Leakey's Second Hand Bookshop, Inverness

If only all bookshops were like Leakey’s. You can settle in for the day, keep warm, eat, read, talk, and browse the amazing range of stock. Even buy! Charles Leakey observes the ancient and critical rules which used to be displayed in Blackwell’s, before they went over to footage – when you come to Leakey’s, as once you did to Blackwell’s, no-one will bother you unless you ask. And the ambience is still pretty much as Thornton’s once was, but with the advantage of the spiral ascent to a good cafe and more books. Typical of Inverness to greet the establishment of a full-blown University by losing not just one bookshop but two and allowing the survivor to retreat from the High Street to its dreadful Eastgate Centre. It should make amends by placing a preservation order on Leakey’s now. It is going to need it.

A lot of people seem to love this place but it just feels a little haphazard and unorganised. As secondhand bookshops go it isn’t really up to the standard of some notable (all be it much further away) others.

What a fabulous place!
These places are so rare these days.
Great place to look for treasure in the book department.

One of the few places left in Inverness which has withstood the vast changes seen since we first came to the area in the 70s is Leakies Bookshop and Cafe.

We live nearly 100 miles further north from Inverness so when we go shopping in 'town’ we have already driven for 2 hours and ready for lunch.

Leakies is different to other cafes in that it is first and foremost a second-hand bookshop, with huge bookshelves full of all manner of adventure and secrets bound up in leather or paperback.
As a matter of fact, I have been known to arrive in Inverness, pop into Leakies for lunch and stay for hours - only remembering that I came for 'shopping’ hours ago and have to dash round the town shops before they close!

The cafe is situated upstairs, reached by a winding staircase. Soups, quiche, salads and sandwiches are the staples and very nice they are too. Not very expensive either.

In the winter, there is a roaring log fire situated slap-bang in the middle of the bookshop with nice big leather chairs arranged quite handily close by. If I lived in Inverness, I doubt I’d never be out of the place.

We now have Borders in Inverness where you can grab a coffee and sandwich from upstairs - but it pales in comparison to Leakies.

Highly recommended for an unusual dining experience!

Great place to spend a wet afternoon, never know what you will find. Nice cafe upstairs if you fancy a quick lunch or coffee.

this is my favourite book shop in inverness. it is located in the “up and coming” but actually still dreary old town part of the city. there is a roaring fire every day which is great for a heat. i haven’t sold them any books - i tend to give them to charity shops, but i have bought a ferw books and had lunch on numerous occasions. the books are mostly second hand but not all are cheap - they aren’t given away but there are some great bargains to be had. there are photos, prints and maps also available to buy. it can feel quite imposing when you go in as there are gazillions of books in the place, but they are well catalogued and it is easy to find what you are looking for. there is an upper level where there is a little tea room/cafe. they do meals and light lunches - soup and sandwiches or a salad sort of a deal. the food is well priced and is a great place to spend an hour just taking in the atmosphere of this fine grand old building. well worth a visit

I really like Leakey’s. It’s great to have a good look around the books and pick up a few good reads then head upstairs to the cafe and have a nice drink and something to eat. I’ve had lunch here once before and it was really nice. Had a nice sandwich and thought the prices were good too. They have an amazing selection of books with walls covered with them and even in stacks on the floor so you are pretty likely to find a good read there and they don’t charge too much for the books either- around £2 when I last bought a book from there. You can also buy prints from Leakey’s too.

It’s an amazing place if you love books! He buys and sells books - speicialising in old, collectable scottish books.
Leakeys is the perfect place to spend an afternoon on a cold winter’s day. The romance of building is astounding.

The upstairs cafe is also magic. The salads are fantastic - the salad dressing is simply the best.
The service is fantastic, quick and efficient.

This could be some setting for a Harry Potter novel only it’s better - a big crazy old building, which I gather was once a Gallic church and is now a huge second hand book store with a little cafe on the upper landing. It was a cold day when I first stumbled onto this place and in the center of the store (a book store mind you) was a huge wood burning fireplace -- so cool (ummm I mean warm)