London Bookshops Worth a Date: Hours, Events and History, Checked

Why a bookshop works for a first date

A bookshop has a pattern that suits a first meeting: there is something to pick up and talk about, nobody has to sit opposite the other person, and either of you can leave without it feeling abrupt.

One simple format is to give each other a short browse, then swap what you found and why. Skoob Books describes itself as home to London's broadest selection of second-hand books, which makes a small spending limit easy to set. Whichever shop you choose, the details below come from the shops' own pages as read on 4 October 2026, and hours and events do change.

The shop with a documented queer history: Gay's The Word

Gay's The Word describes itself as the UK's oldest LGBT+ bookshop and says it opened in January 1979 at 66 Marchmont Street. It is open Tuesday to Saturday 11am–6pm and Sunday 1pm–6pm, and closed on Mondays. Its site says it hosts book launches, author signings, readings and panel discussions in the shop and online, offers meeting space for community groups, and sells fiction, nonfiction, young adult fiction, classics, poetry, plays, rare books, coming out titles, children's books, graphic novels, history, biography and trans and nonbinary titles.

Its events page, when we read it, listed only one event, dated in April, so check the shop's own channels for what is on now. That April event notice described the ground floor as step-free but the bathroom as not; it is an event listing rather than a standing access statement, but a useful prompt to ask about access in advance. For the shop's history, including the 1984 Customs seizure and the 2017 Mark Ashton plaque, see our guide to queer history in London.

• Gay's The Wordbookshop

  66 Marchmont Street, Bloomsbury, WC1

  Opened in January 1979 according to the shop; open Tuesday to Saturday 11am–6pm and Sunday 1pm–6pm, closed Mondays, with launches, signings and readings listed on its site.

Two WC1 shops: Skoob Books and the London Review Bookshop

Skoob Books is at 66 The Brunswick, off Marchmont Street, WC1N 1AE; Wikipedia places it in the Brunswick Centre in Bloomsbury. Its site lists closing at 7.30pm Monday to Saturday and 6pm on Sunday, but gives two different opening times in two places on the page, 10.30am and 11am, so check before planning around the opening hour. It describes itself as home to London's broadest selection of second-hand books and says its online shop holds around 100,000 titles. It buys books by appointment and accepts enquiries to hire books for film and set dressing.

The London Review Bookshop is at 14 Bury Place, WC1A 2JL, and lists Monday to Saturday 10am–6.30pm and Sunday 12pm–6pm. It calls itself London's best independent bookshop. Its October events page shows a free late-night shopping evening on Tuesday 6 October at 6pm, with 10% off books, and ticketed conversations at 7pm priced at £10, several already sold out; tickets are booked through Eventbrite links. Wikipedia's entry on the London Review of Books says the bookshop opened in Bloomsbury in May 2003.

• Skoob Booksbookshop

  66 The Brunswick, off Marchmont Street, WC1N

  Lists closing at 7.30pm Monday to Saturday and 6pm on Sunday, with two different opening times (10.30am and 11am) on its page; sells second-hand books and says its online shop holds around 100,000 titles.

• London Review Bookshopbookshop

  14 Bury Place, WC1

  Open Monday to Saturday 10am–6.30pm and Sunday 12pm–6pm; its October 2026 listing shows free late-night shopping on 6 October and £10 ticketed author conversations.

Long-established shops: Hatchards and Daunt Books

Hatchards' own page says the bookshop was founded by John Hatchard in 1797, holds a Royal Warrant and has five storeys on Piccadilly, next to Fortnum and Mason and opposite the Royal Academy. It calls itself the oldest bookshop in London. Its contact page gives the address as 187 Piccadilly, W1J 9LE. Wikipedia says the shop moved within Piccadilly in 1801, that its numbering changed to 187 in 1820, that it still trades from the same address, and that it claims to be the oldest bookshop in the UK. The site offers Click and Collect, a Signed and Special collection and an events section whose October listings include author events at the Piccadilly shop. None of the Hatchards pages we read gave opening hours, so check them before you travel.

Daunt Books Marylebone is at 83–84 Marylebone High Street, W1U 4QW, open Monday to Saturday 9am–7.30pm and Sunday 11am–6pm. Its site lists regular author talks, with events running through October, and a travel section with books by country, travel guides and travel writing. Wikipedia describes the Marylebone building as a former Edwardian bookshop with long oak galleries, skylights and William Morris prints, completed in 1912 as an antiquarian bookshop, and says the shop arranges its sections by country. Daunt's site notes that its website lists a curated selection of titles, so phone the shop for anything specific.

Foyles' Charing Cross Road flagship is documented on Wikipedia, which says the company was founded in 1903 and moved to 107 Charing Cross Road in June 2014. We could not read Foyles' own site, so we have not listed its hours; check them directly.

• Hatchardsbookshop

  187 Piccadilly, W1

  Says it was founded in 1797 and is the oldest bookshop in London; offers Click and Collect and lists author events, with no opening hours on the pages read.

• Daunt Books, Marylebonebookshop

  83–84 Marylebone High Street, W1

  Open Monday to Saturday 9am–7.30pm and Sunday 11am–6pm, with regular author talks and a travel section organised around books by country.

Politics and history: Housmans and New Beacon Books

Housmans, at 5 Caledonian Road, describes itself as a not-for-profit bookshop specialising in books, zines and periodicals of radical interest and progressive politics. It says it stocks the largest range of radical newsletters, newspapers and magazines of any shop in Britain, which is its own claim. It is open Monday to Saturday 11am–6.30pm and Sunday noon–6pm, and closed on all bank holidays. Its site lists events, book groups and a podcast. Wikipedia gives its founding date as 26 October 1945, by pacifists connected with the Peace Pledge Union and Peace News, and says it has been on Caledonian Road since 1959.

