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:
Our Local Suppliers Include:
Bread Together, Chester
Providence Gin, Chester
The Ice Cream Farm, Tattenhall
Orchards Farm, Tattenhall
Adams and Russell Coffee Roasters, Birkenhead
Nicaragua, The Tierre Madre Women's Co-operative
Costa Rica, San Jorge produced by Coopeagri Cooperative
Peru produced by Lambayeque Women's Cooperative
Honduras, Amprocal Women's Cooperative
From Bristol, Zuma
Hafod Brewing Company, Mold
Quinteassential Fine Teas, Chester
Sophia Shaw, Art & Illustration, Chester
em in stitches designs, Chester
Untamed Photography Boutique, Chester
ngazi coffee, Chester and the Rwenzori Mountains, Uganda
Lesley Mayné, Chester
Nikki Pinder, Liverpool
Weetwood Ales, 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.
books on the walls Poet in Residence: Andy Porter
books on the walls is delighted to announce the residency of Andy Porter. Andy will be busy unearthing the poet in those who visit the bookshop and developing the poetic opportunities on offer – with the support of a velvety stream of cappuccino froth.
Andy is a Cheshire based poet He has been writing poems since 2020 after working for over 30 years as an advertising scriptwriter, copywriter and director.
Andy’s debut poetry collection, “Neighbour’s Got a New Hot Tub” was launched in July 2025 by independent Irish publisher, Luain Press.
The following month Andy was invited to appear with Rising Tide Events at Electric Picnic, Ireland’s biggest music festival. He performs regularly at Spoken Word nights and is just as happy performing in front of an audience of a handful of people as he is in front of a theatre or festival audience of 150. Andy's work has featured on several podcasts and his poem "You Can't Take it with You" is in The Poetry's Dead's second anthology (published January 2026). His second full collection will be published later this year. Andy lives with his wife Kathy in the village of Great Barrow, where he is surrounded by lunatics, most of whom are his friends.
“These entertaining, high-spirited poems are packed with humour and crafted rhyme. Andy Porter has a natural facility for memorable words, phrases and titles to make you smile” Greg Freeman, Write Out Loud
“Funny, fab images, joyous juxtapositions” Neil Mullarkey, Co-founder,
The Comedy Store
“A bloody great poet!” Leon Dunne, All Ireland Poetry Slam Champion 2022
“Your book is an amazing achievement (& very funny) - well done mate!”
Mike Garry
Tik Tok: @andyspangles
Insta: @andyporterpoet
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 (July 2026)
Women’s Book Swap Club
Wednesday 29th July 2026, 6-7.30pm
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 will also be included in your ticket price.
Please book tickets with either Amblongus or books on the walls, in person or via email hello@booksonthewalls.com or amblongusbooks@gmail.com
At books on the walls
Upcoming Events at books on the walls (August 2026)
Typewriter Poetry with Molly Ovenden
Tuesday 11 August 2026
10.30-4pm
15 minute slots available
£10 per poem, per person
What's it like to have a personal poem written just for you?
Meet Typewriter Poet, Molly Ovenden, and request a personalised poem to be written for your or as a gift. Want a poem? Pick a topic and Molly will write while you wait. Grab a coffee, browse the shop, or simply enjoy a moment of peace during the process.
Molly will ask you a few questions to personalise your poem. She'll write and type it, live, on-the-spot with her vintage typewriter. You'll receive a frameable copy of the poem, a keepsake of the experience. Then, Molly will also perform your poem aloud for you to fully experience it. The whole process from request to performance takes 15 minutes.
About Molly – she is a Contemplative Typewriter Poet and Painter, a Minnesotan Yorkshire-lover at home both in Duluth and England, and she lives with her bearded furniture-making Englishman husband, Max. She is changing the world, making it better one poem at a time. When she’s not writing, she’s coaching, reading, laughing, smiling, eating, drinking tea and coffee, painting, daydreaming, training for marathons, doing yoga, or going for circular walks. Molly’s latest publication is her Cold, Wet Windy poetry collection (30 June 2026). Since 2022 she has been writing poems for people, then publishing her own collections of poetry so that people all over the world can read them. Poems for My People: Community, Volume 5 (the blue book) and all her other collections can be bought on lulu.com.
