Where to buy used books in Wigan

Updated 01/10/2026

In Wigan, the Greater Manchester town, much of the secondhand book trade on this page runs through Book-Cycle, a volunteer-run charity that lets readers choose what to pay. It keeps a branch inside the Rebuild with Hope community hub in the Grand Arcade and another in the old library building at Orrell, while its Beech Hill branch shut temporarily in September 2026. At Robin Park the hospice superstore and, on Sunday afternoons, a car boot sale around the stadium make a second pairing. Prices and pitch fees quoted for Wigan are in pounds sterling.

Leigh, part of Wigan borough some six miles south-east, has two book stops on Bradshawgate, Book-Cycle's reopened shop at 67–69 and The Brick at number 95, and both trade on Saturdays. Add Wigan & Leigh Hospice's branch at Ashton-in-Makerfield, with its books and vinyl, and the southern half of the borough makes a compact Saturday loop by car.

Spot map

The best spots

Book-Cycle (pay-what-you-like charity bookshop)

Book-Cycle Orrell

241 Orrell Rd, Orrell, Wigan WN5 8LY

In Orrell, about 2.9 miles west of Wigan town centre, the volunteer-run charity Book-Cycle has turned the former Orrell Library into a bookshop, according to the branch's entry on book-cycle.org. The charity's FAQ sets the rule: up to three items a day, at whatever price you think fair, and the proceeds send educational books to schools abroad and fund tree planting with UK primary schools. Its Facebook page was still active in 2025, inviting readers on 31 October to a Christmas fayre on Saturday 29 November. The branch entry leaves its opening times blank, so ring 01942 665646 before making a trip.

Website

Book-Cycle (pay-what-you-like charity bookshop)

Book-Cycle Leigh

67–69 Bradshawgate, Leigh WN7 4NB

In Leigh, the Wigan borough town about 5.9 miles south-east, Book-Cycle announced on its Facebook page on the evening of Saturday 17 January 2026 that its shop had reopened, nine months after an April 2025 post promised plans for a new one. That page also gives the shop's address as 67–69 Bradshawgate and repeats the house rule: choose what to pay for up to three books a day. The Brick's charity shop is a short walk east along the street at number 95, so both fit into one visit.

Hours: Mon–Sat 10am–4pm, Sun 11am–3pmWebsite

Charity shop (The Brick)

The Brick Shop Leigh

95 Bradshawgate, Leigh WN7 4ND

On Bradshawgate in Leigh, The Brick, the Wigan anti-poverty and homelessness charity, runs a shop that Wigan Today, writing on 31 January 2025, said had opened eight months earlier. The charity's own article about the branch puts books on the shelves with pre-loved clothing, homeware, toys and accessories, and promises fresh stock every day. Its Facebook page was recruiting volunteers for the Leigh shop on 19 November 2025, and a Wigan Today piece of 6 March 2026 confirmed it was still trading at number 95, with Sundays closed.

Hours: Mon–Sat 9:30am–4:30pmWebsite

All spots by type

Charity shops

Book-Cycle (inside Rebuild with Hope)

Book-Cycle Wigan

Rebuild with Hope, The Grand Arcade, 23 Crompton St, Wigan WN1 1BH

In the Grand Arcade, in the town centre, Book-Cycle shares the community hub of the local charity Rebuild with Hope. On World Book Day, 6 March 2025, the hub's Facebook page described Book-Cycle's shelves as a way to donate books or buy them for a small donation. When Book-Cycle paused its Beech Hill branch in mid-September 2026, it sent donors here, to Orrell or to Leigh instead. Neither post gives opening times, so check the hub's page before a special visit.

Website

Charity shop (Wigan & Leigh Hospice)

Wigan & Leigh Hospice Shop, Ashton-in-Makerfield

13 Gerard St, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Wigan WN4 9AG

In Ashton-in-Makerfield, a Wigan borough town about 4.1 miles south of the centre, Wigan & Leigh Hospice runs a charity shop on Gerard Street. The hospice's Ashton shop page puts books and media among the donated stock, beside a dedicated area with a large selection of vinyl records. As archived on 22 March 2025, the same site already summed up the Ashton shop as selling vinyl and vintage items as well as books, clothing and toys. The hospice asks anyone bringing donations to phone first, because its storage bays fill quickly.

Hours: Mon–Sat 9:30am–3:30pmWebsite

Charity superstore (Wigan & Leigh Hospice)

Wigan & Leigh Hospice Superstore, Robin Retail Park

Unit 3, Robin Retail Park, Loire Drive, Wigan WN5 0UL

Wigan & Leigh Hospice opened its first superstore on Robin Retail Park, roughly a mile out to the west, on Friday 29 August 2025, in the empty unit that Wigan Today placed between Marks and Spencer Food and Smyths Toys. The hospice told the paper the shop was on a temporary lease. Celebrating its first birthday on 18 September 2026, the hospice shops' Facebook page listed books and media among the stock, next to clothing, toys, bric-a-brac and small electricals. It also trades on Sundays, so the stadium car boot across the car parks can share the trip.

