Family-run Leakey’s second-hand bookshop is an Inverness city centre bestseller
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Many folk would say that you haven’t visited Inverness city centre until you’ve been to Leakey’s.
The second-hand bookshop housed in a former church building is truly an Inverness institution for both locals and visitors alike. In fact, many people come to the city centre for the very purpose of browsing the nooks and crannies of Leakey’s.
The bookshop is Inverness BID’s city centre of the week.
This family-run business has been operating for decades and chances are if you can’t find your book in Leakey’s you probably won’t find it anywhere!
We caught up with Sam Leakey to find out more…
Q. Tell us about you
A. We're a family-run second-hand bookshop in Inverness. We've been buying and selling books in the Highlands for a little over four decades and have spent the last 28 years as proud custodians of the B-listed Greyfriars Hall on Church Street. We maintain a large collection of books and antique prints covering most subjects and kept in varying degrees of (dis)order.
Q. What is Leakey's doing over the festive season?
A. Layering up! Although we’ve become known for the roaring log fire in the centre of our shop, step away from it for a moment and you’ll remember that you’re standing in an uninsulated 18th-century church.
Q. Why do second-hand books make such great gifts?
A. Books are such personal things that giving them as gifts successfully is difficult but, when well-chosen, they can become lifelong treasured possessions for the recipient. We think that part of the reason for this ‒ and why printed books remain so stubbornly, thrillingly relevant today ‒ is that they offer an antidote to the gossamer-thin ephemerality of the modern digital world. Their weight alone is reassuring. Over time a book comes to embody something of who we were when we first encountered it and ‒ as gifts ‒ our relationship with the person who gave it to us. A well-chosen book is one of those rare gifts which increases in significance as time passes.
Q. Why is Inverness city centre a great place to shop, visit and work?
A. We love its small scale, the strong sense of community that brings and the proximity to the countryside.
Q. Who are your city centre stars?
A. We are huge fans of everything that the team at XOKO turn their hands to, especially Fernando’s truly exceptional pastries. We’re also lucky to have Inverness Coffee Roasting Co. and WoodWinters Wines & Whiskies as near-neighbours. They’re each quite possibly the very best sources of caffeination and inebriation you’ll find in the city!
Q. Why does the Inverness city centre gift card make the perfect present?
A. If you can’t find the right gift (book, or otherwise) for someone, the gift card makes perfect sense as an alternative. It has the double benefit of letting the recipient buy something they really need while spending money in the local economy. Having recently looked through the gift card website at the businesses taking part, it really is an impressive list. Good on Inverness BID for the initiative!