Book your 15 minute poem slot with books on the walls or on Eventbrite.
Upcoming Events at books on the walls (September 2026)
Local Author Event with CJ Richie: The Omniscio and Operation Red Fur
Saturday 5 September 2026
2-2.30pm
C J Richie is a local author and the creator of The Omniscio and the companion adventure Operation Red Fur. Her stories combine mystery and adventure with themes of friendship, courage and hope.
Set in a world where ordinary lives can conceal extraordinary secrets, her books follow memorable characters as they face danger, forge unexpected friendships and discover strengths they never realised they had.
She is currently writing the next adventure in The Monkey Puzzle Tree Series.
Free, drop-in
Anne Wilson: Adelaide’s Gift
Saturday 12 September 2026
2-2.30pm
Anne is looking forward to discussing her debut novel, Adelaide’s Gift — a sweeping tale of ambition, sacrifice, and the unbreakable bond between siblings.
The story begins in 1960s Liverpool, where Grace Ellwood uncovers an ornate music box among her late mother’s belongings. Its contents lead her father, Joseph, to finally reveal the long-buried truth about his sister, Adelaide.
He takes Grace back to 1904, when Joseph and Adelaide are enjoying a privileged upbringing in Wellington, New Zealand. Adelaide is a gifted pianist whose quiet determination is tested by expectations, secrets, and a shadowy adversary intent on derailing her happiness.
Spanning more than fifty years, Adelaide’s Gift explores the choices that shape us, the secrets that haunt us, and a past that refuses to stay silent.
Anne writes from a deep love of history, nature, and the quiet rhythms of family life. Adelaide’s Gift grew from fragments of her own family history and a lifelong fascination with the stories that shape us.
Alongside her writing, Anne works as a commercial manager and is a qualified proofreader who loves shaping language with care and ensuring every word earns its place on the page.
Anne lives in Chester and is an enthusiastic writer, reader and a lifelong bibliophile.
She is a proud Mum to 2 daughters and Nanna to 5 grandchildren, and the family’s storyteller whose shelves and heart are always full of books.
anne.wilson@thesuccessfactory.co.uk
@annewilsons_storygarden
The Creative Language Of Colour Workshop with Debbie Baxter
Wednesday 16 September 2026
6-8pm
Join artist and author Debbie Baxter for a joyful, hands-on creative workshop exploring colour and the magic of painting.
Debbie, author of The Creative Language Of Water, will share her expertise and enthusiasm for creative exploration, guiding you through playful experiments with colour, mark-making, and expressive painting.
Come and join us for a fun, relaxed, and inspiring two-hour session, where Debbie will take you on a hands-on creative journey and help you reconnect with the sheer joy of making art.
All welcome – no previous experience needed, just curiosity and a willingness to experiment.
Tickets £85 (includes paint and materials). Book with books on the walls.
Jen A. Egerton: Bonds of Blood and Duty
Saturday 26 September 2026
2-3pm
Jen A. Egerton is a teacher, mother, and the author of the enchanting romantasy novel Bonds of Blood and Duty. Fascinated by magical realms since childhood, Jen eventually realised (after a few misadventures) that conjuring worlds on paper was a safer bet than attempting to open a portal herself.
Jen will be discussing her debut romantasy novel, Bonds of Blood and Duty. Inspired by her son who was born with a rare genetic condition, Jen’s novel explores what it means to have a child born different in a world that doesn’t tolerate difference.
Bonds of Blood and Duty is packed with rival fae, forbidden romance and the sacrifices of motherhood.
For more information, visit Jen’s website www.jenaegerton.com or follow her on TikTok (@jen.a.egerton) or Instagram (@jen_a_egerton).
