Where to buy used books in Aldershot

Updated 01/10/2026

Aldershot, in north-east Hampshire on the Surrey border, has two second-hand book stops in its own centre: the Sunday car boot that Rushmoor Borough Council holds on the covered decks of its car park off Wellington Avenue, and a children's charity shop half a mile down the High Street. Farnborough, to the north, adds a comic shop full of back issues, a Christian bookshop with a second-hand section on Kingsmead and a pair of charity shops a few doors apart in North Camp, while Camberley and Mytchett, over the county line in Surrey Heath, bring three charity shops clustered around Obelisk Way and the High Street and a twice-weekly car boot. Figures quoted are in pounds sterling throughout.

The deeper shelves sit just beyond that urban area. Farnham, under three miles south-west in Waverley, puts an Oxfam Books & Music on The Borough a few minutes' walk from an antiquarian dealer in Lion and Lamb Yard. Godalming and Guildford, roughly eight miles out to the south-east and east, add a charity book and record shop and a second Oxfam bookshop, and Alton, eleven miles south-west in East Hampshire, has an independent second-hand bookshop on Normandy Street.

Timing matters more than distance here. Dark Star in Farnborough opens only Thursday to Saturday, the Mytchett car boot only on Thursdays and Saturdays, and the Rushmoor car boot only on Sundays, so no single day catches all three.

Spot map

The best spots

Car boot sale

Rushmoor Car Boot Sale

High Street Car Park, Wellington Avenue, Aldershot GU11 1SD

A weekly Sunday sale on the covered, hard-standing decks of the council's High Street car park in Aldershot town centre, organised by Rushmoor Borough Council's markets team, which gives the hours as 7.30am to 1.30pm. Early buyers pay £5 a head until 9am and everyone after that pays £1, with under-16s free and cards preferred; sellers may not trade among themselves before 8.30am, so the opening stretch belongs to the paying early birds. The markets team's Instagram account repeated on 8 January 2026 that the sale runs every Sunday whatever the weather. Books go unmentioned on the council's page and in that post alike, so what reaches the tables depends on whichever sellers book a pitch.

Hours: Sun 7:30am–1:30pmWebsite

Oxfam Books & Music

Oxfam Books & Music Farnham

18-19 The Borough, Farnham GU9 7NF

Out in Farnham, across the Surrey border in Waverley and 2.8 miles south-west of Aldershot, the specialist Oxfam shop on The Borough, staffed entirely by volunteers according to the Farnham Herald. The paper reported on 4 June 2026 that a volunteer who sorts and values up to 100 donated records a week had been honoured at the shop the previous day, and noted that the bookshop moved to The Borough in 2019. In April 2026 it hung a show of Farnham scenes printed on a Columbian hand press, from 14 to 17 April. For hours, Oxfam's listing simply refers you to the shop's own phone number.

Website

Antiquarian bookshop

Holybourne Rare Books

Unit 16, 5 Lion and Lamb Yard, Farnham GU9 7LL

In Farnham's Lion and Lamb Yard, about 250 metres from the Oxfam shop, a dealer belonging to the ABA, the PBFA and ILAB that describes its stock as antiquarian and good second-hand books on most subjects, with Jane Austen as a speciality, plus modern first editions and fine bindings. It also buys: its website says it purchases libraries and parcels of good books, and that online ordering is paused during a redesign, so the open shop is the way in. The site and the Farnham business improvement district both put it open six days, Monday through Saturday, from ten until four, the latter as archived in May 2026, whereas the ABA member profile, as archived in July 2026, shows 10 till 5, Monday to Saturday, in one line and 10 till 4 every day at the Farnham shop in another.

Hours: Mon–Sat 10am–4pmWebsite

Charity book and record shop

A Novel Idea

9 Queen Street, Godalming GU7 1BA

In Godalming, 7.9 miles south-east of Aldershot in Waverley, the book and record shop of the charity Catalyst Support, which calls it the town's only charity book and record shop. Paperbacks typically cost £2 and hardbacks start at £2.50, while first editions, signed copies and collectable titles are priced one by one, and the volunteers say more may be hiding out the back if the floor lacks what you want. On 29 September 2026 the shop's Facebook page trailed a poetry selection for National Poetry Day on Thursday 1 October. A Vantage Point magazine write-up of July 2024 gave shorter hours from Tuesday to Thursday, closing at 1pm, so ring ahead before a weekday afternoon visit.

Hours: Tue–Sat 10am–4pmWebsite

All spots by type

Second-hand bookshops

Comic shop with back issues

Dark Star Comics

28A Cove Road, Farnborough GU14 0EN

In Farnborough, three miles north of Aldershot on Cove Road, an independent science-fiction and comics business that says it has traded for 30 years from premises in Hampshire and Surrey. Besides new titles, graphic novels and action figures, it keeps many boxes of back issues to dig through, and it warns that only a fraction of the stock appears in its eBay shop, so email the shop about a particular run. Its new-releases page listed the comics arriving for Thursday 1 October 2026, opening day of its three-day week.

