Welcome
books on the walls: where stories, sounds and spirits intertwine in the heart of Chester.
Nestled within Chester's historic city walls, books on the walls is more than just a bookshop – we're a haven where stories come alive and individuals connect.
Our carefully curated space brings together a perfect blend of contemporary culture and timeless traditions.
Discover Your Perfect Reading Companion
Step into our welcoming space and explore our thoughtfully selected collection of books spanning every genre.
Whether you’re seeking your next literary adventure, diving into challenging histories or browsing for the perfect Chester gift, our friendly staff are here to guide you through our selection.
You’ll discover the unexpected as well as revel in familiar favourites.
We’re also always happy to source your own requests.
More Than books
Banish your phone and immerse yourself in our unique atmosphere where literature meets lifestyle:
Artisanal Coffee Bar: Start your day with lovingly nurtured and locally roasted coffee while enjoying your latest read
Craft Beer, Cider and Fine Martinis: Unwind with our handpicked selection of local beers, ciders and spirits
Vinyl & Music Collection: Spin some grooves from our record collection on our in-house turntable and peruse our treasury of new vinyl, cds and cassettes for sale
Daily Press: Stay informed with our wide range of local and national newspapers and periodicals
Art Space: Explore contemporary works by local artists, available to purchase
Board Game Library: Make a new connection over a game of Chester Monopoly
Salty and Sugary Snacks: Graze upon our small but perfectly formed range for our canine as well as human visitors
Our Local Suppliers Include:
Bread Together, Chester
Providence Gin, Chester
The Ice Cream Farm, Tattenhall
Orchards Farm, Tattenhall
Adams and Russell Coffee Roasters, Birkenhead
Hafod Brewing Company, Mold
Nicaragua, The Tierre Madre Women's Co-operative
From Bristol, Zuma
Costa Rica, San Jorge produced by Coopeagri Cooperative
Peru produced by Lambayeque Women's Cooperative
Brown Sugar Bakes, Chester
Sophia Shaw, Art & Illustration, Chester
em in stitches designs, Chester
Untamed Photography Boutique. Chester
Find Us in Historic Chester
Located at 2 City Walls, Chester, Cheshire CH1 2JG, we’re proud to be part of the fabric of this fantastic city.
Our incredible location on Chester’s famous walls makes us the perfect destination for both locals and visitors seeking a unique experience.
Whether you’re searching for your next favourite book, the perfect album or simply a peaceful spot to enjoy quality coffee and good company, books on the walls welcomes you.
Our friendly team is ready to help you discover something special and truly social.
Don’t Miss Out on Local Events
Want to hear about upcoming books on the walls events and other exciting happenings at your local bookshops?
Sign up at National Book Tokens to get updates on author visits, community events, and bookstore news — all straight to your inbox.
CraftTea
Weekly Event
Wednesdays 2-3pm
A relaxed, chatty crafting hour. Bring along some bits and bobs and get making with a pot of tea and good company at books on the walls
National Book Tokens Award
We’re delighted to share that books on the walls was awarded National Book Tokens Bookshop of the Month for August 2025!
We are also proud to be both a supplier and redeemer of National Book Tokens – the perfect gift for book lovers.
Upcoming Events at books on the walls (November)
Games Nights on the walls
Thursday 20 November
6 - 7.30pm
You are invited to a games night which takes place on the third Thursday of the month. Play one of the board and table-top games at books on the walls or turn up with a favourite from home.
Inspired by the Middle East, France and Italy, we will serve some Bread Together specials, hand-made slow fermented pizza slices with a variety of toppings. A glass of wine or non-alcoholic alternative will also be included in your ticket price.
There are 10 places available in the group.
Please book tickets with books on the walls, in person or via email hello@booksonthewalls.com
Tickets £5
Author Event with Lea Knowles
Saturday 22 November 2025
2-2.30pm
Lea Knowles is a former teacher based in Wirral who has been writing poetry since his student days, long ago.
Now basking in retirement which he has found hard to adapt to, Lea has done a stint of voluntary work in Nigeria as a teacher-trainer and also taught English as a Foreign Language in Poland, Greece and El Salvador. He has recently been a member of a team of volunteer teachers working with refugees and asylum seekers on Merseyside.
Lea’s poetry if frequently inspired by nature, by his home region and by places visited, home and abroad. He has recently completed his trilogy ‘Ripples Over the Mersey’ – a collection of poems and reflections on the Merseyside region. He has also somehow managed to compose a poem about every country in the world (‘National Spirit’ - as yet unpublished).