Free, drop-in
Upcoming Events at books on the walls (October 2026)
Plant Spirit Medicine Intro Morning
Saturday 3 October 2026
10 am - 1 pm
A meditative walk through Chester Meadows and Grosvenor Park exploring and discovering the world of the plant spirits, followed by a drum journey and journalling with a cuppa at books on the walls. Connect to the dream world and learn to hear what the plants are telling us. Maria and Bex will teach you how to sit and safely journey to meet the spirit of the plants; to listen to the messages you are given. Cost for the day: £35 including a hot drink and cake of choice.
A £15.00 deposit is required. Bex 07875742522 bexsyrett@gmail.com Maria 07778912521 mrsmariasutton@gmail.com
Eventbrite Plant Spirit Intro Morning Tickets, Saturday 3 October • 10 AM - 1 PM | Eventbrite
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North Wales Author Event
Rhi Steele: The Weight of Living
Saturday 3 October 2026
2-2.30pm
Rhi Steele is a North Wales author, teacher and mother of two. Her debut novel, The Weight of Living, is a contemporary romance exploring self-worth, healing, friendship and second chances. Drawing inspiration from the landscapes and communities of North Wales, Rhi writes emotionally honest stories that balance humour, heart and hope.
The Weight of Living - Tilly's marriage is over, her self-worth in ruins, and the only place she has left to go is the home of her childhood nemesis. As the infuriating older brother of her best friend, Connor Wilson has always known how to get under Tilly's skin. But as her daily struggles with anxiety, body image and the crushing weight of not feeling enough continue to consume her, he starts to become the one person who makes her feel seen. As barbed insults give way to late-night conversations, Tilly begins to wonder if healing might look a lot like him. But old wounds don't vanish overnight, and as Tilly soon discovers, loving someone else means first learning to love yourself.
Free, drop-in
A Poet in Residence Event with Isabelle Kenyon (Fly on the Wall Press)
Thursday 8 October 2026
6-7.30pm
Are you looking to get published?
Join us for a Q&A event with Isabelle Kenyon, Managing Director of Fly on the Wall Press (x6 finalist, Small Press of the Year, British Book Awards) about the different avenues to getting your book out in the world.
We will cover agents, independent publishers, publication journeys, and what to expect along the way - warts and all!
Fly on the Wall Press books have been listed in the Dublin Literary Award 2026, the Women's Prize 2026, the Sky Arts Award 2025 and the Laurel Prize for Poetry.
Tickets £8 – book with hello@booksonthewalls.com
Local Author Event
Jack Callaghan: Wyrd Water
Saturday 10 October 2026
2-2.30pm
Jack Callaghan is a Chester based writer of speculative fiction. He'll be reading from his novel Wyrd Water, a Folk Horror story set in the lake district during the 1970s.
Anyone who buys a copy on the day will get the chance to have a rummage in the Rune bag. Pull the mysterious blank Wyrd rune, and you'll win a fabulous plague doctor rubber duck!
Free, drop-in
Author Event and Book Launch with Dave Haslam: Creative Journeys
Tuesday 27 October 2026
6-7.30pm
books on the walls is thrilled to welcome legendary DJ, music journalist and author Dave Haslam to celebrate the launch of Creative Journeys (Manchester University Press).
Creative Journeys is a collection of conversations that Dave has had with creative trailblazers. Over forty years the DJ, writer and broadcaster has interviewed some of the most fascinating figures in music, literature, film and art. The book gathers revelatory conversations with creative characters including Neneh Cherry, Maxine Peake, Lemn Sissay, Andrew Weatherall, Raymond Carver and Jeremy Deller.
From politics and performance to art, fame and addiction, Haslam's interviewees speak with honesty about their creative journeys. Viv Albertine discusses ‘Typical Girls’ and Paddy Considine recalls Dead Man’s Shoes. Jarvis Cocker goes deep into ‘This is Hardcore’. Terry Hall and Miki Berenyi speak about childhood trauma. Bernard Sumner recalls the loss of Ian Curtis. Jonathan Franzen talks about torturing his characters. There’s darkness but much humour too.
