Inverness, the Highland capital in the north of Scotland, starts its book trail with Leakey's, the second-hand and antiquarian bookshop housed in a former church on Church Street. That street came eighth in a UK top 10 for independent shopping streets, as the Inverness Courier reported on 31 August 2026, and two charity shops with books on their shelves sit within a few minutes' walk of the Town House: Highland Hospice on Falcon Square and Carr Gomm inside the Victorian Market. Every price you'll come across on this page is in pounds sterling.
The rest of the trail makes a half-day out. Dingwall, 11 miles north-west, keeps Highflight on its High Street, a bookshop with deep roots in aviation titles, while Nairn, 15 miles east along the Moray Firth, pairs a Highland Hospice branch given over to books and collectables with the shop New Start Highland opened in March 2026, a short walk away.
Other charity shops trade on Lombard Street, Union Street and Academy Street, yet their own branch pages say nothing particular about books, so they're bonus stops on the walk between the addresses below rather than destinations.
Second-hand and antiquarian bookshopLeakey's Bookshop
Church St, Inverness IV1 1EY
Charles Leakey started the business in 1979 and brought it in 1993 to this former Gaelic church, a 450-yard walk north-north-west from the Town House, which the Daily Record dated back to 1649 in a visit piece published on 22 March 2026. The piece described antique prints beside shelf after shelf of old and second-hand books, priced from collectors' pieces down to cheap reading copies, with a spiral staircase climbing to an upper gallery; on 18 May 2026 the same paper called the family firm the country's largest second-hand bookshop, with maps for sale and a fireplace in the middle of the room. A notice on the shop's website explains that Monday closing, first tried over a summer, has been kept for the whole year.
Hours: Tue–Sat 10am–5:30pmWebsite Charity shop (Highland Hospice)Highland Hospice Falcon Square
1 Falconer Building, Falcon Square, Inverness IV1 1LQ
Highland Hospice opened this branch on Falcon Square, 275 yards north-north-east of the Town House, on Monday 17 May 2021, and when it turned one in May 2022 the charity's shops page on Facebook invited people in for books and collectables as well as pre-loved and vintage fashion. A post of Monday 2 June 2025 showed it after a refresh, with a new window to start the month. Of the hospice's shops in the city listed on its website, this is the one that opens on Sundays.
Hours: Mon–Sat 9am–6pm, Sun 11am–5pmWebsite Charity bookshop (Highland Hospice)Highland Hospice Nairn Books & Collectables
9a Leopold St, Nairn IV12 4BE
In Nairn, on the Moray Firth 15 miles east-north-east of Inverness, Highland Hospice devotes one of its two Leopold Street shops to books and collectables. The hospice's shops page on Facebook pointed families there on Monday 7 April 2025 for children's activity books over the Easter break, and on 8 December 2025 Nairn BID welcomed the manager of the hospice book shop on Leopold Street onto its board. The hospice's clothes-led Nairn Boutique sits on the same street at 1-2 Leopold Street.
Hours: Mon–Sat 9am–5pmWebsite Where can I find cheap used books in Inverness?
For low prices, start with the two charity shops near the Town House, the hospice branch on Falcon Square and Carr Gomm's in Queensgate Arcade. Leakey's spans everything from collectable rarities to affordable books, so it pays to browse the whole building. If you're driving out to Nairn, the hospice's book-and-collectables shop on Leopold Street is worth the detour.
Where do I sell used books in Inverness?
Leakey's is the buyer on this page. The shop asks sellers to phone 01463 239947 and describe what they have, or to email photos to [email protected] with spines and titles clearly visible, and warns that limited space sometimes makes it selective. For your own read on a box first, stand the books upright, spines out, and take a single photo, which is enough for BiblioScan to put a used-market figure against every spine it recognises. Titles Leakey's passes on are worth listing yourself, whether through Vinted or through the UK editions of eBay and Amazon, and a hospice shop will happily take the remainder.
Which charity shops have books in Inverness?
In the city, Highland Hospice's Falcon Square branch and the Carr Gomm shop in the Victorian Market both mention books on their own pages or posts. Nairn has two more: the hospice shop at 9a Leopold Street, run as a books and collectables branch, and New Start Highland on the High Street, which lists books among its furniture and homewares.
Which day is best for book hunting in Inverness?
Aim for Tuesday to Saturday. Those are Leakey's days, 10am until 5:30pm, and both Nairn shops keep 9am-to-5pm hours on them. Leakey's stays shut on Mondays, so a Monday leaves you with the charity shops. On Sunday, the Falcon Square branch of Highland Hospice opens from 11am to 5pm.