Discover the Book Lovers Dream Vacation
Take a bookstore holiday in a rural Scottish village.
A bookstore in a small Scottish town may not seem like a dream vacation location but The Open Book in Wigtown is booked for years ahead. If you love books and always wanted to own an indie bookstore, this Airbnb location could be a dream come true.
The Open Book was founded by American author and filmmaker Jessica Fox a decade ago, reported the BBC. This volunteer led enterprise lets vacationers run the used bookstore during their stay. The proceeds from the store are contributed to the charitable work of the Wigtown Festival Company.
Scotland’s National BookTown
Wigtown is very remote, located in southern Scotland near the sea. With a population of only around 900 people, this town is home to 14 bookstores. It is even home to an annual book festival every fall. In 2024, the festival began on September 27 and runs through October 6.
The amount of bookstores is not accidental. Making Wigtown a place for book lovers was planned as a way to regenerate a depressed area after two large industries closed in the 1990s. It was a perfect plan for this picturesque town.
The origins of Open Book
Fox, a former NASA employee, left the US to fulfill her dream of living in Scotland. She came across Wigtown and its bookstores and never looked back, reported CNN Travel.
“I’d never been to Scotland, I’d only seen it in films,” Fox told CNN. “I went from a very densely populated place with a car, and stuck in traffic a lot, to a place with hardly any people, amazing scenery, and absolutely no car […] I absolutely loved it.”
She was mulling over this novel idea of making Wigtown a holiday location when one of the local bookstores announced it was closing. This seemed serendipitous to fox.
“Finn McCreath, who is on the board of the festival, and I decided to take it over and try out my idea of having a bookshop holiday,” she said. It was a runaway hit.
The Open Book’s success story
The success of Open Book is a true-life story. People of all ages visit from around the globe. And the town really celebrates these visitors by picking them up from transport hubs, inviting them to dinner or to a pub, and making sure they are comfortable. In return, the visitors look after the shop and make it their own.
“We suggest that people take the initiative and do events in the shop, even share the culture that they’re coming from with Wigtown. People really do that. They do some imaginative, wonderful ideas,” said Fox.
If you are a book lover and can’t think of a better way to spend a vacation, you will need to plan ahead; way ahead. Airbnb is booked for years to come but you can check for cancellations. The accommodations are comfy and feature many places where you can curl up with a good book. With 14 bookstores in town, there is plenty of reading for every bibliophile.
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