The Fife town of St Andrews contains the world's second-oldest English-speaking university, which is also one of the four ancient Scottish institutions. Students comprise one quarter of the local population. As you might expect, a number of bookshops can be found here and my mother had received a Topping voucher as a Christmas present from Nicole and me.
Topping is an independent bookseller with branches in Bath, Ely (Cambridgeshire), Edinburgh and St Andrews. The company was established in 2002 and the St Andrews store opened in 2014, moving into a former restaurant building. Mum and I headed up on a Saturday morning and strolled over to the shop, just off the busy Market Street. Our first impression upon entering was the sheer volume of material. The store holds around 50,000 titles and rolling ladders allow access to the upper shelves. As is often the case, a selection of books were laid flat on a table by the entrance and I noticed many were signed by the author. The shop website lists several promotional events over the next few months where you can meet the writer. No doubt it's a win-win situation for both author and trader, with healthy amounts of copies sold off the back of those gatherings. Bookshops in the digital age need to come up with schemes to bring customers through the doors, although the pandemic apparently prompted a boom in reading. I love bookstores with hidden corners and Topping certainly fitted the bill. The floorspace stretched back way further than I had initially assumed and the breadth of topics was overwhelming. I found dozens of bird publications, something Nicole would enjoy checking out. An unexpected bonus was the offer of complimentary tea or coffee (with biscuits) while browsing. A few tables were available through the back - a really nice touch. Mum used up her voucher and I picked out a novel about a group of strangers striking up a friendship on a train. I could hardly leave empty handed having just sampled the refreshments! Afterwards we pulled in at the Eden Coffee Shop in Guardbridge for lunch. It was too cold to sit at the tables by the river and we had a soup & sandwich combo inside. A most satisfactory day and a book run to Topping is recommended.
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