Hours: Thu–Sat 10am–5pmWebsite

Christian bookshop with a used section

The Triangle

64 Kingsmead, Farnborough GU14 7SL

In Farnborough town centre, 2.9 miles north of Aldershot in Rushmoor, a café and Christian bookshop run by the charity Farnborough Christian Outreach at 64 Kingsmead. Alongside new titles it sells second-hand books over the counter, by click and collect or online, and its home page said exactly that when archived on 31 May 2026. The used list it publishes is almost entirely religious reading, from hymn books and Bible concordances to theology and prayer, at a few pounds a title.

Hours: Mon–Sat 9:30am–5pmWebsite

Second-hand bookshops

Alton Secondhand Books

43 Normandy Street, Alton GU34 1DQ

Furthest out, in Alton, 11.3 miles south-west of Aldershot in East Hampshire, an independent shop on Normandy Street that bills its shelves on Facebook as non-fiction across the board, naming transport, military and biography, with fiction running from recent paperbacks to first editions and a book-search service on top. The page is kept busy with window displays: a post of 14 June 2026 dressed the main window in Jane Austen, Georgian life and the Peninsular War ahead of Alton's Regency Week, and one of 8 September 2026 showed off a fresh intake of military titles. Check the hours with the shop before making the drive.

Website

Charity shops

Children's charity shop (Just4Kids)

Just4Kids Aldershot

Manor Chambers, 304 High Street, Aldershot GU12 4LT

Along the High Street about 800 metres south-east of Aldershot's centre, in Manor Chambers, a children's charity shop raising money for deaf children through Chloe's and Sophie's Special Ears Fund. On 30 January 2026 the shop's Facebook page pictured an animal-themed display mixing books with puzzles and soft toys, and a donations notice of 5 February asked people to bag toys, books and clothes separately. The same page points drivers to free parking behind the building.

Hours: Tue–Sat 10am–4pmWebsite

Charity shop (Parity for Disability)

Parity for Disability North Camp

69 Camp Road, North Camp, Farnborough GU14 6EP

On Camp Road in North Camp, the Farnborough village two miles north of Aldershot, one of just two shops run by the charity Parity for Disability, the other being in Church Crookham. The charity describes both as carrying a huge range of clothing, books, ornaments and gifts, every item donated by the public and nothing bought in, with electricals turned away. Its news archive for April 2026 records a spring gardening event held in this shop. Donations are taken between 10am and 3pm, a narrower window than the opening hours.

Hours: Mon–Sat 9:45am–4pmWebsite

Independent charity shop

The Charity Aid Store

11-15 Obelisk Way, Camberley GU15 3SD

Over in Camberley, six miles north of Aldershot in Surrey Heath, a charity shop run as the trading name of The Mytchett Ministries, just outside The Square by the exit next to Boots. Its own page names books, DVDs and CDs in a list that runs from furniture and clothes to toys, jewellery and kitchenware, and says certain items are also listed on eBay and Vinted. SurreyLive reported on 17 September 2026 that Surrey Heath Borough Council had agreed a fresh sale of the Obelisk Way site, after a deal first approved in September 2025 fell through, with final sign-off still to come from West Surrey Council, so phone ahead if you are coming from out of town.

Hours: Tue–Sat 9am–5pmWebsite

Children's charity shop (Just4Kids)

Just4Kids Camberley

27 Obelisk Way, Camberley GU15 3SD

On Obelisk Way in Camberley, Surrey Heath, 85 metres along from the Charity Aid Store, the Camberley branch of Just4Kids, raising money for the same deaf children's fund as its Aldershot counterpart. Its Facebook page reported on 2 May 2026 that the shelves had been fully restocked with plenty of books, and on 16 May it photographed a trolley of newly donated children's titles, from picture books to reads for older children, on its way to the floor. The page bio sets out the same five-day week as the Aldershot branch.

Hours: Tue–Sat 10am–4pmWebsite

Charity shop (Phyllis Tuckwell hospice)

Phyllis Tuckwell Camberley

51-53 High Street, Camberley GU15 3RQ

In Camberley town centre, under 200 metres from Obelisk Way, the hospice charity Phyllis Tuckwell moved its local shop into larger premises on the High Street. Its announcement of 27 July 2026 set the opening for 10am on Friday 14 August and said the extra room would take furniture, pictures and soft furnishings beside the clothes, books, CDs, DVDs and homeware its shops sell. Of the hospice's shops around Aldershot, this is the one where a notice from the charity itself puts books on the shelves.

Hours: Mon–Sat 9:30am–4:30pmWebsite

Oxfam Bookshop

Oxfam Bookshop Guildford

220 High Street, Guildford GU1 3JD

Further east in Guildford, eight and a half miles from Aldershot and outside its urban area, Oxfam's bookshop on the High Street, which also takes donated music. Oxfam's page for the shop, showing the same hours when archived on 19 May 2026, has it opening every day, Sunday included from 11am. It sits about four miles from A Novel Idea in Godalming, and pairing them works on any day the Godalming shop trades, Tuesday through Saturday.

