Scarthin Books

This place is a real gem. Nestled in the village of Cromford where Arkwright built his mills under the black rocks. There is a pond in the middle of the village and beside it, just up the street behind the pub, is Scathin Books. There is a sign outside that says «We value old books» which is certainly true. Step inside and you can hardly move for old books, floor to ceiling in every nook and cranny there are books everywhere. Even the cash desk seems to be hidden behind a barricade of books. If you can find it a stairwell leads upstairs to more books and, hidden behind a bookcase door, a lovely vegetarian café serving cakes, light snacks and a very nice cup of coffee. There is an abundance of coffee and tea shops around here. It is a very picturesque village. But if you want something a bit different, and you too value old books, this is the place for you.

This is the best bookshop in Derbyshire and simply a pleasure to visit. You can spend hours browsing the shelves on what seems like endless floors off the lovely old staircase.
It is quirky and quaint but at the same time has all the books you could need and the staff are exceptionally helpful.
Make a day of it go along and have lunch in the lovely little café and then pop down the road to look around the other shops on offer in Cromford.

Scarthin Books is a fine second-​hand book shop in a lovely little village called Cromford, about thirty miles outside of Manchester. The peak district is a great place for a long walk through the hills and little villages, and Cromford may be one of the places you can arrange to visit.
Scarthin Books would make a lovely addition to any country visiting experience. Situated in a crowded, thin building with rickety stairs and five floors, Scarthin Books is an amorphous pile of literature which would feel like a building from a Kafka novel, only where there it is misery, here is it joy.
The literature ranges from Greek Drama, to railway manuals, to modern day novels, travel books, philosophy, history, geography, psychology and childrens books. They really do have everything. Its organization is a mystery to me, but it all contributes to the quaint feel of this unique bookshop. Scarthin Books is famous amongst the locals as the best place to buy literature in the area.
Also, on the third floor (I think, its pretty confusing in there!) is a quaint little tea and coffee shop selling homemade cakes and homemade soups. Staff are, as you would expect, delightful.
My only criticism would be that a lot of the books are not second-​hand but brand new. This means that they are full price and in many cases, more expensive than Amazon if not Waterstones. Even so, the range here is unbelievable.
For any book lover this place is a really excellent book shop, and as an English Literature postgraduate I have a lot of experience of book shops. I really think that this is one of the better bookshops in the UK, and certainly it’s the best (or second best, see The Art of Tea on Unilocal) that I’ve seen anywhere near Manchester.