Day 6: Grasmere
I mentioned previously that The Lake District is a recurring setting in The Jack Hansard Series, and today we’ve travelled back here to mark Jack’s ordeal with an aquatic horror at Wastwater. I couldn’t hope to reproduce enough images to do this awe-inspiring location justice, so I recommend you have a look around the photos here for the full picture.
Photo by © Richard Thomas (cc-by-sa/2.0)
For today’s stop on the tour I had to get a little creative because, as you might imagine, there is no bookshop located at Wastwater. Grasmere is (I think) the location of the closest bookshop as the crow flies, though it may still take you well over an hour to drive through the hills to reach! This is where we find our penultimate bookshop stop: Sam Read Bookseller.
Broadgate House
Grasmere
Ambleside
LA22 9SY
Sam Read’s has been trading since 1887 and is named after the original owner. With its gorgeous stone walls and Victorian windows coupled with the sublime rural setting, Sam Read’s looks like the quintessential traditional English bookshop.
Let’s take a moment to truly appreciate the setting. It’s a select few bookshops that can boast such a dramatic backdrop.
“I would say our biggest claim to fame is our age – 133 years and still going strong – and our location, nestled in the heart of Grasmere village opposite the Village Green (known as Moss Parrock) and with views of the fells from our windows.”
Elaine from Sam Read’s
Inside, the shop is crammed with books but doesn’t feel overcrowded or disorganised. It looks like a bookshop with lots of nooks and crannies to explore.
How can I support Sam Read Bookseller?
Don’t let the historic character mislead you – Sam Read’s is perfectly modern with its swish online shop which you can find easily on their website. I was in a bit of a non-fiction mood when I was browsing, so here are some titles inspired by my hobbies and interests. Click on the covers to find out more!
If you know someone who would rather choose their own books and loves the Lake District, then a Sam Read gift card might be a great present idea. I rather like that you can choose the design on the gift card, as well.
They also stock some lovely Christmas cards with designs based on the local area. Is that Wastwater and Sam Read’s bookshop itself that I spy on some of them?
For the best places to follow Sam Read’s on social media, they post fairly regularly on Instagram, and even more so on Twitter.
They’re a little less active on Facebook, but if that’s your preferred medium you can give them a follow here. Certainly worth a look, just for the beautiful landscape photos of the surrounding area!
We’re nearly at the end of our tour! You can look back on all the places we’ve visited so far here. Tomorrow we travel to our final destination, which also happened to be our first: London.
Bookshop photos reproduced with the kind permission of Sam Read Bookseller.
Georgina Jeffery 