By Harriet Riley
The rugged mountainous region just outside of Sydney, Australia isn’t just an enchanting place to hike and enjoy the outdoors, the Blue Mountains also offer a bit of heaven for bookstore lovers. Tucked away among eucalyptus trees and the hazy blue cliffs, visitors will find charming mountain villages with at least 12 bookstores spread across nine towns.
Whether you go for the day by car from Sydney or catch the train and spend the night, this meandering bookshop adventure will ignite the senses. The Blue Mountains Bookstore Trail invites bibliophiles to stop and smell the books (and the coffee!) in towns like Glenbrook, Blackheath, and Wentworth Falls.
Two friends and I did just that one chilly, cloudy day last winter. As we drove from Sydney to the Blue Mountains we vowed to keep our book purchases to a minimum. Spoiler alert: We left with a stack of books each. Promises are made to be broken!
Our first stop was in Glenbrook at Blue Dragon Books, a delightful second hand book shop brimming with treasures. We had our first coffee break at the nearby 2773 Café, a lively place with lots of charm. Our next visit was in Springwood at the Turning Page Bookshop. They featured new books and book-related gifts also. On only our second stop, I quickly succumbed and bought two books and a pen. Back on the road to Faulconbridge, we ducked into Chapters and Leaves. More teahouse than bookshop, they only had one bookshelf of used detective novels. This shop did warrant another coffee … “to go” this time. We needed energy for the books ahead.
We went on to nearby Lawson for Rosey Ravelston Books. The place was freezing, and I didn’t want to move from the cozy gas heater. I did manage a few chilly steps to buy a used copy of a popular Australian book that everyone said I needed to read (Total so far: 3 books, 1 pen). Next, we drove on to Wentworth Falls and Good Earth Bookshop. This pleasant small shop was hosting a group of eight women painting in the back room. We chatted and one gave me a roll of decorative tape, but I didn’t buy any books (I proudly proclaim). Then it was a short walk to Blue Mist Café for lunch. The downstairs café was packed with the local lunch crowd, so the owner sent us upstairs to the “lounge.” Once there we discovered several large bookshelves bursting with used books. We had a great meal among the titles for our bookshop number six of the day. And coffee number three.
The Blue Mountain Bookshop Trail was the idea of the owner of Good Earth Bookshop in Wentworth Falls as a way to promote the area’s outstanding booksellers. A brochure easily available at each of the shops lists the bookstores and opening hours as well as a link to the website for each. A World Heritage listed destination, the Blue Mountains is a bushwalker’s dream with more than 87 miles of track, countless waterfalls and stunning views. One of the most iconic rock formations is the Three Sisters which supposedly represents three Aboriginal sisters who were turned to stone.
We got back on the road and headed to Leura for our last stop at Megalong Books. This store was the busiest of the day and I couldn’t resist buying one more book, bringing my total to four! I think that was a stellar performance in restraint since we visited seven delightful bookshops. My favorite was probably Megalong Books, with its new books and well-curated selection … best for last, I always say.
We had to skip the last three villages on the trail – Katoomba, Blackheath , and Lithgow – but we knew we would definitely return one day soon. We drove the 90 minutes back to Sydney buzzing with coffee and the anticipation of reading our newly purchased books.
BIO: Harriet Riley is a New Orleans-based freelance writer focusing on creative nonfiction. She taught creative writing 11 years with Writers in the Schools Houston. Harriet also taught journalism, worked as a non-profit director and as a newspaper reporter. Harriet recently published articles in 64 Parishes and Mississippi Magazine. She has her MA in print journalism from UT Austin. She spends her free time traveling and reading fiction.
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