High Peak Bookstore & Cafe has a good feeling as soon as you arrive; the sound of birds flitting in and out of bird boxes, and a heart warming sign on the door “Welcome to our lovely bookshop and cafe; A place for everyone”.
You enter into the wildlife and nature section with lots of nature books, cute gifts and bird seed and boxes, which is a nice touch (always a big fan of a gift section!). The nature theme continues into the first book section of outdoor pursuits, which I especially liked given there were several women authors here.
The flow then takes you past history, health and wellbeing and travel writing. I like that you are guided through the sections before reaching fiction. There are comfy seats dotted around which is always appreciated when pondering which books to go for. And it is a big space to get around. There are so many books available: a generous fiction section, including many crime, thriller and romance, and perhaps by comparison a smaller ‘contemporary fiction’ aisle but there is definitely a purpose in the ordering here. If you’re a fan of classics there is also a dedicated aisle stocked mainly with lovely Wordsworth editions alongside some red-spine Vintage classics. Most interestingly, the books are generally sold for less than their RRP. How they manage this I don’t know, but the value for money is incredible. In the current age, to be able to buy new books for this price from an independent retailer is great and is surely a unique selling point for the High Peak Book Shop. Balancing out this feat is the fact that, as far as I could see, there are no new hardbacks on sale: so this isn’t the place for immediate current bestseller chart chasing. However, if you’re on the lookout for a wide range of books at incredible value, then do pay a visit. I would say come just for the classics section alone!
We also, of course, stayed for coffee and cake. The cafe has lots of space and an outside area too. There’s a good selection of lunch and cake options, including gluten free! The coffee is locally roasted in Buxton to add to the wholesome feel.
We enjoyed our visit and will come again. I would visit just for the gift shop!