Ian Allen Book and Model Shop

The best railway bookshop in the country. A must-​see shop for anyone interested in railways.

If you’re a young man now turned white as snow and wrinkled as trousers waiting to be ironed, one might call you old. But no matter your age, you can be as young at heart as you want, and it’s shops like Ian Allen Book and Model Shop that will nurture your young spirit. They have the elixir of life — QUICK! Go before it all runs out.
When I went here, I felt a bit out of place, like a zebra in Antarctica. Every other shopper here was an older to middle aged man, and I soon found out why. (Well who can really say why, but let’s pretend I have all the answers). This place sells nothing but books that deal with transportation — trains, boats, buses, banana peels, crabs as strap on shoes — and history/​military. They have supplies for building train sets too. I have to admit, as a young woman, this place isn’t really my thing. However, I aspire to grow up to be a middle aged man stuck in the ephemeral chambers of my boyhood, so when I attain such great heights, I’ll probably go back.