Culture

Run A Bookshop In Scotland On Your Next Vacation

Step inside a vacation in a seaside town, where you run a bookshop, smile at strangers and have a happy holiday

Bhavika Govil

Remember &lsquoYou&rsquove Got Mail&rsquo The movie had all the works a script by the witty Nora Ephon, perfect conversations and romance, books and New York in the fall. In the film, Meg Ryan romanticised bookstores by running her own children&rsquos bookshop (which, spoiler alert, was forced to shut down thanks to aggressive competitors, but nevermind).  

Away from fiction, there&rsquos a small town on the other end of the world that is waiting to have your own &ldquoShop Around The Corner&rdquo, at least for a few days. The Open Book is a bookshop-and-bnb in Wigtown, Scotland that gives readers & travellers an unforgettable experience. It&rsquos the chance to run a bookstore for a few days, all while settling in as a local in a quaint Scottish town.

Wigtown, Galloway is Scotland&rsquos official book town and the streets are peppered with over 20 independent bookstores, secondhand bookshops and literary cafes. One such is The Open Book, where travellers are welcome to come run the bookshop their own way for a minimum of 7 days, and stay in a cosy apartment above the store, just like a local.

Travellers are encouraged to run the bookshop the way they like it keep it open, keep it shut, change the staff recommendations, add entirely new sections, divide by author or, although we wouldn&rsquot advise it, by colour&mdashyour bookshop, your rules.

However, you don&rsquot get paid for running the store it is you who pays for the experience and the stay. The experience costs close to @INR 4300 a night for two people. Such is the popularity of the concept that it is already fully booked out until 2022, and people put their name on the waiting list every day.

We love the idea of this as much as we do of a bouquet of sharpened pencils, and can&rsquot wait to visit. Will we see you there

Book your experience here

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