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The best cities for book lovers in the British Isles
Strike out on the paper trail and discover six bookish cities with vibrant literary connections
From Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist to Sally Rooney’s Normal People, the British Isles has been literary strongholds for centuries. Writers such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Evelyn Waugh, Oscar Wilde, Dylan Thomas and Virginia Woolf paved the way for modern literary giants. Many of the world’s greatest books have been set in Blighty from Hilary Mantel’s epic Wolf Hall to Monica Ali’s Brick Lane.
Each May, bibliophiles the world over make a pilgrimage to Hay Book Festival for endless rounds of readings, lectures and workshops. Turning twenty this year, UNESCO’s Creative Cities of Literature programme (part of the wider Creative Cities Network that celebrates Folk Art, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature, Music and Media) connects fifty-three cities recognised for their outstanding contribution to literature. Five are found in the UK and one in Ireland (the most of any global region). Here’s why…
Edinburgh
Great Scott! Even arriving by train to Waverley is a literary adventure. The station is named after Sir Walter Scott’s first novel and adorned with literary quotations from the author. This is the city that gave us Robert Louis Stevenson, Irvine Welsh and Muriel Spark and will be ever synonymous with Harry Potter as resident J.K. Rowling wrote the series here (most famously penning ideas in The Elephant House Cafe). The city boasts its very own poet laureate, known as the Makar (currently poet and playwright, Hannah Lavery), and hosts the world’s largest international book festival. Founded in 1983, Edinburgh International Book Festival takes places in August and is attended by over 800 writers and 200,000 visitors.
The Radical Book Fair is another yearly highlight, as is the Scottish International Storytelling Festival, where yarns are spun by writers and poets in October. Other fun facts: Scotland’s first book was printed here in 1508; the city has over 50 bookshops (selling all from antique tomes to graphic novels); and the world’s first purpose-built poetry library opened here in 1999. Don’t miss a visit to the Writers’ Museum, just off the Royal Mile, or a literary stroll on The Edinburgh Book Lovers’ Tour. As Edinburgh was the first city to receive the UNESCO City of Literature accolade, it will host the Cities of Literature Conference in October 2024, to mark the 20th anniversary.
Stay
The Roseate Hotel has doubles from £139.50, not including breakfast. Plan the perfect trip to Edinburgh with our guide.
Exeter
The city’s literary history begins in the 10th century with The Exeter Book, an Anglo-Saxon anthology of poetry and riddles (kept in Exeter Cathedral), which holds the largest collection of Old English writing, recognised by UNESCO as one the world’s principal cultural artefacts. Charles Dickens, Agatha Christie, Michael Morpurgo and Hilary Mantel all found inspiration in and around the city.
The annual Book Market in July brings together a wide range of independent bookshops. For poets, there’s Spork!, a spoken-word poetry organisation, which organises live poetry events and workshops. Quay Words, an offshoot of Literature Works (the south west’s writing development agency), champions diversity in literature and is a core project in the UNESCO City of Literature programme, organising regular live performances. Africa Writes Exeter was developed to showcase writing talent from the African continent and its diaspora.
Stay: Hotel du Vin has doubles from £114, not including breakfast.
Manchester
The UK’s first free public library, Chetham’s, opened in Manchester in 1653, and literature and free speech are integral to the city’s history. Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx worked on their Communist Manifesto in the Reading Room of Chetham’s Library in 1845, and Elizabeth Gaskell wrote her campaigning novels that awoke the nation to the plight of the poor. The museum at the Pankhurst Centre celebrates the writings of suffragist Emmeline Pankhurst, who founded the Women’s Social and Political Union in Manchester in 1903.
With over 200 languages spoken, Manchester is the most linguistically diverse city in Western Europe, and this is reflected in the 800 literature events organised each year that reach an audience of around 48,000. Famous Mancunian writers include Frances Hodgson Burnett, Anthony Burgess, John Cooper Clarke, Jeanette Winterson and Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy. Festival wise, there’s the Manchester Literature Festival in October (a showcase for contemporary writing worldwide), the Children’s Book Festival and Festival of Libraries, which celebrates the key role libraries play in civic life, including events at historic library gems Chetham’s, The Portico, John Rylands, and Central Library, the UK’s busiest.
Stay
Native Manchester has doubles from £153, including breakfast. Plan the perfect trip to Manchester with our guide.
Norwich
Home to the UK’s National Centre of Writing, Norwich is renowned as a city of firsts. Revelations of Divine Love, written by Julian of Norwich in 1395, was the first book written by a woman in English. The first poem in blank verse was written here by Henry Howard in the 16th century. The first English provincial library opened in 1608 and Norwich was the first to implement the Public Library Act of 1850.
In 1970, the first Creative Writing MA was founded by Malcolm Bradbury and Angus Wilson at the University of East Anglia (UEA), of which Ian McEwan was the first graduate. Writers who have called Norwich home include Thomas Browne, Ian McEwan, Kazuo Ishiguro, Emma Healey and Sarah Perry.
Don’t miss The Norfolk and Norwich Millennium Library, housed in the Forum, or a visit to the Cathedral Library, home to more than 20,000 books (some dating back to the 15th century). Also notable is The John Innes Centre with its collection of natural history and rare books. Norwich Crime Writing Festival attracts the world’s top crime writers.
Stay
The Assembly House has doubles from £196, including breakfast.
Nottingham
Nottingham’s commitment to improving literacy, paired with a rich literary history and diverse writing community, won it a City of Literature accolade. Known for its rebels and trailblazers, this is a city that gave the world William Langland’s Robin Hood and J.M Barrie’s Peter Pan. Other literary heroes include D.H Lawrence, Lord Byron and Alan Sillitoe. A third of the city’s population is under 24 and its vibrant literature scene with a thriving poet’s community reflects this.
Spoken word and slam poetry events run throughout the year, culminating in the Nottingham Poetry Festival in April/May. Georgina Wilding is the current Young Poet Laureate, and contemporary writers include playwright Amanda Whittington, screenwriter Shane Meadows and novelist and poet John Harvey. Catch a performance at the Nottingham Writers’ Studio, Nottingham Playhouse, or any one of its eighteen public libraries.
Stay
Hart’s Nottingham has doubles from £199, including breakfast.
Dublin
Anywhere you wander in Dublin is a journey through its vast written heritage. Bram Stoker, Oscar Wilde and W.B. Yeats all studied at Trinity College, the city’s literary heartbeat. The highlight is the 213ft Long Room in the Old Library, which holds 200,000 books (currently under long term restoration, although remains impressive). The Book of Kells, an ancient manuscript created by monks in 800AD, can be seen as part of an exhibition in the Old Library.
Marsh’s is Ireland’s oldest public library, unchanged for over three centuries. Pop into Ulysses Rare Books where you’ll find Joyces’ Ulysses illustrated by Henri Matisse, signed by both author and artist (and selling for a cool 25,000 Euros). In the James Joyce Centre catch a reading or lecture, and at The Museum of Literature Ireland innovative exhibits bring the country’s literature alive.
Don’t miss Dublin’s Literary Pub Crawl for a fun way to get to grips with the work of the city’s famous writers. Notable festivals include the Bloomsday Festival, celebrating all thing ‘Ulysses’; ‘Murder One (for crime writers); the Bram Stoker Festival for all things Gothic and ghoulish; the International Literature Festival, which attracts a global audience; and the Dublin Book Festival in November, the champion of Irish writers. The International Dublin Literary Award is the richest literary prize in the world, with the sum of €100,000 awarded to the winning author.
Stay
The Leinster (+353 1233 6000) www.theleinster.ie Doubles from £230, including breakfast.