Leakeys Bookshop, Church Street, Inverness

We stumbled across this bookshop on the last day of our break and for the sake of our bank balance I am glad!  Thousands and thousands of books located in every nook and cranny of this old Gaelic church make it a vision of joy to a book lover.
As soon as you enter you get the warm smell of the open fire (open fire and books!!!), home made soup and years of well loved books.
Seemingly the largest second hand bookshop in Scotland, and I wouldn’t doubt this.  Every genre is catered for as well as a large selection of antique prints as well as maps to keep the map enthusiast happy.
If you can tear yourself away from the books, upstairs is a small café which doesn’t impede too much into the shop – well except for the smell of delicious home made soup.
Highland regiments stationed in Inverness conducted their own services in Gaelic in the churchyard next door,  on hearing this Queen Anne instructed that a Gaelic church be built here.  The church has resided here since 1792, reconstructed in 1822 and became Greyfriars Free Church in 1954.  Since 1979 the church has been a bookshop, café and art gallery.  During the renovation into a bookshop, human bones were found underneath the church – no one knows how or why they are there – enjoy your coffee!

3443744599_921956aae6

3444657406_d3b15119f9

3444599062_b5114d46fe

Leakey’s Second Hand Bookshop
Greyfriars Hall  Church Street
INVERNESS  Inverness-shire  IV1 1EY
tel: 01463 239947
Open: 10.00 -5.30 Monday – Saturday

Emma

Emma

Hello!

I am Emma and with my husband Mark write Foodie Explorers, which is a food and travel website.

I am a member of the Guild of Food Writers and British Guild of Travel Writers.

We have a wide range of judging experience covering products, hotels and have judged, for example, for Great Taste Awards and Scottish Baker of the Year.

Along the way Mark gained WSET Level 2 in Wine and I have WSET Level 2 in Spirits as well as picking up an award with The Scotsman Food and Drink Awards.    

Usually I can be found sleeping beside a cat.

Recommended Articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.