{"id":606712,"date":"2025-12-02T05:09:43","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T05:09:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/606712\/"},"modified":"2025-12-02T05:09:43","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T05:09:43","slug":"the-uks-most-delightful-libraries-all-worth-planning-a-trip-around","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/606712\/","title":{"rendered":"The UK\u2019s most delightful libraries, all worth planning a trip around"},"content":{"rendered":"

The UK\u2019s most delightful libraries, all worth planning a trip around <\/p>\n

, The Sunday Times<\/p>\n

Back in the days when Britain was still a nation of readers, rather than scrollers, our libraries were the envy of the world. In the 18th and 19th centuries, they served as repositories of knowledge and portals of education and enlightenment for a rapidly industrialising society still struggling to overcome its entrenched class divide. The idea behind them was a simple but radical one: that access to books should be freely and universally available, whether you were a labourer or a lady, a miner or a marquess. The Sunday Times wants to get Britain reading<\/a>, so put aside your smartphones and screens: here are seven of the UK\u2019s most special libraries to base a city break around, all with somewhere lovely to stay afterwards. After all, there\u2019s nothing quite as purely pleasurable as settling in with a good book.<\/p>\n

This article contains affiliate links that will earn us revenue<\/p>\n

1. The Bodleian, Oxford\"Jessica<\/p>\n

Oxford\u2019s Bodleian Library, a must-visit spot for bibliophiles<\/p>\n

CHRISTOPHER FURLONG\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n

In terms of English libraries, this is the magnum opus. Founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, a diplomat during the reign of Elizabeth I, the old Bod feels like the library at Hogwarts: think domed reading rooms, gothic vaulting, stained glass and wooden shelves stuffed with books from floor to ceiling. In fact, the library contains 13 million printed items and spans five sites. Guided tours allow access to areas normally off-limits: the 90-minute tour includes the ecclesiastical Divinity School, the 15th-century Duke Humfrey\u2019s Library (the Bod\u2019s oldest reading room), the ornate Clarendon Building and the Chancellor\u2019s Court, where students were tried for misdeeds (tours from \u00a310; visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk). You also visit the Gladstone Link (aka the Glink), an underground tunnel\/library connected to the Radcliffe Camera. The Old Bank Hotel is a suitably studious affair: formerly occupied by the bank run by Fletcher and Parsons, it\u2019s now a plush 43-room hotel with its own residents\u2019 library, and it\u2019s only five minutes\u2019 walk from the Bod. It\u2019s right on the High Street too, so you\u2019re well placed for college visits and the Ashmolean Museum.
Details<\/b> Room-only doubles from \u00a3187 (oldbankhotel.co.uk)<\/p>\n

\u2022 Explore our full guide to <\/b>Oxford<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

2. John Rylands Library, Manchester\"Interior<\/p>\n

The neo-gothic John Rylands Research Institute and Library in Manchester<\/p>\n

JAMES HIND\/ALAMY<\/p>\n

This imposing neo-gothic structure was opened on Deansgate in 1900 by the widow of the industrialist John Rylands, Manchester\u2019s first multimillionaire, who made a packet from textiles. It\u2019s a cathedral of scholarship, with soaring, vaulted ceilings and sculpted columns crafted from Cumbrian sandstone. Its collection includes an original Gutenberg Bible, a Mainz Psalter printed by William Caxton and the St John Fragment, thought to be the oldest surviving manuscript of the New Testament. Since 2022, the library has also housed the British Pop Archive, a nod to the city\u2019s unmatchable musical heritage (library.manchester.ac.uk). Deansgate\u2019s shops and bars are on your doorstep: don\u2019t miss a visit to the grade II listed Barton Arcade. Ten minutes\u2019 walk across the River Irwell is the Lowry Hotel, whose crescent-shaped structure offers urban views and stylish rooms.
Details<\/b> B&B doubles from \u00a3160 (millenniumhotels.com)<\/p>\n

3. Gladstone\u2019s Library, Hawarden, Flintshire<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re a fan of reading in bed, Gladstone\u2019s Library will be right up your alley: it\u2019s the UK\u2019s only residential library. It owes its existence to William Ewart Gladstone, the only British prime minister to be elected four times. Gladstone was an avid book collector and reader, and his 12,000 volumes (spanning politics, literature, theology and history) forms the core of the collection. During retirement, he personally oversaw the transfer of his books from his home at Hawarden Castle to a corrugated-iron building known as the Tin Tabernacle. After his death in 1898, funds were raised to construct the present neo-gothic library as his memorial. Constructed from red Cheshire sandstone, it\u2019s an ostentatious sight, and the wood-lined reading rooms are a delight. You can even browse some of Gladstone\u2019s books, with his marginal musings. In true scholarly tradition, rooms feel rather functional, so it\u2019s worth upgrading to one of the suites. Access to the reading room and residents\u2019 lounge is included and the library\u2019s Food for Thought restaurant means you can carry on reading over dinner. The library is just south of the River Dee, where a walk around Wepre Park is worthwhile \u2014 or you could strike out along the coast towards Flint Castle.
Details<\/b> B&B doubles from \u00a3124 (gladstoneslibrary.org)<\/p>\n