All proceeds from both these projects will go to a local cancer charity.
Women’s Book Swap Club
Wednesday 26th November - at Amblongus (places available)
Thursday 27th November - at Amblongus (places available)
6-7.30pm
You are invited to this new book swap club which will take place on the last Thursday of the month. Bring along a book to discuss and then swap with another participant.
Inspired by the Middle East, France and Italy, we will serve some Bread Together specials, hand made slow fermented pizza slices with a variety of toppings. A glass of wine or non-alcoholic alternative will also be included in your ticket price.
There are 10 places available in the group.
Please book tickets with either Amblongus or books on the walls, in person or via email hello@booksonthewalls.com or amblongusbooks@gmail.com
Author Event with Chris Pearson
Saturday 29 November, 2-2.30pm
Collared
Dogs are our constant companions: models of loyalty and unconditional love for millions around the world. But these beloved animals are much more than just our pets - and our shared history is far richer and more complex than you might assume. Historian and dog lover Chris Pearson reveals how the shifting fortunes of dogs hold a mirror to our changing society.
Wherever humans have gone, dogs have followed, changing size, appearance and even jobs along the way - from the forests of medieval Europe, where greyhounds chased down game for royalty, to the frontlines of twentieth-century conflicts, where dogs carried messages and hauled gun carriages.Despite vast social change, however, the power of the human-canine bond has never diminished.
Chris will also be signing copies of his book, newly released in paperback (6 November 2025, Profile Books)
Upcoming Events at books on the walls (December 2025)
Author Event with Chris Fozzard
Saturday 6 December 2025
2-2.30pm
A Short History of Newton Hall, Chester
Chris Fozzard is a Chester-based local historian and writer. He’s also a regular speaker at venues in and around the city, including at this year’s Chester Literature Festival.
He’s had two books published to date and will talk to us about the first of these, A Short History of Newton Hall, Chester, which traces the story of this fine suburban dwelling from its origins through several centuries of occupancy. '
Studio
Friday 12th December 2025
6-7.30pm
You are invited to a creative art gathering which takes place on the second Friday of the month. Bring along your favourite art materials and create in a supportive, collaborative environment.
This is an event for everybody, for dabblers and veterans. Inspired by the Middle East, France and Italy, we will serve some Bread Together specials, hand-made slow fermented pizza slices with a variety of toppings.
A drink is also included in your ticket price. Gluten free burnt Basque cheesecake by Brown Sugar Bakes will also be on offer.
Please book tickets with books on the walls, in person or via email hello@booksonthewalls.com
Morag Rose: The Feminist Art of Walking
Saturday 13 December 2025
2-3pm
The allure of the city is powerful but not universally accessible. For many women, it can be exclusionary, exploitative and dangerous. In The Feminist Art of Walking (Pluto Press, October 2025), Morag Rose shows how women can and do claim their place in the public space.
Setting off to explore cities and towns across Britain, she traces local histories and personal stories and attunes herself to the wider resonances of women’s rights amidst alienating capitalist cityscapes. Craving connection and comradeship, she discovers a unique and inclusive approach to walking, celebrating diverse women who transform walking into an art form and act of resistance.
By experiencing the pleasures and pains of pedestrian exploration, she shows us how to reconnect with and become enchanted by our streets.
Author Event with Courtney-Amanda
Saturday 20 December 2025
2-2.30pm
Courtney-Amanda is an author based in Cheshire. Sheldon The Snail Loses His Shell is her first self-published novel.
Her creativity decided to flow one night whilst spending time with her mum, telling each other improvised stories and having lots of fun.
She hopes her book will bring joy and laughter, and portrays a message of friendship, sustainability and how asking for help can go a long way.
Upcoming Events at books on the walls (January 2026)
Olivia Merrydale: Rosie and the Secret of the Snogard
Saturday 3rd January 2026
2-2.30pm
Are you wondering what a watercolour, a book, a dragon, a rose, mugs and tea could have in common?
Are you trying to figure out what exactly the small red dragon (whose name is Dougal by the way) is pointing at?
If the answer to one or all of these questions is: possibly... then why don't you join
Olivia Merrydale who will be reading from her novel Rosie and the Secret of the Snogard
- a story for children and adults - and introduce us to Rosie and Fridolin, a very competent gardening dragon.
