Swindon, the old Great Western Railway town in north-east Wiltshire, is a town where the second-hand book trail runs through charity and volunteer shelves. In town you have Prospect Hospice's books-and-media branch in Old Town, the volunteer-run Swindon Story Shed upstairs in The Brunel, and the Saturday car boot on the Greenbridge Recreation Ground, whose organiser has set 17 October 2026 as the final date of its season. Any amount quoted for a book, a pitch or a ticket here is in pounds sterling.
Highworth, the hilltop town in the north of the borough, adds two High Street charity shops, one run by Prospect Hospice and one by Sue Ryder, whose own pages mention books. Past the borough boundary, Royal Wootton Bassett to the west has an Oxfam and a Sue Ryder that each name books in their stock descriptions, Marlborough to the south-south-east has an Oxfam Books & Music on its High Street, and over the Gloucestershire line Cirencester keeps another, a straight-line 13 miles north-west. On Sunday mornings in the warmer half of the year there is also the long-running Dauntsey car boot, held on a farm near Calne.
Charity bookshop (Prospect Hospice)Prospect Hospice Books and Media
138 Victoria Rd, Swindon SN1 3BU
On Victoria Road in Old Town, Prospect Hospice devotes an entire branch to books, vinyl, CDs, DVDs, musical instruments and audio equipment, which opened on Monday 18 November 2024 after its media shop left Commercial Road. The Swindon Advertiser, visiting later that month, found armchairs and record players set out in what had been a tuition centre. A Wayback Machine copy of the hospice's shop page from 18 April 2026 matches today's version, giving seven-day opening and the number 01793 488722.
Hours: Mon–Sat 9:30am–5pm, Sun 10am–4pmWebsite Not-for-profit bookshop (new, used and free books)Swindon Story Shed
26-28 Brunel Plaza, The Brunel, Swindon SN1 1LF
Up on Level 1 of The Brunel shopping centre, close to the top of the escalator, Swindon Story Shed is a volunteer-run, not-for-profit bookshop selling new and donated second-hand books, with a clearance section of free ones, and its sales pay for creative workshops. Its FAQ says it takes donated books in any condition but never buys them; the founders told the Swindon Advertiser in April 2025 that nothing costs more than £5, and the paper reported its move into this unit, opposite Sweets Galore, for Saturday 19 July 2025. The centre's directory gives Saturday and Sunday opening from 10am to 4pm, with some weekends lost to outside events, while the shop's home page also lists in-store sessions on Wednesdays and Fridays, so confirm before going midweek. Its What's On page has a Discworld Day booked for Sunday 18 October 2026.
Car boot saleSwindon Car Boot Sale
Greenbridge Recreation Ground, Greenbridge Rd, Swindon SN3 3LA
On the Greenbridge Recreation Ground, 1.7 miles out of the centre on the east side of town, this car boot runs every Saturday, and its website gives Saturday 17 October 2026 as the last Swindon date of the year, weather and ground conditions permitting. Early-bird buyers pay £2 from 10:30am, entry is free after 11am, sellers pay £10 a vehicle without booking, and the gates shut at 2pm. The Swindon Advertiser confirmed the closing date on 25 September 2026, but books go unmentioned by both the paper and the organiser, leaving any paperbacks to whichever sellers turn up.
Hours: Sat 10:30am–2pmWebsite Oxfam Books & MusicOxfam Books & Music Cirencester
7 West Market Place, Cirencester GL7 2NH
Cirencester, the Cotswold market town 13.3 miles north-west across the Gloucestershire line, has a specialist Oxfam book and music shop on West Market Place. Oxfam's description, unchanged in a Wayback Machine snapshot from 16 April 2026, covers modern fiction, travel and leisure, niche subjects, classics and rare or collectable titles, with children's books as a speciality, and sets rock and pop vinyl, jazz, classical and sheet music alongside. Oxfam gives no times for this branch either, so ring 01285 658726 first.
Oxfam Books & MusicOxfam Books & Music Marlborough
29b High St, Marlborough SN8 1LW
Marlborough, the Wiltshire market town 10 miles south-south-east beyond the Swindon borough line, has a books-and-music Oxfam at 29b on its broad High Street. The charity's page lists literature, history, fine art, sport, biography, fiction and children's titles, plus a curated choice of vinyl, CDs and DVDs, all of it donated. A Wayback Machine capture dated 16 April 2026 carries that same wording, and with no opening times posted, phone 01672 515932 to check.
Where can I find cheap used books in Swindon?
Swindon Story Shed in The Brunel keeps a free clearance section and, according to its founders, prices nothing above £5. Prospect Hospice's books-and-media shop in Old Town is a charity shop devoted to books and records, and the two Highworth charity shops also stock books. On Saturdays up to 17 October 2026 the Greenbridge car boot is worth a look too, though nobody guarantees books there.
Where do I sell used books in Swindon?
None of the stops here buys books over the counter: the Story Shed states that all of its second-hand stock is donated, while each charity shop only accepts gifts. Going it alone means Vinted, Facebook Marketplace, eBay.co.uk or Amazon's British marketplace, or a pitch at the Greenbridge car boot for £10 before its season closes. Before you list anything, a single photo of your shelves in BiblioScan picks out each spine it recognises and puts a resale value against it, so you can split the boxes into what to sell and what to donate.
Which day is best for book hunting in Swindon?
Saturday: the Prospect, Sue Ryder and Highworth shops that state their times all trade then, and until 17 October 2026 it is also car boot day at Greenbridge. Sunday is the other morning to plan for: the Dauntsey car boot near Calne lets buyers in from 9am until approximately the end of October, its organiser says, and of the shops with published hours only the Prospect books-and-media shop opens, with the Story Shed aiming to as well. Both Highworth shops stay shut on Sundays, as does the Sue Ryder branch in Wootton Bassett, which also closes on Mondays.
Which charity shops have books in Swindon?
In the borough, Prospect Hospice Books and Media on Victoria Road, plus the Highworth branches of both Prospect and Sue Ryder. Just outside, Oxfam and Sue Ryder in Royal Wootton Bassett both include books in their shop descriptions, while Marlborough and Cirencester each have an Oxfam Books & Music. Beyond those two Prospect shops, the hospice's Swindon branch pages describe clothing, furniture or toys rather than books.
Are there any used book fairs in Swindon?
For autumn 2026, the fair worth the drive is the PBFA's one-day event at Oxford Brookes University's Headington campus, roughly 27 miles east, on Saturday 17 October 2026 from 10am to 4pm. The association expects around 60 dealers with rare, collectable and second-hand books from £2, charges £1 to get in and asks visitors not to count on parking at the venue. That clashes with the final Greenbridge car boot of the year, so pick one or start early in Swindon.