Newcastle upon Tyne, in north-east England, shares its second-hand trade with the boroughs wrapped around it: Gateshead across the river, and North and South Tyneside running east to the sea. Inside the city you get Amnesty's charity bookshop near Central Station, Oxfam's books and music branch in Jesmond, a new-and-used shop in Heaton and the St Oswald's Hospice bookshop on Gosforth High Street. The coast is the other pole, eight miles north-east on the Metro line, where Whitley Bay has the two independent second-hand dealers listed here and Tynemouth station holds a café bookshop and a book fair four Sundays a year.
South of the Tyne the finds are charity-run and more spread out: a new St Oswald's shop in Gateshead town centre, the National Trust's bookrooms at Gibside and a Sunday car boot at Blaydon Rugby Club. South Shields gained an independent with preloved shelves when Electric Beacon Books opened in October 2025. Expect prices in pounds sterling throughout.
Rare and second-hand bookshopKeel Row Books
93-97 Park View, Whitley Bay NE26 3RJ
In Whitley Bay, North Tyneside, eight miles out towards the coast from Newcastle, Keel Row bills itself as the longest-established rare and collectable bookshop in the North East, with signed and first editions, fine bindings, and Northumberland and Durham topography, Thomas Bewick included. Its selling page counts roughly 40,000 books in stock and says modern second-hand books can be brought straight in while the shop is open, no appointment needed, though rarer material is worth a phone call first. The shop's news page was still posting in May and June 2026, on caring for a book collection and on a pair of 1828 broadsides about the Alnwick Shrovetide football game. Park View has on-street parking, and the shop keeps one loading space in its rear yard.
Hours: Tue–Sat 10am–5pmWebsite Antiquarian and second-hand bookshopOlivers Bookshop
48A Whitley Rd, Whitley Bay NE26 2NF
The second Whitley Bay independent on this page, also in North Tyneside, Olivers is a small antiquarian and second-hand shop on Whitley Road whose Instagram profile keeps it shut on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Sundays. The I Love North Shields community page wandered in on 17 November 2025 and came back describing books stacked floor to ceiling, prices written inside each copy and a stock built up over 39 years by one shopkeeper. The same post flagged that payment is cash only, so stop at a machine before you go.
Hours: Mon, Thu–Sat 11am–4pmWebsite Book fairTynemouth Station Book Fair
Tynemouth Metro Station, Tynemouth NE30 2TF
In Tynemouth, North Tyneside, the west concourse of the restored Victorian Metro station turns into a book fair on four Sundays a year, in April, June, August and October, and the organisers count around 40 to 50 booksellers with antiquarian and second-hand stock. North Tyneside Art Studio took over the running of it from the Linskill Centre on 1 January 2026, and the last of that year's four dates is Sunday 4 October. Anyone sitting on too many books can take a one-off stall for £35, and bookings open on the Tuesday after each fair.
Hours: Sun 4 October 2026, 9:30am–3:30pmWebsite Amnesty BookshopBooks for Amnesty
Unit 5, Charlotte House, 92 Westgate Rd, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 4AF
Amnesty International UK's city-centre bookshop occupies a unit in Charlotte House, a four-minute walk from Central Station by the charity's reckoning, and its page singles out an impressive history and politics selection, a creative writing section and bays of contemporary fiction. Its Instagram showed off a donated 1807 local history book with its fold-out map intact on 31 March 2026, and on 5 June 2026 the shop thanked a volunteer team it put at 36 strong. Amnesty's page and a shop post of 24 April 2026 both put Sunday opening at 11am to 3pm, an hour shorter than the closing time in the shop's undated Instagram profile.
Hours: Mon–Sat 10am–5pm, Sun 11am–3pmWebsite New and preloved bookshopElectric Beacon Books
1 Albemarle St, South Shields NE33 1LZ
In South Shields, South Tyneside, this shop opened on 31 October 2025 and takes its name from Souter Lighthouse, which the Shields Gazette calls the first in the world designed to run on alternating current. The Gazette's report of 6 December 2025 found new and preloved books, comics and graphic novels alongside hot drinks and a reading area, and its Bookshop.org profile lists graphic novels and regional literature as the specialisms. The same report says the owners fitted the place out with second-hand or refurbished shelving and do without disposable cups.
Hours: Wed–Sat 10am–6pm, Sun 11am–4pmWebsite Where can I find cheap used books in Newcastle upon Tyne?
Go charity first. Farplace in Whitley Bay and St Oswald's big new Gateshead branch both carry books among the household stock, and Gibside's two National Trust bookrooms put the money towards the estate. Jimmy's at Tynemouth station pitched most of its opening stock at a few pounds or less. In season, the Blaydon car boot asks only small change at the gate, and the Tynemouth fair on Sunday 4 October 2026 costs nothing to browse.
Where do I sell used books in Newcastle upon Tyne?
Keel Row in Whitley Bay buys over the counter from Tuesday to Saturday, and for ordinary modern second-hand books it asks for no appointment; for rare material or a whole library it suggests ringing ahead or booking a house call. If you would rather sell direct, a one-off stall at the Tynemouth Station Book Fair costs £35, and Barter Books in Alnwick takes books in barter, within its per-visit limit. Before you pack the car, photograph one shelf with BiblioScan: it recognises the spines in the picture and pins a likely resale value to each one, which tells you which copies earn a Vinted listing of their own, or a slot on eBay.co.uk, before the rest goes in the dealer's box.
Which day is best for book hunting in Newcastle upon Tyne?
Thursday to Saturday, if Whitley Bay is the target: those are the only days when both Keel Row and Olivers are open. Saturday is the safest day overall, since all the listed shops that publish a timetable open that day. Sunday changes the mix, with Keel Row, Olivers and the Gosforth bookshop shut but Amnesty, 1b Books, Electric Beacon, Farplace and the Gateshead St Oswald's open, plus the Blaydon car boot until 1 November 2026. Monday is weakest for independents, as Keel Row, 1b Books and Electric Beacon all close.
Are there any used book fairs in Newcastle upon Tyne?
The Tynemouth Station Book Fair is the local one, held on four Sundays a year at the Metro station, and its next date is Sunday 4 October 2026; on 1 October 2026 the organisers' site listed no dates for 2027. Books on Tyne in November is an author festival, not a sale. Keel Row's own events page points further afield, to the York National Book Fair, which ran on 11 and 12 September 2026.