Allow yourself to get drawn into a world of gardens, dragons, enchantments, curses and countless cups of tea.
https://www.oliviamerrydale.com/rosie-and-the-secret-of-the-snogard/
Author Event with Gareth Robinson
Saturday 10 January 2025
2-2.30pm
Gareth Robinson first encountered the Falkland Islands in a school atlas, during an O-level geography lesson in the autumn of 1975. What followed was indeed a curious legacy from that lesson.
In his book, A Curious Legacy… the author writes about his fascination with the Falkland Islands, and his mission to get all over the Islands, much of it on foot. Beautifully presented, with 200 plus colour photographs and 27 hand drawn maps, it gives an insight into the landscape and people of the Falkland Islands, and not a few wry observations and anecdotes about life and travel.
Join Gareth for a short slide show (yes, slides!), and an anecdotal chat about his travels there, 11 visits and counting. And maybe to have some of the common misconceptions about the Falklands dispelled. A few Falklands related ‘artefacts’ will also be to hand.
Although he was born and grew up in south Nottinghamshire, Gareth has lived in Chester for the last 40 years and being only 7 minutes’ walk from books on the walls, considers himself a ‘local author’.
Sophie Calon: Long Going
Tuesday 13 January 2026
6-7.30pm
A Dry January Occasion.
Join Sophie at books on the walls for an empowering conversation about how she regained control of her own life in the face of her father's addiction – an opportunity to explore self-care, solidarity, and the power of sharing our stories.
Sophie Calon was born and raised in Cardiff. Her writing has been published in The Guardian, The TLS, Literary Review, and the anthology Tales of Two Londons. Her story 'Cantlos' was runner-up for the 2021 Wild Writing Prize and published by Short Fiction.
At 50, Sophie Calon’s father was a high-flying lawyer. At 55, he was found dead in Cardiff city centre at Christmas. Meanwhile he had pinballed between tents, homeless shelters, and prison cells. His story is a lesson in how alcoholism can consume a person – and a family.
Long Going is a powerful, unflinching memoir that sings with Calon’s love for her eccentric, witty father while recounting his drink-fuelled disintegration. In telling his story, Calon explores her family’s instability and pain as well as her own survival.
“Very touching and will be very helpful to anyone in the same situation"
Jacqueline Wilson, author of The Story of Tracey Beaker
“A moving and thought-provoking account of an impossible situation.”
Louis de Bernières, author of Captain Corelli's Mandolin
"I was engrossed in this book for two days. The addiction story from a daughter's point of view. A beautiful family portrait, distinctively written. Recommend."
Amy Liptrot, author of The Outrun
Please book your ticket (free) with books on the walls.
Author Event - Gordon Maclellan
Saturday 17 January 2026
2-2.30pm
Gordon MacLellan is a storyteller, poet and artist who sets out to help people celebrate their relationship with the world around us. He works all over the UK with processions of fish in Nairn, tall tree puppets dancing in forests, miniature trails of light through the woods Buxton, fireside stories in Wrexham and more.
Saturday 31 January 2026
2-2.30pm
Author Event with Paul D Coombs
Paul D Coombs, is a Welsh author living in Cheshire, and is most recognised for his haunting, literary style and memorable characters. Coombs’ dark fiction has gained acceptance among readers of all genres. His debut novel – The Great Orme, a dark psychological thriller scraped and torn from the famous jutting limestone headland of Llandudno, North Wales, was described by one reviewer as “Agatha Christie meets Stephen King”, and is published by Northodox Press.
A taut psychological thriller laced with moral ambiguity, The Great Orme plunges readers into a world where justice blurs with vengeance. As the body count rises, so do the secrets—each revelation more shocking than the last. The killers at the heart of the story aren’t random monsters, but executioners of society’s darkest offenders: the irredeemable. Yet as their crusade spirals out of control, and devastating truths emerge, the line between right and wrong begins to vanish. Gripping, disturbing, and unflinchingly introspective, this is a story that forces you to question where justice ends... and something far darker begins.
Emotionally charged, dark, traumatic and intensely atmospheric, The Great Orme combines the very best of coastal gothic and supernatural thriller, with dark, morally grey themes, that blur the lines between psychological crime, literary fiction and horror.
Paul’s collection of dark, speculative short stories, For Strangers Only, is for those at the back: the unheard and the unseen, and is due for release in November 2025. “Coombs will take your hand and break your heart in the most splendid of ways.” – Sara Crocoll Smith, award winning editor of the Love Letters to Poe anthologies.
