Cheltenham, the Regency spa town in Gloucestershire, packs its main second-hand book shopping into a few streets around the Promenade, the first three of the shops below within 400 yards or so of the borough council's Municipal Offices. Moss Books on St George's Place holds tens of thousands of used titles, Cheltenham Rare Books sells first editions and fine bindings on Imperial Square, opposite the Town Hall, and Oxfam keeps a dedicated bookshop on Cambray Place. Walk on south down Bath Road and the British Red Cross has a charity bookshop of its own. All prices mentioned here are in pounds sterling (£).
The rest sits out in the borough of Tewkesbury. Up towards the Severn, Tewkesbury's High Street holds a pair of neighbouring shops: Bookworm, a charity bookshop staffed by volunteers, and Cornell Books, whose general shelves sit in a centuries-old building. Winchcombe, out on the Cotswold side of the borough, adds Books & Ink, a mostly second-hand and antiquarian shop whose opening days need checking before you drive out.
Second-hand bookshopMoss Books
3 St George's Pl, Cheltenham GL50 3LA
On St George's Place, just off the High Street and roughly 370 yards north of the Municipal Offices, Moss Books has traded since 2023 after starting out on Henrietta Street, the Visit Cheltenham listing explains, with the business itself going back to 1992. A BBC News piece on hardbacks, published on 24 May 2026, put Christopher Moss's stock at more than 30,000 used books and quoted his view that hardback fiction is a "hard sell". SoGlos, in its June 2025 round-up of county bookshops, described shelves climbing floor to ceiling and spilling out onto the pavement, and the shop's home page carries a banner announcing that books are bought there too.
Hours: Mon–Sat 10am–6pm, Sun 11am–5pmWebsite Antiquarian booksellerCheltenham Rare Books
12 Imperial Sq, Cheltenham GL50 1QB
Facing the Town Hall across Imperial Square, a 250-yard stroll south-south-east of the Municipal Offices, Mark Skipper's shop deals in first editions, fine bindings, illustrated and private press books, and its website says he founded the business nearly 40 years ago. SoGlos singled it out in June 2025 for poetry, plays, crime, science fiction and fantasy, along with presses such as Cotswold Fine Press. On 18 January 2026 the shop announced on Instagram that it was partnering in a new auction house, Quire Auctions, whose first sale on thesaleroom.com was due from 11 February. The door is open Wednesday to Saturday, and other times can be arranged on 01242 361594.
Hours: Wed–Sat 11am–5pmWebsite Oxfam BookshopOxfam Bookshop Cheltenham
31 Cambray Pl, Cheltenham GL50 1JP
On Cambray Place, some 380 yards east of the Municipal Offices, Oxfam's Cheltenham bookshop occupies number 31, and its page on oxfam.org.uk pitches everything from modern fiction and leisure titles through to classics and rare or collectable copies. A snapshot of that page from 13 May 2026, kept on archive.org, carries that blurb unaltered, and both versions also list vinyl, CDs, DVDs, Fairtrade food and cards. No opening hours appear for the shop, so ring 01242 511650 first if it is the main reason for your trip.
Charity bookshop (British Red Cross)British Red Cross Bookshop
200 Bath Rd, Cheltenham GL53 7NE
About 0.7 miles south of the Municipal Offices along Bath Road, the British Red Cross runs this branch as a charity bookshop, and its shop page lists children's books and fairy tales, fiction, non-fiction and reference, rare and collectable titles, plus sheet music, stamps, maps and postcards. An Internet Archive snapshot from 10 July 2026 carries that list unchanged, with opening every day of the week, just as the current page shows. The charity warns that its times shift now and then, so check by phone if you're coming from afar.
Hours: Mon–Sat 9am–5pm, Sun 10am–4pmWebsite Charity bookshop (volunteer-run)Bookworm Tewkesbury
150 High St, Tewkesbury GL20 5JP
In Tewkesbury, an abbey town 7 miles or so from Cheltenham, volunteers run Bookworm for Cancer Research UK and local good causes, and its AbeBooks storefront says the shop opened in 2010, sells only donated books and will collect donations from people who can't get there. SoGlos wrote in June 2025 of two floors of fiction and non-fiction with antiquarian pieces among them, a first edition of The Da Vinci Code included at one point, and a tearoom on the premises. The shop's website, marked as last updated in January 2026, adds stamps, postcards and jigsaws, and saves Sunday opening for events such as the Christmas lights.
Hours: Mon–Sat 10am–4pmWebsite Where can I find cheap used books in Cheltenham?
Start with the two charity bookshops in town, Oxfam on Cambray Place plus the Red Cross shop down Bath Road, both stocked from donations. Bookworm in Tewkesbury runs on gifted books as well, and SoGlos called Moss Books a haven for bargain hunters in June 2025. On a Sunday morning, the Southam car boot north-east of town is worth a punt, though its organiser never mentions books and you may go home empty-handed.
Where do I sell used books in Cheltenham?
Moss Books advertises that it purchases stock, and Cheltenham Rare Books invites sellers to get in touch, with antiquarian books, fine bindings and library sets at the top of its wish list. Everyday copies tend to fetch more if you list them yourself, be it via Vinted, the UK Amazon marketplace or eBay.co.uk, while Bookworm says it will come and collect boxes you can't bring in yourself. Line the candidates along a table with their spines facing you and snap them in one go with BiblioScan, which picks out every title whose spine it recognises and prices it on the second-hand market, and the handful worth carrying to St George's Place will be obvious.
Which charity shops have books in Cheltenham?
Two are given over to them: Oxfam's bookshop at 31 Cambray Place and the British Red Cross bookshop at 200 Bath Road, which adds sheet music, stamps and postcards. In Tewkesbury, Bookworm is a volunteer charity bookshop too, raising money for Cancer Research UK and causes around the town.
Which day is best for book hunting in Cheltenham?
Thursday or Friday covers the most ground, since all the shops above that publish opening times trade on both days, Cheltenham Rare Books and Cornell Books included, and Books & Ink in Winchcombe opens on most of those days. Saturday works almost as well, though Books & Ink only manages one or two a month. On Sunday, Moss Books and the Red Cross bookshop keep shorter hours, Books & Ink usually opens and the Southam car boot runs in the morning, while Mondays lose both Cheltenham Rare Books and Cornell Books.