Don't bother going to Clunes to buy books - I bought them all.
Seriously.
Ok, maybe not ALL of them, but I'm coming back. Soon.
Clunes is famous as an International Booktown - the only Booktown in Australia. In fact, it's the only Booktown in the Southern Hemisphere.
Each year, the Booktown Festival brings thousands of visitors to the town, as the handful of regular book sellers grows to over 70 stall holders, to become Australia's largest book trading event.
But
visit on any other time of year and you can peruse the stores at your
leisure. On the day we visited, the town was quiet, the shops were
quiet, the book stores were quiet and we were able to wander up and down the main street, exploring shops along the way.
A few of them in particular caught
my interest, like Biblio Burro/Laneway Books. Our kidlets scored the most in this shop, choosing some of their favourite authors like Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl. I was excited to see my childhood books, The Silver Brumby and An Older Kind of Magic, both set in the Australian bushland, and quickly added those to the pile at the counter.
Next was Orpheus, where I found A Pictorial History of Heidelberg, filled with photos of Heidelberg throughout the years since 1836.
At Book Fossicker, we found A Home Among the Gum Trees, about old Australian houses, and Rivers of Australia. I love seeing how old places looked then and how much they have changed now.
I particularly love how small towns like Clunes still retain their heritage charm and make you feel like you have stepped back in time.
I'll be back to do some more fossicking soon, Clunes.
What: Clunes Booktown
Where: Fraser St, Clunes
When: Store hours vary
Why:books
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