Paul’s second novel, The Deadly Lives of Windsor, is slated for release in early 2026 and is now available to pre-order from Northodox Press. The Deadly Lives of Windsor, is a story that belongs to all of us, a story set in the future, one where humanity is faced with the consequences of our treatment of the species we coexist with, and where we are no longer the dominant predator on our planet. A futuristic Orwellian Animal Farm for our times.
Follow Paul D Coombs on social media:
Twitter (X): @Coombsy101010
Bluesky: @pauldcoombs.bsky.social
Instagram / Threads: @pauldcoombs
Or to find out more about Paul and what’s coming next you can find him via www.pauldcoombs.com.
Upcoming Events at books on the walls (February 2026)
Saturday 7 February 2026
Local Author Event with Gordon MacLeod
2-2.30pm
Gordon Ian MacLeod is a Scottish author and playwright who lives in Cheshire in England.
He has recently completed two new novels.
The latest of these is 'An t-Eilean Dorcha (The Dark Island)', a place where the wind tells stories, the land remembers everything, and change is coming. It is a humorous novel, about a small island community who face a wind farm development on their island and documents their amusing and often unconventional response to it.
This was preceded by a new work of historical fiction, a novella/short novel called, 'Proscription'. This tells the story of a small child, who is caught up in the events of the bloody massacre of Glencoe. It looks at how this traumatic experience in early life, defined the man he was to become.
In August of 2025, Gordon released a new book of Plays, 'More Arran Dramas'.
In 2022, the Grey Hill Arts and Theatre production and distribution company produced one of his plays from the 2017 edition of 'Arran Dramas', called, 'Where Did All the Flowers Come From?' as an audio drama.
Jo Cunningham: Una McMurray Mysteries (Constable)
Saturday 21st February 2026
2-2.30pm
Jo Cunningham grew up in Birkenhead and at age eight, as part of a school team, she became Wirral Road Safety Quiz champion after an exciting buzzer round about box junctions. Having peaked, she left the North to work for many years in various IT jobs while she got to grips with writing comedy novels and has now moved back up North again.
Jo has published two cosy crime books with Constable in her ‘Una McMurray Mysteries’ series about an anxious actuary who solves crimes - 'Death by Numbers' came out in August 2024 and 'A Calculated Murder' in August 2025.
Please join Jo at this event for a short reading, conversation and signing.
Upcoming Events at books on the walls (March 2026)
Linda Middleton: Chester Choc Lit Author
Saturday 21st March 2025
2-2.30pm
Linda has published three contemporary romances with Choc Lit (part of Joffe Books). She likes to write about strong, ambitious women in their late twenties / early thirties. In her early life she worked in the hospitality industry and writing about food and the industry is a big part of her writing.
Linda had always dreamed of becoming a published author and began her journey by writing short stories. She had several published in women's magazines but really wanted to become a novelist.
After a health scare in 2018 she decided it was time concentrate on getting published and in 2023 Things They Never Said was accepted by Choc Lit, part of Joffe. Her second book, First Impressions, was published in August 2024. Her third book, Things We Need to Say, is a follow on from her first book. She is currently working on a trilogy set in a small hamlet on the outskirts of Chester.
Linda currently lives in Chester with her husband and two sons who are in their early twenties. She works part-time as an administrator in a commercial estate agents. Linda was born in Cheshire to a farming family. When she was 18 she moved to London and stayed there for 9 years, but her home county pulled her back and she has lived in Chester ever since.
Insta: @middletonwrites
X: @middletonwrites
Debbie Baxter: The Creative Language of Water
Saturday 28 March 2026
2-2.30pm
A truly unique and inspiring new title from celebrated artist and BBC Countryfile guest Debbie Baxter, Associate Member of the Royal Cambrian Academy.
The Creative Language of Water is a profound and beautifully illustrated reflection on the life-giving force of water, and a stirring invitation to reconnect with the natural world. Set against the breathtaking backdrops of Finland’s 188,000 lakes and the wild beauty of Snowdonia National Park, this book is more than a celebration of nature—it is a moving meditation on creativity, healing, and the timeless flow of the human spirit.
Drawing on the pioneering work of Veda Austin and Masaru Emoto, Baxter invites you to view water as a living presence with its own silent language—one that mirrors our inner world and offers profound lessons on how to live, feel, and create with greater authenticity. With poetic prose and painterly reflections, Baxter shares how her journey— from the silence of Finnish waterways to the rain-soaked hills of North Wales—transformed not only her artistic practice but her understanding of life itself.
"Nature the most powerful force on the planet. I paint this lest we forget who really is in charge"
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