Bookstores in Carlisle
Carlisle, Cumbria, England has 5 bookstores on the map. That's 5 bookshops mapped around Carlisle, each with its own shelves and specialties. The used sections are where the real bargains hide. Give yourself an hour minimum — bookshops are the one errand that always takes longer than planned.
This guide covers every bookstore we could verify in and around Carlisle (within about 40 km), built from OpenStreetMap's community-maintained data. Names you'll run into include WHSmith and The Works, plus Eden Valley Hospice Bookshop. If a bookshop's missing from Carlisle's list, it probably just hasn't been mapped yet.
The Carlisle bookstore lineup
5 in Carlisle, plus 8 more around Carlisle below:
WHSmith
Bookstore0.1 km from Carlisle
WHSmith is Bookstore on 51-53 English Street, Carlisle. WHSmith also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Mo-Sa 08:30-17:30; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
51-53 English Street, Carlisle, CA3 8JY
Hours: Mo-Sa 08:30-17:30
Phone: +44 1228 524980
The Works
Bookstore0.2 km from Carlisle
The Works — Bookstore, found on English Street in Carlisle. Also worth knowing about The Works: it has a website with more detail.
English Street, Carlisle, CA3 8JW
Eden Valley Hospice Bookshop
Bookstore0.3 km from Carlisle
Eden Valley Hospice Bookshop — Bookstore, found on 79 Lowther Street in Carlisle. Also worth knowing about Eden Valley Hospice Bookshop: a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip.
79 Lowther Street, Carlisle
Phone: +44 7583 827078
Waterstones
Bookstore0.3 km from Carlisle
Waterstones — Bookstore, found on 66-68 Scotch Street in Carlisle. Also worth knowing about Waterstones: a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
66-68 Scotch Street, Carlisle, CA3 8PN
Phone: +44 843 290 8217
Bookcase
Bookstore0.5 km from Carlisle
Bookcase is Bookstore on 17-19 Castle Street, Carlisle. Bookcase also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Mo-Sa 09:30-17:00; Su 11:30-16:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
17-19 Castle Street, Carlisle, CA3 8SY
Hours: Mo-Sa 09:30-17:00; Su 11:30-16:00
Phone: +44 1228 544560
What the map tells us about bookstores in Carlisle
2 of the 5 list their opening hours on the map, which is genuinely useful — bookshops keep civilised hours, so the listed ones are usually reliable.
4 have websites listed. Worth a look for events — readings and signings get announced there first.
Most of the bookstores in Carlisle list a phone number. Useful for checking whether a specific title is in stock before you visit.
The Carlisle bookstore crawl
Making a day of it in Carlisle? Work this order: WHSmith on 51-53 English Street, The Works on English Street, Eden Valley Hospice Bookshop on 79 Lowther Street, Waterstones on 66-68 Scotch Street, and Bookcase on 17-19 Castle Street. That's the bookstore crawl in one sensible loop, no backtracking.
Bookstore tips for Carlisle
Browsing in Carlisle? A little strategy helps:
- Check the cookbook section at WHSmith. Cookbooks are the most browsed and least bought section, which means the used shelf is full of barely-touched gems.
- Check condition before you pay at The Works. Used books: check for missing pages, water damage, and cracked spines. A quick flip-through takes ten seconds.
- Kids' sections are goldmines. Even without kids. The picture-book art alone is worth the browse, and the middle-grade shelves hold genuine classics.
- Ask about the book club discount. Many shops discount book-club orders. If your club buys local, everyone wins.
Good to know
We searched about 40 km around Carlisle — that covers the town itself plus the surrounding communities you'd reasonably drive to. Listings come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by local volunteers, so a brand-new bookstore in Carlisle can take a while to appear. The 5 above are only as current as the community map. A bookstore that's shut, or a new one nobody's added yet, gets fixed with a single OpenStreetMap edit.
We don't list prices — they change constantly and vary by edition. What we list is the where: real shops, verified by real mappers, in alphabetical order with no favourites.
If you run one of the 5 listed here and something's wrong — a closure, a move, new hours — the fix is the same: update the shop on OpenStreetMap and the correction flows through to this page on the next daily refresh.
Worth the trip: more bookstores around Carlisle
8 more within about 40 km of Carlisle, nearest first:
The Hedgehog Bookshop
Bookstore27.9 km from Carlisle
The Hedgehog Bookshop is Bookstore.
Beckside Books
Bookstore27.9 km from Carlisle
Beckside Books is Bookstore.
Summerfield Books
Bookstore29.0 km from Carlisle
Summerfield Books — Bookstore, found on Skirsgill Business Park in Penrith. Also worth knowing about Summerfield Books: a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
Skirsgill Business Park, Penrith, CA11 0DJ
Phone: +44 1768 210 793
Verey Books
Bookstore32.0 km from Carlisle
Verey Books — Bookstore. Also worth knowing about Verey Books: it has a website with more detail.
Pooley Bridge, CA10 2NN
Second Hand Bookshop
Bookstore34.8 km from Carlisle
Second Hand Bookshop is Bookstore. Second Hand Bookshop also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Mo-Su 10:30-17:00.
Hours: Mo-Su 10:30-17:00
Bookends
Bookstore34.9 km from Carlisle
Bookends is Bookstore on 66 Main Street, Keswick. Bookends also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Mo-Fr 09:30-18:00; Sa 09:00-18:00; Su 10:00-18:00.
66 Main Street, Keswick, CA12 5DX
Hours: Mo-Fr 09:30-18:00; Sa 09:00-18:00; Su 10:00-18:00
Keswick Book Shop
Bookstore35.0 km from Carlisle
Keswick Book Shop is Bookstore on 4 Station Street, Keswick. Keswick Book Shop also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as limited.
4 Station Street, Keswick, CA12 5HU
Hours: limited
The New Bookshop
Bookstore37.6 km from Carlisle
The New Bookshop is Bookstore on 42-44 Main Street, Cockermouth. The New Bookshop also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Mo-Sa 09:30+; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
42-44 Main Street, Cockermouth, CA13 9LQ
Hours: Mo-Sa 09:30+
Phone: +44 1900 822062
Bookstore listings for Carlisle: 5 in Carlisle and 8 more nearby mapped from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Photos from Wikimedia Commons contributors; individual photo credits appear in captions. Listing data was last refreshed automatically — verify hours before visiting.