The interviews provide fascinating stories of unorthodox, creative artists navigating negativity and personal setbacks to become celebrated cultural icons
Dave Haslam has been described as a ‘genius’ by Courtney Love and an ‘exceptional writer’ by Olivia Laing. He has worked as a journalist, broadcaster, DJ and interviewer. In the mid-1980s he was running a fanzine, writing for the NME and beginning a 450 night DJ residency at the Haçienda. He has gone on to DJ internationally, curate art events across Europe and write five full-length books, including the acclaimed memoir Sonic Youth Slept on My Floor (2018). books on the walls always has a Dave book on the shelves.
Dave will be talking about his book and answering questions from the audience, followed by a book signing and a chance for a chat. The books on the walls bar and barista service (Literary Cocktail of the month included) will be operating for the event.
Book your free ticket on Eventbrite or with books on the walls.
Photography by Chris Payne
Upcoming Events at books on the walls (November 2026)
Author Event with Sophie Oliver: What the Dresses Know – a women’s history of modernism told through clothes (Manchester University Press)
Tuesday 10 November 2026
6-7.30pm
books on the walls is stoked to host Sophie Oliver for the launch What the dresses know: A women’s history of modernism told through clothes.
Pioneering women were at the heart of the movement known as modernism. Sophie offers a new account of their radical experiments and extraordinary lives, told through the clothes they made and wore.
From a dress Vanessa Bell rescued from the London Blitz to Frida Kahlo’s huipiles and a waistcoat embroidered for Gertrude Stein by Alice B. Toklas, these special objects tell a story of artists seeking transformation. But getting dressed is rarely straightforward. Modernist women used clothes to think through the contradictions of the modern world: the inequalities of industrialisation, the terrible conformities demanded by fascism and racism and the call of feminists, socialists and avant-gardists to act differently and take up new forms of art.
What the dresses know is an exhilarating account of women’s bold attempts to make history during years of tumultuous change. A distinctive new voice in cultural criticism, Sophie uses clothes to explore the challenges modernist women faced – and to understand her own impulses in writing about them.
Sophie Oliver is a critic, curator and academic at the University of Liverpool, where she teaches modernism and feminism. An AHRC/ BBC New Generation Thinker, she writes for the Times Literary Supplement, Literary Review and Art Review and has curated exhibitions at the British Library, the National Poetry Library and the Harry Ransom Center.
Book your free ticket on Eventbrite or with books on the walls. The books on the walls bar and barista service will be in operation for the event.
Martyn Howe: The Coast Is Our Compass (March 2026, Bradt)
Saturday 21 November 2026
2-2.30pm
Why do we walk? Why do we like to be beside the sea? And what happens when you infuse these questions into a journey around the coast of England – a pilgrimage in search of art, culture, community and glorious natural wealth along the world’s longest managed coastal path? Extending well beyond the confines of a walking memoir, The Coast is our Compass addresses all this and more.
Free, drop-in
Upcoming Events at books on the walls (December 2026)
Christmas Rag Wreath Workshop with Lexi
Saturday 5 December 2026
2.30 - 4pm
Join Lexi (maker of the Handmade Book Sleeve) for a festive and creative afternoon at books on the walls. Embrace the holiday spirit by crafting your very own charming rag wreath, perfect for decorating your home or gifting to loved ones.
Don't miss this wonderful opportunity to get hands-on with holiday décor and celebrate the season in style.
Book with Lexi on Eventbrite: Christmas Rag Wreath Workshop Tickets, Saturday, December 5 • 2:30 PM - 4 PM | Eventbrite
@LoveLexiCrafts
Upcoming Events at books on the walls (January 2027)
Author Event with Gareth Robinson: A Curious Legacy
Saturday 2nd January 2027
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.
It was to be January 1998 before he managed to get to the Falklands, and much had happened in the intervening years. Tourism was then in its early days. As Gareth pursued that mission to get all over the Islands - 11 visits and counting - the increased opportunities facilitated the pursuit.
At his first talk and slide show in January of this year, he gave an insight into the attractions of the Falklands, and illustrated this with photographs taken from islands and hilltops which few get to visit. Join him for a further talk and slide show, which will draw out the enterprising way in which 'land-based tourism' has been developed, and will include a slide selection of Falklands wildlife, and the empty, peaceful coastlines which are so much part of an island archipelago.
Free, drop-in
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