Hours: Mon–Sat 9am–5pm, Sun 10:30am–4:30pmWebsite

Car boot sales & markets

Car boot sale

The Big Wigan Thursday & Sunday Car Boot Sale

The Brick Community Stadium (car parks 3 & 4), Stadium Way, Wigan WN5 0UN

At The Brick Community Stadium, 0.9 miles west of central Wigan, this sale sets out its stalls in the car parks, and the organiser tells visitors to use the postcode WN5 0UN and head for Ninja Warrior. Filming in car park 3 on Sunday 13 September 2026, it said the sale runs every Sunday afternoon; its post of 19 September lets sellers in from 10:30am, early buyers from 11:30am at £3 a head and everyone else from 12:30pm at £1. An earlier post, on 20 May 2026, advertised a Thursday car boot and market in car parks 3 and 4 for 21 May, so a midweek date is worth confirming on the organiser's Facebook page first. None of these posts mention books; whether paperbacks turn up rests with that week's sellers.

Hours: Sun from 11:30amWebsite

Scan before you buy

At every one of these spots, snap the shelf with BiblioScan: the AI identifies each book and shows its real resale price. Walk out with profitable books, not random boxes.

Try BiblioScan for free

Local sourcing tips

Book-Cycle Beech Hill, in the former council library on Buckley Street West (WN6 7PQ), posted a temporary closure notice on 13 September 2026 and said it was working with Wigan Council to reopen. Look at its Facebook page before carrying a bag of donations up there.
On Cross Street in Hindley, the Hindley Car Boot describes itself as running every Sunday from 7am, weather permitting, with £10 pitches and no booking. It stood down on Sunday 27 September 2026 for a funfair and announced a return on Sunday 4 October; none of its posts mention books, so finding a crate of novels there is pure chance.
Wigan & Leigh Hospice runs ten charity shops across the borough, and most of their pages repeat one stock list that includes books; the Golborne shop on High Street lists books alongside some furniture, while the Lord Street branch in Leigh is the hospice's dedicated furniture shop.
Bradshawgate in Leigh rewards a slow walk: Book-Cycle at 67–69 has the HSP charity shop at number 63 as a neighbour, The Brick sits a little further along at 95, and Wigan & Leigh Hospice keeps another branch at number 104. HSP, opposite Santander, funds a Leigh day centre offering food, drink and advice to anyone who calls in, and its own site talks up sofas, white goods and fresh fruit and veg rather than reading matter.

Frequently asked questions

Where can I find cheap used books in Wigan?

Book-Cycle is the obvious start: you set your own price, within a daily limit of three, at the Grand Arcade hub, the old Orrell library and the Bradshawgate shop in Leigh. On that same Leigh street The Brick sells donated books too, and the Ashton-in-Makerfield hospice branch adds a dedicated vinyl area to its shelves of books.

Where do I sell used books in Wigan?

No shop featured for Wigan advertises that it buys books, since the charities here rely on donated stock, though the stadium's Sunday sale rents pitches to sellers. For anything collectable, put up your own advert: eBay.co.uk and Vinted both handle single titles, and Amazon.co.uk suits anything with a barcode. Point BiblioScan at the whole row: from that single picture it prices each spine at resale, so the handful worth selling stand out before the rest go to a Book-Cycle drop-off.

Which day is best for book hunting in Wigan?

Saturday suits a southern run, because Book-Cycle and The Brick in Leigh and the Gerard Street hospice shop in Ashton all open that day, the last two from 9:30am. Sunday belongs to Robin Park, where the hospice superstore opens at 10:30am and the stadium car boot lets general buyers in from 12:30pm; the Brick and Ashton shops stay shut, but the Leigh Book-Cycle keeps the shorter 11am-to-3pm Sunday hours given in its January 2026 announcement.

Which charity shops have books in Wigan?

Book-Cycle runs three open branches, at the Grand Arcade, in Orrell and in Leigh. The Brick at 95 Bradshawgate in Leigh stocks books, and Wigan & Leigh Hospice lists them for its shops in Ashton-in-Makerfield, Golborne and at Robin Retail Park, according to its own pages.

Before you go

Do you run a store here?

Bookstore, thrift store or consignment shop in Wigan: get listed in this guide for free, or tell us what to fix.

Nearby cities

Warrington Preston Liverpool

← Used books by city The guide: how to source books for resale →