Aladdin’s Cave of Books

Morecambe’s shop without pier

It’s estimated that well over 100,000 books are crammed into The Old Pier Bookshop on Morecambe’s seafront – but it would be impossible to count them all. As you enter the doorway, there seems to be little order or structure, with unlabelled shelves, crammed alleyways of books, and waist-high piles on the floor. One observer has described the experience as being ‘the bibliophile equivalent of cave exploration’. Another comment is that ‘the separation of books seems to ebb and flow in an almost hallucinogenic fashion’. However, the books are loosely organised by theme, and the owner, Tony Vettese – known affectionately as ‘Mr Bookshop’ – is reputedly able to locate request volumes with an uncanny degree of accuracy.

Needless to say, it is an independent bookshop that is familyowned and family-run, and there seems to be a great deal of pride taken in the apparently higgledy-piggledy approach in this warren of second-hand reading material. Printed treasures are to be found, and a couple of hours can flash by as visitors pore over the cornucopia of written material.

Owner Tony is of Scottish-Italian descent, the son of an immigrant from the Abruzzi Mountains in Central Italy, 50 miles inland from Rome. His father set up an ice cream cart business in Glasgow, but in 1961, when Tony was just three years old, the family came to Morecambe, and turned Elsie Binns’ lingerie shop into a café. Young Tony eventually brought in his surplus of children’s books to sell, with customers then bringing their own. Soon, one corner was given over to them, and eventually the whole shop, and The Old Pier Bookshop was born. More than 30 years later, the business is still going strong, with locals and visitors alike taking great joy in exploring the aisles. Tony has never specialised in any one area or specific topics, and books on all subjects are welcome.

Address 287 Marine Road Central, Morecambe, LA4 5BY, +44 (0)1524 409360 |

Getting there From the Midland Hotel, a 10-minute walk, east along the seafront Marine Road | Hours Daily 10.30am – 6pm | Tip Almost opposite the bookshop on the seafront promenade is a rust-coloured steel sculpture depicting and naming the ranges of Cumbrian hills across the bay – perfect to get your bearings.