4. The Morrab Library is packed with intriguing tomes\"Interior<\/p>\n

The Morrab Library his hidden away in Penzance<\/p>\n

IAN KINGSNORTH<\/p>\n

Hidden away in old Penzance, within sea-smelling distance of Mount\u2019s Bay, this handsome library is a locals\u2019 secret: many a Cornish writer, poet and painter has been a subscriber here since its opening in 1818. Overlooking the lawns of Morrab Gardens, it\u2019s in a Georgian villa marked by a grand granite portico and feels like a step back in time. Its higgledy-piggledy shelves are filled with intriguing books, especially for students of Cornish history and the Napoleonic era. Charmingly, you\u2019re welcome to make a mug of tea and take it to your reading table. It\u2019s open from Tuesday to Saturday, 10am-4pm, with a \u00a35 daily reader\u2019s fee, or you can join for \u00a340 a year (morrablibrary.org.uk). The Artist Residence on Chapel Street makes a fitting place to stay, with boho rooms filled with murals and retro knick-knacks and a decent restaurant. While here, stroll down through Morrab Gardens for a walk along Penzance prom and a dip in the outdoor Jubilee Pool, followed by a pint at the old Turks Head on Chapel Street.
Details<\/b> Room-only doubles from \u00a3140 (artistresidence.co.uk)<\/p>\n

\u2022 37 of the best hotels in Cornwall<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

5. Leeds Library, Leeds\"The<\/p>\n

The Leeds Library moved to its present location in 1808<\/p>\n

SIMON MILES PHOTOGRAPHY<\/p>\n

This members\u2019 library in Leeds has a special claim to fame: it\u2019s the oldest surviving lending library in the UK, founded in 1768 by a forward-thinking society of northern notables, including its first secretary, the polymath chemist-clergyman-philospher Joseph Priestley. The library moved to its present location on Commercial Street in 1808, and it\u2019s one of only a handful of Georgian libraries that have survived. Grade II listed and set around a glass-roofed atrium, framed by wooden balustrades and shelves, it\u2019s a bookworm\u2019s delight. Ordinarily it\u2019s only open to members (\u00a3180 a year), but it\u2019s free to visit from 1pm to 3pm Mondays to Fridays and between 5pm and 7pm on Thursdays (library.leeds.ac.uk). The buzzer entry adds to its clandestine appeal. Leeds Art Gallery is just around the corner, while the boutique hotel Dakota Leeds is a quick walk away.
Details<\/b> Room-only doubles from \u00a3114 (dakotahotels.co.uk)<\/p>\n

6. The Linen Hall Library, Belfast\"Three<\/p>\n

The Linen Hall Library was founded in 1788<\/p>\n

ROB DURSTON<\/p>\n

A literary linchpin since 1788, this Belfast library was established as the philanthropic Society for Promoting Knowledge. It has a chequered history, dogged by financial struggles and the fallout from the Troubles, but a concerted community effort in the 1980s and 1990s secured its future and it\u2019s now a hub for Belfast\u2019s creative community (look out for readings and events). The setting in a former linen warehouse on Donegall Square North lends it old-fashioned charm, and there\u2019s a cracking caf\u00e9 and charity bookshop (linenhall.com). For thematic consistency, stay at the Ten Square Hotel across the square, another former linen warehouse, which has a taproom, steakhouse and roof terrace. It\u2019s well placed to explore the Northern Irish capital. Peek inside the historic Belfast City Hall, and then head along May Street for souvenir shopping and a snack at St George\u2019s Market, finishing up with a meander along the River Lagan.
Details<\/b> B&B doubles from \u00a387 (tensquare.co.uk)<\/p>\n

7. Central Library, Edinburgh\"The<\/p>\n

Central Library overlooks George IV Bridge<\/p>\n

ALAMY<\/p>\n

The Scottish capital has more than 20 libraries, but the blockbuster is the central one. Financed by the philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, who laid the foundation stone, the building opened to great fanfare in 1890 overlooking the George IV Bridge, Cowgate and the old town. It was intended to echo the grandeur of a French Renaissance ch\u00e2teau, and it\u2019s an undeniably imposing presence: the domed reading room houses the main reference section, and is surely one of the most impressive spaces to sit down with a book in the UK. Just along the street from the library, across the George IV Bridge, Moment is an upmarket aparthotel with views of the castle, the old town or both. You\u2019re right in the heart of the old town here. A couple of minutes\u2019 walk north and you\u2019ll be on the Royal Mile; a couple of minutes south brings you to the National Museum of Scotland.
Details<\/b> Self-catering apartments from \u00a3185 (momentstays.com<\/p>\n

\u2022 Explore our full guide to <\/b>Edinburgh<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

Any we\u2019ve missed? Share your recommendations in the comments<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The UK\u2019s most delightful libraries, all worth planning a trip around , The Sunday Times Back in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":606713,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4],"tags":[748,393,4884,1144,712,16,15,1764],"class_list":{"0":"post-606712","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-uk","8":"category-united-kingdom","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-northern-ireland","13":"tag-scotland","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom","16":"tag-wales"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115648251399735024","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606712","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=606712"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606712\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/606713"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=606712"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=606712"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=606712"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}