Brilliant Bookshops: The Accidental Bookshop

Alnwick is a lovely town in Northumberland. Its castle, home to the Percy family for over 900 years, is well known for the role it played in the first two Harry Potter films. Alnwick Garden, vision of the Duchess of Northumberland, is home to the intriguing Poison Gardens, locked behind black iron gates.

Narrowgate is a street in the centre of the town where Grace Darling, Victorian heroine, stayed with her cousins, the MacFarlanes, in 1842 when she became ill. It is also home to a very old pub called The Olde Cross Pub which has a fascinating tale attached to it. The innkeeper was moving some bottles in the window of the pub when he dropped dead of a heart attack. His wife declared that there was a curse upon those bottles and, should anyone move them, then they would be victims of a similar fate. At some point, the bottles were safely sealed between two windows and have lain untouched ever since. The pub is now known as ‘The Dirty Bottles’- great story!

Also on Narrowgate is The Accidental Bookshop, a bright, welcoming space, full of character. Opened at the end of 2021, it is the third shop owned by Helen Stanton, along with the award-winning ‘Forum Books’ in Corbridge and its sister shop, ‘The Bound’ in Whitley Bay.

The shop has a wonderful array of books on offer, including a particularly pleasing children’s section. Colourful comments from visiting authors and illustrators reflect a busy programme of events and visits and a stream of customers came in and out whilst we were visiting. The man working there was really friendly, happy to help when asked, but also happy for customers to browse as much as they liked. It might be at the other end of the country, but my family love Northumberland so this is a bookshop we will definitely be visiting again soon!

The Accidental Bookshop

4 Narrowgate,

Alnwick NE66 1JG