Shops and markets - The Rough Guide to London - page 426

The VIVOBAREFOOT Experience 64 Neal St, WC2 T 020
7379 5959, W vivobarefoot.com; ! Covent Garden; map
p.132. A temple to the “barefoot shoe”, with its ultra-thin,
puncture resistant and allegedly health-giving soles. Lots of

funky running shoes, of course, but also pretty pumps, Mary
Janes and boots for women, many made with vegan
materials, plus desert boots for men and cool Chelsea boots
for kids. Mon-Sat 10.30am-7pm, Sun noon-6pm.

BOOKS
While the chain bookstores struggle to stay afloat, London remains blessed, for now, with a number of local, independent
and specialist bookshops. Bloomsbury and Charing Cross Road are excellent hunting grounds; the latter, in particular, along
with Cecil Court ( W cecilcourt.co.uk) - the little lane that runs between Charing Cross Road and St Martins Lane - is
particularly good if you're looking for secondhand oddities and rare titles.

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small art gallery and a good little tearoom downstairs.
Mon-Fri 9.30am-5.30pm, Sat noon-4pm.
Bookmarks 1 Bloomsbury St, WC1 T 020 7637 1848,
W bookmarks.uk.com; ! Tottenham Court Road; map
p.120. Leftist and radical books in the heart of Bloomsbury,
with a wide range of political biography, history, theory
and assorted political ephemera. Mon noon-7pm,
Tues-Sat 10am-7pm.
Books for Cooks 4 Blenheim Crescent, W11 T 020
7221 1992, W www.booksforcooks.com; ! Ladbroke
Grove; map pp.274-275. Anything and everything to do
with food at this wonderful new and used bookshop, which
also has a tiny café (get there early for lunch) and cooking
demonstrations. Tues-Sat 10am-6pm.
Ì Daunt Books 83 Marylebone High St, W1 T 020
7224 2295, W dauntbooks.co.uk; ! Bond Street or
Baker Street; map p.89. Wide and inspirational range of
travel literature, guidebooks and more, presented by
expert staff in the beautiful, galleried interior of this
famous Edwardian shop. Other branches . Mon-Sat
9am-7.30pm, Sun 11am-6pm.
Gay's the Word 66 Marchmont St, WC1 T 020 7278
7654, W gaystheword.co.uk; ! Russell Square; map
p.120. Venerable community bookshop, famed for the
weekly lesbian discussion groups, and offering an extensive
collection of lesbian and gay classics, pulps, contemporary
fiction and nonfiction, plus cards and calendars. Mon-Sat
10am-6.30pm, Sun 2-6pm.
Gosh! 1 Berwick St, WC1 T 020 7636 1011,
W goshlondon.com; ! Tottenham Court Rd; map
p.100. All manner of graphic novels, comics and art and
design books for the casually curious to the serious
collector, with gorgeous vintage items, small-press
oddities and superhero standards. Daily 10.30am-7pm.
Idler Academy 81 Westbourne Park Rd, W2 T 020
7221 5908, W idler.co.uk; ! Royal Oak or Westbourne
Park; map pp.274-275. With its aim to promote
“cultivated leisure”, this is a delightfully quirky bookstore
whose “academy” hosts one-off events and courses ranging
from ukulele lessons and supper clubs to instruction in
calligraphy, ancient philosophy and urban foraging.
Co-owner and author Tom Hodgkinson produces the
annual hardback journal The Idler , whose writings

GENERAL INTEREST AND CHAINS
Blackwell's 100 Charing Cross Rd, WC2 T 020 7292
5100, W bookshop.blackwell.co.uk; ! Tottenham
Court Road or Leicester Square; map p.100. The London
flagship of Oxford's academic bookshop is bigger than it
looks and has a much wider range than you might expect.
Its academic stock is, unsurprisingly, excellent, but so too is
its range of travel and fiction titles. Mon-Sat
9.30am-8pm, Sun noon-6pm.
Ì Foyles 113-119 Charing Cross Rd, WC2 T 020 7437
5660, W foyles.co.uk; ! Tottenham Court Road; map
p.100. Long-established, huge and famous London
bookshop with an unrivalled selection of titles on all
subjects, including antiquarian books, a café and and Ray's
Jazz Shop for music. In 2014 they'll be moving next door;
the plan is to combine print books with digital products and
all manner of events and services, to create a flagship bricks-
and-mortar bookstore for the digital age. If anyone can do
it, Foyles can. Mon-Sat 9.30am-9pm, Sun noon-6pm.
Hatchard's 187 Piccadilly, W1 T 020 7439 9921,
W hatchards.co.uk; ! Piccadilly Circus; map p.78. A
little overshadowed by the colossal Waterstones down the
road, and actually part of the Waterstones group, the
venerable Hatchard's, founded in 1797, holds its own when
it comes to quality fiction, biography, history and travel.
The regal interiors are only fitting for a bookseller by
appointment to HM the Queen. Mon-Sat 9.30am-7pm,
Sun noon-6pm.
Waterstones 203-206 Piccadilly, W1 T 0843 290
8549, W waterstones.com; ! Piccadilly Circus; map
p.78. This flagship bookstore - Europe's largest - occupies
the former Simpson's department store building and
boasts a café, bar, gallery and events rooms as well five
floors of books. Many other branches around town. Mon-
Sat 9am-10pm, Sun 11.30am-6pm.

INDEPENDENT AND SPECIALIST
Arthur Probsthain 41 Great Russell St, WC1 T 020
7636 1096, W apandtea.co.uk; ! Tottenham Court
Road; map p.120. With another branch in the nearby
School of Oriental and African Studies, this impressive old
store, opposite the British Museum, specializes in books on
the arts and cultures of Africa and The Middle East, with a