Welcome to the first July blog of the year! The year really is flying by and we are into summer now. I was very fortunate to be able to visit the new Topping & Co bookshop in York in early June on their opening day. It has been an exciting wait and journey over a year, watching little updates on Instagram as the fantastic historic building has been transformed (with many features incorporated into the design of the bookshop) into the shop we see today. The building on museum street has seen many versions of use, most recently York city tourist information four years ago.

For those who do not know who Toppings are, they are a relatively new bookshop brand, which started in Ely in 2002. After 24 years, they now have five shops in Edinburgh, St Andrews, York and Bath as well as the Ely shop. Each shop has its own unique elements and York’s branch has certainly embraced the great history of the building. I loved the map I was given on arrival to navigate the many rooms and sections (20 in total). It is a sweet personalised element to welcome the customer an make them feel less overwhelmed at the amazing array of books. The entrance hall contains a cabinet that has first edition signed copies of books- including a Sally Rooney for £600!

I was only able to have a fairly brief walk around to get a sense of where everything was, and you would need either a few hours or a second visit to see everything. The fiction room that is pictured is vast and very impressive. I was in awe when I saw it and the view to the Minster, also pictured, has to be one of the best views in any bookshop.

I love the many cosy seating spaces you can enjoy some quiet time and the upper floor is a hidden gem of a corridor. Toppings offer a complimentary pot of tea or coffee when you visit, which is a truly lovely way to have a fulsome experience at the shop. I very much look forward to a return visit. The history of the fireplaces, boards of names of past tradespeople of the city and staircases are on full display to see, enjoy and realise how much history has come before this magnificent shop.

As a young writer, I feel fortunate to be able to have been to three new literary places in York in the last year, the new Books&Bevs bookshop, which I went to on open day and did a blog here on, the Poetry Pharmacy opening through my publishing masters contacts and now Toppings. York has a rich tradition and history of literature and it is truly heart warming as a young writer to know this legacy is very much safe and thriving into the future and physical book still hold significant cultural importance to many people of all ages.

I hope you can visit Toppings and the staff are so helpful and happy to chat about the shop, the books and York. It is one of the best bookshops I have visited and I am sure it will be a firm favourite and your go to once you see it.

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Photos by Cameron Stewart