This August the bookshop crawl is coming to ten different locations around England and Wales and I'm so happy to welcome Indie Book Network contributor and Norfolk resident Sarah to our blog today to share her own recommendations for excellent bookshops and places to visit if you're bookshop crawling in Norwich this summer. The bookshops recommended are also on the Bookshop Crawl map which you can access here. Some will be aware of and actively participating in the event, and some won't but we still encourage you to visit them all!
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I was very excited to see that Norwich is a stop on the Summer 2021 Book Crawl, I moved to the city over 25 years ago to come to university and just never left. I love our ‘Fine City’ (a quite from George Borrow used as our motto) and one of my summer jobs as a student was as a tour guide on the open top bus – I can accurately say that I know Norwich backwards as I was always facing the customers not the way we were travelling!
Norwich is home UEA whose course in creative writing was the first in the UK and celebrated its 50th Anniversary last year. We are also home to the National Centre for Writing and are a UNESCO City of Literature. All of this means that we’re a great place for books, literature and reading – plus the city is still quite small and compact so you can stroll round it comfortably in a day, however if you are lucky enough to be here for a bit longer then we have pretty good bus and train links that let you explore more of the county’s book and literary sites.
I’ve listed the bookshops that I visit lots and can vouch for, along with foodie tips in some locations – but please check before travelling, everything is uncertain still here and as we are a rural county with a generally older populations there is lots of caution as we come out COVID restrictions this summer.
Norwich Bookshops:
New books
Waterstones – Castle Street
· 2 storey shop with loos and a café
The Bookhive – London Street
· Independent bookshop, also home to Propolis Books
o In summer there is an ice cream stand very close by and the Ronaldo’s ice cream rivals Italian gelato. In winter the have a roast chestnut stand!
Jarrolds – London Street
· Independent department store, books a large part of the basement.
o Multiple ca fes and loos, plus toy department on the top floor. Their cheese scones are famous and worth fitting in if you can!
Bookbugs and Dragontales – Timber Hill
· Independent children’s specialist, lots of events and selected adults books.
o Café has reopened I think
Second Hand Bookshops
City Bookshop – Davey Place
· Some new, some second hand, some antiquarian, does specialise in local books about Norwich, Norfolk & East Anglia
Tombland Books – Tombland
· Second hand and antiquarian bookshop opposite the cathedral, can be a bit pricey
Dormouse Bookshop – Elm Hill
· Secondhand and antiquarian books, small shop on a wonderful street near the Cathedral
o Dormouse can be found on Instagram and post daily snapshots of their stock to whet your appetite
J.R & K.R Ellis – St Giles Street
· Second hand books, lots of modern books, limited antiquarian
Oxfam Bookshop – Bedford Street
· Oxfam shop dedicated to books although the other Oxfam shops in the city did have bookshelves too.
Multiple Charity shops around the city.
Pre-pandemic there were also a couple of 2nd hand book stalls within Norwich Market
· this is a really good place to wander and to pick up lunch the hog roasts are very good, and the market even has its own pub stall specialising in local beers.
· The pub on the corner of the Market Place (the Sir Garnet) showcases local food and beer and their room on the top floor has wonderful views over the city as well as being full of photos of Norwich through the decades.
Outside of Norwich
Ketts Books – Wymondham
· A real community bookshop, run by locals that you can buy shares in. Small but great selection of stock.
o If you get out here I really recommend the Green Dragon pub just around the corner and a walk in the Abbey Grounds (free). There is also a heritage railway here that runs from Wymondham (pronounced Windham) to Dereham
Holt Bookshop – Holt
· Another very local bookshop in a pretty market town, moved location during the pandemic and I haven’t been back yet but the store has a very friendly enewsletter
o There is another heritage railway here that runs to Sheringham and back. Byfords is a nice place to get snacks or to have a sit down meal, a little pricey but the portions are huge!
Peter’s Bookshop – Sheringham
· A rabbit warren of a second hand store (or it was pre pandemic) piles of books everywhere. Quality and price vary but it was rare that I didn’t find something here!
o If in Sheringham and want ice cream walk towards the sea and don’t stop until you get to Ellie’s Ice cream – they only sell the locally made Ronaldo’s ice cream and these really are to die for
Bookworms of Cromer
· Second hand books, mostly quite new and in good condition
Much Binding of Cromer
· Second hand and antiquarian books, opening times listed and times the shop is open don’t often match
o If in Cromer then do try the famous Cromer Crab and take a walk on the pier. Mary Janes Fish and Chip Shop regularly wins awards and No 1 Cromer is a chippie run by the chef Galton Blackiston
Blickling Hall & Felbrigg Hall (both National Trust) have bookshops that are worth a wander, but you will have to pay for parking at both of these unless you are a member – the grounds of both are stunning however.
There’s another heritage railway (narrow gauge) running between Aylsham and Wroxham which has bookshops at each end of the line, lots of train books but other stuff too.
Further afield
We don’t get to these places very often but I know that there is an independent bookshop in Diss, and that there’s a Waterstone’s in King’s Lynn. Oxbugh Hall (another NT property) has a small bookshop.
Free Things to do in Norwich
This summer Dippy the Dinosaur is visiting the Anglican Cathedral and entry to this is free (the Cathedral is free to visit all the time and worship will continue during the dinosaur madness.
There will be a Wild in Art sculpture trail around the city from 12th July – 11th Sept, walk around the city to find the 21 decorated T-Rex sculptures
There is a Lego Dinosaur Exhibition in the Forum (bang smack in the city centre) – again free but free tickets available (might change after 19th July?)
The Norfolk and Norwich Millennium Library, in the Forum – this is the library that issues the most books of any library in England and Wales and is always in the top 10 of busiest libraries in the country, you don’t need to be a member to explore the building but there might be Covid restrictions in place.
There is a path that follows the River Wensum right through the city which is lovely and shady on a hot day - there are otters, herons, kingfishers and often even a seal to be spotted as you walk along the river! Plus a good number of pubs if that is your reward for walking!
Just outside of the city is UEA (the local university) it has broad to walk around with nature trails as well as a free to visit sculpture park and a full art gallery. There’s also a café, gift shop and loos here!
If you are interested in visiting literary locations or reading books by Norfolk authors then I really recommend the Literary Norfolk website: https://www.literarynorfolk.co.uk/norwich.htm
Many thanks for this fantastic list! I can't wait to visit the city and explore. You can follow Sarah on twitter for more of her thoughts on books and exploration of the Norfolk countryside at @norfolkbookworm.
Summer Bookshop Crawls will be happening in Bath, Birmingham, Brighton, Cambridge, Canterbury, Cardiff, Liverpool, Oxford, Norwich and York. We would love to include some other guides similar to this so if you're a resident of any of these cities & interested in putting together something like this for us to share here, please email londonbookshopcrawl@gmail.com.
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