New Beacon Books, at 76 Stroud Green Road, describes itself as specialists in African and Caribbean literature since 1966. Its site lists Thursday to Saturday 12pm–6pm and Sunday 12pm–5pm, and closed Monday to Wednesday, so it is a weekend plan rather than a weeknight one. Its page also shows images labelled new opening times, so confirm the hours before you go.

• Housmans Bookshopbookshop

  5 Caledonian Road, N1

  Describes itself as not-for-profit and Wikipedia gives 1945 as its opening year; open Monday to Saturday 11am–6.30pm and Sunday noon–6pm, closed on all bank holidays.

• New Beacon Booksbookshop

  76 Stroud Green Road, N4

  Describes itself as specialists in African and Caribbean literature since 1966; open Thursday to Saturday 12pm–6pm and Sunday 12pm–5pm, closed Monday to Wednesday.

A neighbourhood shop with a clear offer: Pages of Hackney

Pages of Hackney, at 70 Lower Clapton Road, says it launched in 2008 and describes itself as a friendly, welcoming community bookshop that feels accessible and inclusive, aiming to give a platform to marginalised voices in publishing. It lists Monday to Friday 11am–6pm, Saturday 10am–6pm and Sunday 11am–1.30pm and 2pm–6pm. Its basement has housed Fields Books, a second-hand section, since 2015. Its events archive lists author events at the shop and at the Old School Rooms, but the most recent entry is dated 7 July 2026 and none was listed as upcoming on 4 October. Its book group page says fiction meetings run most months, with a non-fiction one every couple of months, and asks you to subscribe to a newsletter for dates and titles.

Round Table Books in Brixton describes itself as a Brixton-based inclusive bookshop for children and adults and says it celebrates underrepresented authors, writers and illustrators, stocking books from Black, Global Majority, LGBTQIA+, neurodiverse, disabled and Global South voices. We have not listed its hours or a full address: its page shows more than one conflicting set of opening hours and carries a crowdfunder for an even bigger, inclusion-led bookshop, with no date given. Check its page before you travel.

• Pages of Hackneybookshop

  70 Lower Clapton Road, E5

  Open Monday to Friday 11am–6pm, Saturday 10am–6pm and Sunday 11am–6pm with a short break; its book group meets most months and its events archive's latest entry is dated 7 July 2026.

Choosing by day and time

On a Monday, Gay's The Word and New Beacon Books are closed, while Skoob, the London Review Bookshop, Daunt Marylebone, Housmans and Pages of Hackney list Monday hours. Housmans is closed on bank holidays.

For an evening, Skoob and Daunt Marylebone both list closing at 7.30pm on weekdays, and the London Review Bookshop runs events at 7pm on selected evenings. On Sundays, Gay's The Word opens at 1pm, Housmans at noon, the London Review Bookshop at noon, Daunt Marylebone at 11am, and Skoob at 10.30am or 11am depending on which hours on its page you trust.

If you are choosing by neighbourhood, Gay's The Word and Skoob sit on or just off Marchmont Street in Bloomsbury, and the London Review Bookshop is on Bury Place, so check a map to see how a Bloomsbury browse could link up. Housmans is on Caledonian Road, New Beacon Books on Stroud Green Road, and Pages of Hackney on Lower Clapton Road.

Before you go

• Confirm hours on the shop's own page on the day. This post reflects each site as read on 4 October 2026, and several shops list changing event programmes.
• Book ahead for ticketed events. The London Review Bookshop's October listing shows some events already sold out and tickets sold through Eventbrite.
• Skoob's page gives two different opening times and Round Table Books' page shows conflicting hours alongside a crowdfunder for a bigger shop, so check both directly before travelling.
• Shop pages rarely state step-free access. Gay's The Word described its ground floor as step-free but not its bathroom in an April 2026 event notice, so contact any shop you are unsure about.
• A shop's website may list only part of its stock. Daunt Books says its site shows a curated selection and suggests phoning, so check before travelling for a specific title.

Questions people ask

Which is the oldest bookshop in London?

Hatchards' own page describes it as the oldest bookshop in London and says it was founded by John Hatchard in 1797. Wikipedia notes the shop claims to be the oldest in the UK and that it moved within Piccadilly in 1801; the address was renumbered 187 in 1820. Gay's The Word says it is the UK's oldest LGBT+ bookshop, opened in 1979.

Is there an LGBT+ bookshop in London?

Yes. Gay's The Word, at 66 Marchmont Street, says it opened in January 1979 and describes itself as the UK's oldest LGBT+ bookshop. It is open Tuesday to Saturday 11am–6pm and Sunday 1pm–6pm, closed Mondays, and its site lists launches, signings, readings and panels.

Which London bookshops are open on Sundays?

Their own sites list Sunday hours for Gay's The Word (1pm–6pm), Housmans (noon–6pm), the London Review Bookshop (12pm–6pm), Daunt Books Marylebone (11am–6pm), Skoob (to 6pm; its page gives 10.30am and 11am as the opening time), Pages of Hackney (11am–6pm, with a short break) and New Beacon Books (12pm–5pm).

Which London bookshops hold author events?

The London Review Bookshop lists ticketed author conversations through Eventbrite; Daunt Books Marylebone lists regular author talks; Hatchards lists author events at its Piccadilly shop; Housmans lists events and book groups; Gay's The Word says it hosts launches, signings, readings and panels; and Pages of Hackney runs a book group that meets most months, though its events page listed nothing upcoming on the check date.

Which London bookshops are open late?

Skoob Books and Daunt Books Marylebone list closing at 7.30pm on weekdays. Housmans and the London Review Bookshop close at 6.30pm, with the London Review Bookshop also holding 7pm evening events and a late-night shopping evening on 6 October. Check each shop's page for the day you plan to go.