Find us at The Book Brewery - Ambleside

We have now moved into and opened The Book Brewery Ambleside 

Find our new website here: 

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Some Merchandise...

Our Greeting Card Selection

Book orders

Order books we don't have in stock by sending us an email and we'll order it for you.

Different to Waterstones 

We want to offer an alternative to the big chains and offer a hand-selected range of books that varies from but complements the selection in Waterstones, Foyles, et. Our selection, therefore, consists of few mainstream bestsellers, but rather of a selection of translated books, indie publishers, books addressing gender or culture, as well as underrated books that deserve more attention.

Our careful selection also means we can provide tailored book suggestions for readers of different ages and with different preferences.

Frequently Asked Questions

Apart from the local markets, where do you pop up?

We hold regular pop-up events at various locations around the Lake District especially for seasonally events (Christmas events, Octoberfest, school holidays et.). And we travel all around the UK mainland for bigger events - book fairs, book festivals, music festivals, et. Follow us on social media or check our website for event announcements.

If you've got any recommendations or requests where we could go, please don't hesitate to get in contact - but bear in mind, we need a large outdoor space to set up our van (2.2x6m).

Can you order books for customers?

Yes! We can order them for pickup into the shop and you can collect it whenever it is easiest for you, or you can have them delivered to your home. Just pop us an email or fill in our contact form and we'll get it sorted.

Why did you start a van business rather than a normal bookshop?

We couldn't really afford to set up a physical brick and mortar shop, so decidin between the two business types was never really an option for us. But we love being able to travel to customers and places that don't have an indie bookshop or just anywhere where we can bring our a little unusual selection of books.

How do you keep the books on the shelves when driving?

A lot of our shelves are angled which you might be able to spot on our pictures or when you pop by and have a look in the van. Those shelves are usually fine when driving. The straight shelves, we have to empty. And pack the books down in boxes. And on top of that, it takes a lot of slow and careful driving (and occasionally annoying some cars that get stuck behind us if we're on a windy road).

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Comments

Andrea Mulas
7 days ago

Hi
I am an italian special needs teacher 37 ys old
I am jnterested in having an experience during July or part of August in bookselling. I want tò discover if it's a possibile future job and I would really love tò get in touch with booksvan reality. I would be really glad tò you if you let me know if you need an hand as a volunteer on your van Otherwise if you can please would be really helpful having an hint about bookshop that look for volunteer in the District lake
Thank you for your attention
Best regards

Otto
8 months ago

So lovely and brilliant 😄👍

About us

We are an independent, new mobile bookshop located in the heart of the Lake District. Our mission is to bring our bookshop directly to our customers with a carefully curated selection of books.
We are especially passionate about translated books, gender and cultural diversity across all our genres, and about niche and less well known gems of literature.