Totnes, an old hilltop town in Devon's South Hams where the tidal River Dart begins, keeps three second-hand stops close to its Guildhall. Castle Books sits under the Norman castle mound on Castle Street, and two charity shops share a wall at numbers 60 and 62 High Street, one run by Oxfam for books and music, its neighbour by Rowcroft Hospice. Prices that crop up here are in pounds sterling (£).
Everything else is a short drive away. In Torbay, the seaside borough that takes in Torquay and Paignton, Paignton Library keeps a table of nearly new copies going between themed sales. Downriver in Dartmouth, Compass Books trades on Lower Street, and up the A381 in Newton Abbot the Christian charity bookshop Choice Words carries a large second-hand section.
Community bookshop (second-hand)Castle Books
4 Castle St, Totnes TQ9 5NU
Up Castle Street, roughly 180 yards west of the Guildhall, Castle Books has no paid staff and has been run by its volunteers as a community interest company since 2016, on a site its own history traces to Collards Books, which took over a vegetarian café there in 1975. BBC News reported on 10 February 2026 that a record 2025 let the shop hand £1,000 apiece to two Totnes schools and the town library, and the Totnes Pulse wrote in January 2026 that its lease at number 4 had been renewed after two years of uncertainty. Shelves run from fiction, poetry and art to Devon and Cornwall local history and collectable titles, and the shop values good books brought to the counter, asking for a phone call first when a whole collection is involved.
Hours: Mon–Sat 10:30am–5pmWebsite Oxfam Books & MusicOxfam Books & Music Totnes
60 High St, Totnes TQ9 5SQ
In the stretch of High Street known as The Narrows, about 230 yards west-south-west of Totnes Guildhall, Oxfam runs a branch that deals in books and music. Its shop page, whose wording an archive.org snapshot of 16 April 2026 shows unchanged, says the volunteers have built a name for getting the most out of donations, specialist-subject books and classical vinyl in particular, with a small team handling online sales. No hours are given there, so call 01803 867062 first.
Second-hand bookshopCompass Books
24 Lower St, Dartmouth TQ6 9AN
In Dartmouth, some 7.5 miles south-east where the Dart meets the sea, Compass Books trades from Lower Street, the address on its AbeBooks shop page, whose owner writes there of more than 25 years selling second-hand books and gifts in the town. Copies too damaged to sell are reborn as book art, her Paperback Pets included, offered through a separate website. A Daily Mail feature published on 29 August 2026 opened with the shop and its owner, Lucy Hingston, describing a bulk summer order for used titles on topics from Peruvian geology to cheeses of the world. With no opening times on its AbeBooks page or website, phone 01803 839658 before setting off.
Christian bookshop (charity)Choice Words
71 Queen St, Newton Abbot TQ12 2AU
In Newton Abbot, the Teignbridge market town about 7.7 miles north-north-east, Choice Words is a Christian bookshop run as a registered charity, led by Roy and Pam Brittle since 1994 according to its website. Besides new stock it holds what it calls a huge second-hand section of books, Bibles, hymn and service books, study resources, CDs and DVDs, and its Bookshop.org page believes this to be the largest collection of used Christian books in South Devon. A Facebook post on 12 September 2026 announced that the Kids Corner was back until the end of the year. Opening times differ between its pages, half past nine until half past four from Monday to Saturday on the About page against ten till four on the Shop page, with Sundays closed on both, so check on 01626 334027 before making the trip.
Library book saleTorquay Library book sale
Torquay Library, Lymington Rd, Torquay TQ1 3DT
Over in Torbay, in Torquay beyond Paignton, about 7.3 miles from Totnes, the central library on Lymington Road is due to hold what it bills as its biggest ever book sale over two days at the close of October 2026 (the 30th and 31st), within its normal hours. Counting down on Instagram on 2 and 16 October 2026, the library promised hundreds of books alongside records, DVDs and jigsaws, the proceeds being for the library. The branch belongs to Libraries Unlimited, the charity that runs public libraries across Devon and Torbay, and its phone number is 01803 714452.
Where can I find cheap used books in Totnes?
Castle Books keeps its prices low by running on donated stock and volunteer time, and it sits a short walk from the station. Paignton Library's nearly new table and trolley of reduced copies are worth a look whenever you pass, and the Newton Abbot charity Choice Words stocks its second-hand Christian shelves from donations.
Where do I sell used books in Totnes?
Castle Books buys: literary fiction, children's and illustrated books, poetry, art, history, philosophy, natural history and Devon or Cornwall local history, plus antiquarian books, first editions, Folio Society copies and fine bindings. It rarely takes encyclopaedias, textbooks, Reader's Digest books, book-club printings and modern hardback fiction that isn't a first edition, so bring a few in for valuation or call 07562 391801 about a larger lot. Whatever it passes on can still go on Vinted or on Amazon's or eBay's UK sites. Lay the pile out with every spine showing and give BiblioScan a single photo of it; the app matches the titles it can identify from their spines to current second-hand prices, and the copies worth the walk up Castle Street pick themselves.
Which charity shops have books in Totnes?
Two neighbours on the High Street: Oxfam Books & Music at number 60 and the Rowcroft Hospice shop at number 62. Further out, Choice Words in Newton Abbot is a charity bookshop with a big second-hand Christian section, and Paignton Library keeps its nearly new table stocked from donations.
Which day is best for book hunting in Totnes?
Monday to Saturday covers the three places with published hours, Castle Books and the Rowcroft shop in Totnes plus Newton Abbot's Choice Words, and none of them lists Sunday opening, Choice Words saying outright that it shuts that day. Oxfam and Compass Books post no times, so phone ahead. Paignton Library's sale table is there to browse in library hours, and a Friday or Saturday also brings the Totnes market into the mix.