglasses was our cafe of choice for the few days we attended. The cakes were so varied and beautiful we had to try as many as we could.
Adding to the essence of storytelling is the annual Wigtown Book Festival, which offers over 200 events across the town from literature-related to film, theatre, music and art. Taking place over 10 days, the event turns a dull autumn into a vibrant one, welcoming speakers and famous faces such as Celia Imrie, Joanna Lumley, Richard Holloway and Cathy Cassidy to offer talks to guests.
Founded in 1999, the festival has been running for quite some time now, and this year's event will take place for the 27th time from 25 September to 4 October.
Despite the town only being home to roughly 1,000 people, it expects to welcome roughly 13,000 throughout the duration of the festival and is a stronghold for their small book economy.
Visitors to Wigtown can take their experience to a whole new level now and choose to stay inside one of the very shops that put the place on the map.
The Open Book, dubbed a "bookshop holiday", is a charming bookshop with an apartment above it, available to rent out in the heart of the town for two people.
The description states: "The first-ever bookshop holiday / residency experience, Scotland's National Book Town, welcomes you to play bookshop for a week or two.' We'll give you your very own apartment and bookshop below, supported by a team of friendly volunteers to make your trip as lovely as possible."
It does note that to get to the residence you are required to walk up a very steep set of steps, and so the experience is not accessible for all. Although there are plenty of facilities to make you feel at home, with free WiFi, a kitchen, a washing machine and cooking utensils.
After staying over, a traveller said: "The Open Book stay lived up to expectations. We thoroughly enjoyed our week of playing book sellers. 10/10 for the experience. The scenery around town is beautiful for taking walks.
"The people in Wigtown make you feel at home. It is very quiet and peaceful in the evenings. The Co-op a couple doors down is convenient for groceries and misc items."
Book worms will find their happy place in Wigtown, a destination that comes alive when you step inside of its beloved shops and makes for the perfect spot for finding a treasured gift all year around.
Daily Express
