Bookstores in Exeter
If you judge a town by its bookshops, Exeter, England gives you 36 to judge by. That's 36 bookshops mapped around Exeter, each with its own shelves and specialties. The used sections are where the real bargains hide. Staff picks shelves are the fastest way to read a shop's personality.
This guide covers every bookstore we could verify in and around Exeter (within about 40 km), built from OpenStreetMap's community-maintained data. Names you'll run into include Waterstones and The Curious Otter Bookshop, plus The Mustard Seed. If a bookshop's missing from Exeter's list, it probably just hasn't been mapped yet.
The Exeter bookstore lineup
36 mapped within about 40 km:
Waterstones
Bookstore
Waterstones — Bookstore, found on 252 High Street in Exeter. Also worth knowing about Waterstones: the map lists its hours as Mo-Sa 09:00-18:00; Su 10:30-16:30; it has a website with more detail.
252 High Street, Exeter, EX4 3PZ
Hours: Mo-Sa 09:00-18:00; Su 10:30-16:30
The Curious Otter Bookshop
Bookstore
The Curious Otter Bookshop — Bookstore.
The Mustard Seed
Bookstore
The Mustard Seed — Bookstore, found on 1 All Saints Road in Sidmouth. Also worth knowing about The Mustard Seed: the map lists its hours as Mo-Fr 09:00-16:00; it has a website with more detail.
1 All Saints Road, Sidmouth, EX10 8ER
Hours: Mo-Fr 09:00-16:00
TGJones
Bookstore
TGJones is Bookstore on 56 Fore Street, Tiverton. TGJones also notes on the map: a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
56 Fore Street, Tiverton, EX16 6LD
Phone: +44 1884 258276
The Works
Bookstore
The Works — Bookstore.
Paignton, TQ4 5DN
Angel Books
Bookstore
Angel Books is Bookstore. Angel Books also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Tu,Fr,Sa 09:00-16:30.
Hours: Tu,Fr,Sa 09:00-16:30
Second hand book shop
Bookstore
Second hand book shop is Bookstore.
Final Frontier
Bookstore
Final Frontier is Bookstore on 53 South Street, Exeter. Final Frontier also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Tu-Sa 10:30-17:30; Mo,Su off.
53 South Street, Exeter, EX1 1EE
Hours: Tu-Sa 10:30-17:30; Mo,Su off
Secomd-Hand Bookshop
Used bookstore
Secomd-Hand Bookshop — Used bookstore.
The Topsham Bookshop
Used bookstore
The Topsham Bookshop — Used bookstore. Also worth knowing about The Topsham Bookshop: the map lists its hours as Mo-Sa 10:30-13:00,14:00-17:00.
Hours: Mo-Sa 10:30-13:00,14:00-17:00
Waterstones
Bookstore
Waterstones — Bookstore. Also worth knowing about Waterstones: it has a website with more detail.
Castle Books
Bookstore
Castle Books — Bookstore on 4 Castle Street.
4 Castle Street
Waterstones
Bookstore
Waterstones — Bookstore on 7-9 Courtenay Street. Also worth knowing about Waterstones: it has a website with more detail.
7-9 Courtenay Street
The Works
Bookstore
The Works — Bookstore. Also worth knowing about The Works: the map lists its hours as Mo-Sa 09:00-17:30;Su10:00-16:30; it has a website with more detail.
Hours: Mo-Sa 09:00-17:30;Su10:00-16:30
Oxfam Books & Music
BookstoreRun by Oxfam
Run by Oxfam, Oxfam Books & Music is Bookstore, found on 97-98 South Street in Exeter. Also worth knowing about Oxfam Books & Music: the map lists its hours as Mo-Fr 09:00-17:30; Sa 09:00-17:00; Su 11:00-15:00; it has a website with more detail.
97-98 South Street, Exeter, EX1 1EN
Hours: Mo-Fr 09:00-17:30; Sa 09:00-17:00; Su 11:00-15:00
Book-Cycle
Bookstore
Book-Cycle — Bookstore, found on 7 West Street in Exeter. Also worth knowing about Book-Cycle: it has a website with more detail.
7 West Street, Exeter, EX1 1BB
Archway Bookshop
Bookstore
Archway Bookshop is Bookstore on Trinity Square, Axminster. Archway Bookshop also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Mo-Fr 09:00-17:00; Sa 10:00-16:00; it has a website with more detail.
Trinity Square, Axminster, EX13 5AP
Hours: Mo-Fr 09:00-17:00; Sa 10:00-16:00
The Works
Bookstore
The Works — Bookstore, found on Union Street in Torquay. Also worth knowing about The Works: it has a website with more detail.
