What is better than fresh mountain air, you ask? Combining that invigorating hit of oxygen with the smell of a paperback book, of course. Well, here’s where you can achieve such a feat: The Blue Mountains Bookshop Trail.
Recently, I had the pleasure of interviewing Zac of RoseyRavelston Books. His bookshop is #4 on the Trail of these 11 wonderful bookshops, and we had a great chat about what you need to know.
Loren: Hi Zac! This wonderful trail is a combined effort of eleven independent bookshops. It’s so lovely that there is a group keeping these special places alive for readers, especially that special aroma of a physical book, new and old. Can you please tell us how the trail came about?
Zac: As you can imagine, the COVID-19 pandemic was challenging for retail businesses, especially ones situated in a tourist area like the Blue Mountains. And with the inexorable rise of Amazon and other huge online book retailers, running a physical bookshop and community space becomes even more challenging.
So in 2022, Mary from Good Earth Bookshop in Wentworth Falls reached out to a number of the bookshops in the mountains to see if they were interested in being part of a tourist trail, similar to other trails that exist in other parts of Australia and the world. We agreed with the idea that "a rising tide lifts all boats" and asked a local graphic designer, Estee Sarsfield, to create a two-sided map.
We couldn’t have hoped for a better result from Estee! And from the very beginning, we all split the costs evenly between the bookshops on the trail.
Loren: Have you done the trail yourself? If so, can you recommend anywhere tasty to refuel along the way?
Zac: Some of our staff have done the trail and I’ve personally visited all the bookshops at one time or another – I think that's more about being obsessed with books and bookshops than following the trail itself!
But the beauty of this trail and the Blue Mountains in general is that every town along the way has a variety of cafes, restaurants, bakeries. Most of the bookshops are located within a few meters of cafes themselves.
Loren: You’re located at Lawson, RoseRavelston Books, stop #4 along the trail. What's the farthest afield someone has dropped by to visit as part of the trail? Is it mostly Sydneysiders like myself, or locals from the Blue Mountains?
Zac: Mostly people from Sydney but we do get a lot of visitors from other parts of Australia, who have heard about the trail and planned to come to the mountains especially to follow the map. We've personally had a couple from the USA come to the bookshop after hearing about the trail from friends in Sydney!
Loren: That’s amazing! How much time do you think book lovers should allocate for the full eleven stops? And can it be done in reverse order?
Zac: Wow, that’s a tough question! Each of the bookshops have their own unique qualities and selection of books, so I think the amount of time in each bookshop really depends on the visitor.
The trail stretches out to about 80 km in length from Glenbrook to Lithgow, so it's not the easiest thing to do in a day. Most people seem to allocate two days to the trail and split it in two, starting either end, working towards the middle, then staying overnight and finishing the next day.
There are lots of places to stay overnight for a variety of budgets, plus so many beautiful things to see outside of the bookshops as well, being in the middle of a World Heritage listed National Park.
Loren: There is a special riddle competition running this month of October as part of the Love Your Bookshops Challenge 2024. Can you please tell us a little about that?
Zac: It’s all about finding Mischief the magpie, our cute logo for the trail! Each bookshop has an image of mischief somewhere in store. If you find Mischief, you’ll find a literary-themed clue. Solve the clue for each bookshop, get a special stamp on the entry form and you can go into the running for some great prizes!
Loren: I consider myself an amateur birdwatcher, so maybe that will help. Hmm, I wonder? But more importantly than my level of avian spotting, I hear some of you will be at Book Fair Australia this year. Wyrdbooks (#6 on the trail) has a Vendor stall, and I hear Mark and Dianne from Blue Dragon Books (#1 on the trail) are ticket holders, coming to visit all of our wonderful exhibitors. I am looking forward to seeing you there.
Lastly, do you have any special words for our readers? Will there be hard copies of the map available?
Zac: Yes there will be plenty of hard copy maps available (they’re a work of art in themselves even if you never get to the mountains!).
Blue Dragon is one of the best secondhand bookshops in Australia, having been in business under the same owners for decades with a fantastic range of books.
Wyrdbooks is one of the newest bookshops in the mountains, but they are also one of the most unique, specialising in Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror titles, with an amazing collection of rare and gorgeous books in those genres.
Loren:
So! There you have it. Whether you’re visiting from overseas, or just happen to be a tad more local, take a break and follow The Blue Mountains Bookshop Trail. Support local, buy some books and breathe some beautiful fresh mountain air.
How many do you think you can visit in one day?
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