Barter Books, Alnwick

If you were to dream up your fantasy bookshop, you probably wouldn't invent one as good as this. Housed in a Victorian railway station, customers amongst its racks of neatly arranged second-hand books have a model railway trundling over their heads and bits of poetry to get them in bookish mood. There are comfy seats where you can sip self-served tea and coffee (honesty box) while settling down for a serious browse. This is as far from W H Smith as you can get.