Union Street, Torquay
Quayside Bookshop
Bookstore
Quayside Bookshop — Bookstore.
Bookstall
Bookstore
Bookstall is Bookstore.
Second-hand bookstore
BookstoreRun by National Trust
Run by National Trust, Second-hand bookstore is Bookstore.
High Street Books
Bookstore
High Street Books is Bookstore on High Street, Honiton.
High Street, Honiton
Betty's Books
Bookstore
Betty's Books — Bookstore, found on 30 Queen Street in Seaton. Also worth knowing about Betty's Books: it has a website with more detail.
30 Queen Street, Seaton, EX12 2RB
Winstone's Books
Bookstore
Winstone's Books is Bookstore on 10 High Street, Sidmouth. Winstone's Books also notes on the map: it has a website with more detail.
10 High Street, Sidmouth, EX10 8EL
The Yellow Bookshop
Bookstore
The Yellow Bookshop is Bookstore.
The Bookery
Bookstore
The Bookery — Bookstore on High Street. Also worth knowing about The Bookery: the map lists its hours as Mo-Fr 09:30-17:00; Sa 10:00-14:00.
High Street
Hours: Mo-Fr 09:30-17:00; Sa 10:00-14:00
The End
Bookstore
The End is Bookstore. The End also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Tu-Fr 10:00-15:30; Sa 10:00-13:00.
Hours: Tu-Fr 10:00-15:30; Sa 10:00-13:00
Astors Bookshop & Art Materials
Bookstore
Astors Bookshop & Art Materials — Bookstore.
Bookbag
Bookstore
Bookbag is Bookstore on Fore Street, Exeter. Bookbag also notes on the map: a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
Fore Street, Exeter
Phone: +44 1392 757910
The Works
Bookstore
The Works — Bookstore, found on 20 Fore Street in Tiverton. Also worth knowing about The Works: a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
20 Fore Street, Tiverton, EX16 6LH
Phone: +44 1884 242076
The Works
Bookstore
The Works — Bookstore.
House of Fables
Bookstore
House of Fables is Bookstore.
No Shelf Control
Bookstore
No Shelf Control — Bookstore, found on 14 South Street in Wellington.
14 South Street, Wellington, TA21 8NS
Rowan Tree Bookshop
Bookstore
Rowan Tree Bookshop is Bookstore on 46 Fore Street.
46 Fore Street
Paragon Books
Bookstore
Paragon Books — Bookstore, found on 38 High Street in Sidmouth. Also worth knowing about Paragon Books: it has a website with more detail.
38 High Street, Sidmouth, EX10 8EJ
Flux Books
Bookstore
Flux Books — Bookstore on 17 High Street. Also worth knowing about Flux Books: the map lists its hours as Mo-Sa 10:00-17:00; Su 10:00-16:00; it has a website with more detail.
17 High Street
Hours: Mo-Sa 10:00-17:00; Su 10:00-16:00
What the map tells us about bookstores in Exeter
11 of the 36 list their opening hours on the map, which is genuinely useful — bookshops keep civilised hours, so the listed ones are usually reliable.
16 have websites listed. Worth a look for events — readings and signings get announced there first.
There's a cluster: 2 of them sit on High Street, so you can string those into one walk and drive between the rest.
2 of the shops are tagged as selling used books — the second-hand shelves are where out-of-print gems and first editions turn up for pocket change.
The Exeter bookstore crawl
Plot these on a map and the day plans itself: Waterstones on 252 High Street, The Curious Otter Bookshop, The Mustard Seed on 1 All Saints Road, TGJones on 56 Fore Street, The Works, Angel Books, Second hand book shop, and Final Frontier on 53 South Street. That's 36 stops on the Exeter bookstore crawl. 28 more are listed below.
Bookstore tips for Exeter
A few things worth knowing before you work through Exeter's bookstores:
- Learn the remainders table at Waterstones. Publisher overstocks sold cheap. Great for gift buying — new books at used prices.
- Visit during author events at The Curious Otter Bookshop. Readings and signings are usually free and turn a bookshop into the best evening out in town.
- Support the shop's own publishing. Some independents publish local authors or print their own anthologies. Buying them funds the ecosystem directly.
- Learn your editions. A first edition, first printing is the collectible one. Booksellers will show you how to check the copyright page.
Good to know
We searched about 40 km around Exeter — 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 Exeter can take a while to appear. Spotted a closure among the 36, or a bookstore we missed entirely? The map is the source of truth here — one OpenStreetMap edit corrects it for everyone.
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 36 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.
Bookstore listings for Exeter: 36 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.