Scotland’s Book Town

In the 1990s, a small Scottish town called Wigtown on a peninsula reaching out into the Irish Sea was struggling. Its residents could not find work. Two major industries had shut down and the historic buildings fell into disrepair. This was also the time the idea of designating one of Scotland’s towns as the national book town was floated as a way to regenerate depressed areas of the country. Ultimately, Wigtown was chosen from a short list of six places. One of the reasons was that Wigtown had so many empty buildings in its town square, buildings that could hold several book shops. It was also a beautiful area with a rich history. Fast forward to today and there are about 20 bookshops and book-related shops. We visited all we could. Some were closed in the middle of the week when we were there. We still got to see many, and got to eat inside one.

The designation as Scotland’s Book Town came in 1998, the same year that the town hosted its first book festival. We visited just a few days before the book festival and it was lovely to find this sleepy village that rolls up the sidewalks at 5pm (unless you are hungry but there’s a grocery store.)

Here’s a video (click through to YouTube) giving you the history and a quick look and I’ll share a few photos from our visit. Quaint, peaceful, and a book lover’s dream. We stayed at Hillcrest House and it was absolutely wonderful!