Hours: Mon–Sat 9:30am–5:30pm, Sun 11am–4pmWebsite

Car boot sales & markets

Car boot sale

Mytchett Car Boot Sale

The Mytchett Centre, 140 Mytchett Road, Mytchett GU16 6AA

At Mytchett, in Surrey Heath three miles north-east of Aldershot, a car boot its organisers say has run for over three decades, every Thursday and Saturday through the year, weather permitting. Buyers pay £2 to get in before 6.30am, £1 until 7.30am and 50p after that, and the whole site closes at 1pm. The organisers' list of what turns up covers bric-a-brac, house clearance items, plants, fruit and veg and clothes without a word about books, and their site still carried that timetable when archived on 11 July 2026.

Hours: Thu, Sat 6am–1pmWebsite

Scan before you buy

At every one of these spots, snap the shelf with BiblioScan: the AI identifies each book and shows its real resale price. Walk out with profitable books, not random boxes.

Try BiblioScan for free

Local sourcing tips

The Union Street charity shops in Aldershot are a gamble for books, not a sure thing. The street has a Phyllis Tuckwell hospice shop at number 9 and a Salvation Army shop at number 28, but the Salvation Army's page for that shop is silent on books, and the books Phyllis Tuckwell mentions on its shop finder are listed for its whole chain, not for this branch. The British Heart Foundation's wording for its Farnborough shop is the same boilerplate it prints for Fleet, Guildford and Woking. Walk in and look by all means, but build the day around the shops that name books themselves, starting with Just4Kids further down the High Street.
North Camp rewards a slow walk along Camp Road. A few doors from Parity, at number 47, the RSPCA's Hants and Surrey Border branch runs one of its two shops, and the branch says both take donated books for resale along with clothing, bric-a-brac, CDs and toys.
Library and specialist sales come and go, so follow the organisers. Camberley Library advertised a summer book sale on Instagram on 26 July 2026, pricing hardbacks at £1, paperbacks at 50p and children's books at 50p each or £1 for three. Aviation readers should watch the Royal Aeronautical Society: its National Aerospace Library at Farnborough Business Park held a free-entry sale of aviation books and magazines on Wednesday 30 September 2026, announced on Instagram on 19 August.
Directories can send you to a Camberley bookshop that has gone. It Is Found still appears in them as a second-hand bookshop at 7 Frimley Road, yet its own Facebook page said on 21 March 2017 that the Camberley shop had finished and that it was operating from Normandy, in Surrey.
Some stops pair up on foot. In Farnham, Oxfam and Holybourne stand roughly 240 metres from each other; the three Camberley charity shops all fall within about 220 metres of one another; and in Farnborough, Dark Star on Cove Road and The Triangle on Kingsmead sit about 840 metres apart. Everything else means a drive.

Frequently asked questions

Where can I find cheap used books in Aldershot?

Start with the charities that publish prices. A Novel Idea in Godalming sells most of its paperbacks for a couple of pounds, and Camberley Library's summer sale, advertised on 26 July 2026, went lower still, with every book at a pound or less. The two car boots charge pocket change at the gate once their early-bird window closes, though neither organiser promises books. For browsing on a budget in between, all three Camberley charity shops, two on Obelisk Way and one on the High Street, name books in what they sell, and the cheapest titles in The Triangle's second-hand list start at £1.

Where do I sell used books in Aldershot?

Holybourne Rare Books in Farnham is alone here in saying it buys, and it wants whole collections or quality lots rather than a bag of recent paperbacks, so describe what you have before you carry it in. The other counters take donations rather than buying, although both car boots will rent you a pitch: £10 for a pre-booked single at Rushmoor and £10 a car at Mytchett. Beyond that, listing them yourself through eBay.co.uk and Vinted is the realistic route. Sort before you travel: one phone photo of a shelf, spines outward, lets BiblioScan put a price on each title it recognises, so the high scorers become your eBay listings and the rest a charity drop.

Which day is best for book hunting in Aldershot?

Thursday and Saturday tie for first place. On both, the Mytchett car boot and Dark Star trade alongside all the shops keeping a Tuesday-to-Saturday week, for eleven addresses with posted hours. On the operators' own published hours, Sunday narrows things to the Rushmoor car boot in the morning and Oxfam in Guildford later in the day, while Monday is the weakest weekday, with Dark Star, the Charity Aid Store, both Just4Kids shops and A Novel Idea all shut.

Which charity shops have books in Aldershot?

Within Aldershot's urban area, five charity shops put books in their own words: Just4Kids on Aldershot High Street and Parity for Disability in North Camp, then three in Camberley: the Charity Aid Store, the second Just4Kids and Phyllis Tuckwell's High Street premises. Both Just4Kids shops are children's shops, so their books are for young readers. The RSPCA branch shop a few doors along Camp Road says it takes donated books for resale too. For dedicated book shelves you need to leave the urban area: the Farnham Oxfam Books & Music, the Oxfam Bookshop on Guildford High Street and A Novel Idea in Godalming are charity shops that stock books and music before anything else.

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