Give us a deep armchair, a crackling fire, a drink within reach and an entire afternoon stretching ahead with nowhere whatsoever to be, and we are guaranteed hours of bliss. Here, we’ve gathered up the best, from Bloomsbury boltholes and book-filled Cambridge libraries to a hotel with its own bookshop on the Kent coast. These are five places in which to make a virtue of staying in this autumn.
Hero Image: The Academy
The Academy, Bloomsbury, London
There could hardly be a more appropriate place to begin than Bloomsbury, where Virginia Woolf, E.M. Forster and their circle once made an art form of talking, thinking and writing in handsome drawing rooms. Occupying five Georgian townhouses on Gower Street, The Academy already has the requisite library, secluded courtyard and dark, clubby corners; this autumn, it is leaning still further into its literary credentials. A new partnership with independent publisher Titan Books has brought a carefully chosen bookshelf to the hotel library, encompassing everything from literary fiction and mythology to gothic tales and thrillers. There is even an autumnal take on its ‘Blind Date With A Book’, with hand-wrapped mystery reads spanning dark academia, folklore and Halloween anthologies.
Those who can bear to leave their armchair can take a private literary walking tour through Bloomsbury, following in the footsteps of Woolf, T.S. Eliot and Forster, before returning for the literary-inspired Mr Ma’s Afternoon Tea, itself based on Lao She’s Mr Ma and Son. The British Museum is just around the corner, too. The ideal ratio, we think, is a few hours of culture (Bayeux Tapestry, obviously, if you’re one of the lucky ones who’ve bagged a ticket) followed by yet more hours with a novel and no further plans. Book it.
University Arms, Cambridge
If your fantasy autumn weekend involves a roaring fire and a mahogany-panelled library, University Arms has done the moodboarding for you. Cambridge's grandest hotel wears its literary credentials lightly but ubiquitously. Simply, bookish references are everywhere. Its library – all dark timber, leather Chesterfields, velvet armchairs and an enormous fireplace – is stocked with books selected by Mayfair bookseller Heywood Hill (former employer of Nancy Mitford, no less), while the bedrooms contain their own small collections. The suites take things further still, with bookshelves individually selected around their particular subjects.
Best of all is the hotel's Book Butler. Tell them what you like to read – authors, subjects, genres – over tea or coffee and a personally chosen stack of books will subsequently arrive at your room. Which is considerably more useful, in our view, than someone unpacking one's suitcase. There is Cambridge itself when cabin fever eventually strikes: colleges, autumn leaves along the Backs and enough literary history to fill several weekends. But this is one occasion on which failing to see all the sights should be considered a triumph. Book it.
The Book Hotel At The Falstaff, Ramsgate
Set in a restored Regency building overlooking Ramsgate harbour, The Book Hotel combines bedrooms with an independent bookshop, café, bar and literary event space. In other words, once checked in, there is remarkably little reason to leave. Its shelves span fiction, biography, history, nature and travel, with a particular emphasis on books about writing; several bedrooms are also being created in collaboration with publishers, including Big Picture Press, Pluto Press and Dorling Kindersley.
Come Friday evening, the bookshop stays open for Books & Bar Night, allowing guests to browse the shelves with a glass of wine in hand before settling somewhere comfortable with whatever they have found. There are regular book clubs and author events too. And then there is Ramsgate itself: bracing sea air, Regency architecture and a harbour made especially appealing when viewed through a window as the weather turns. Take a walk along the coast to earn your supper, then retreat inside. This is autumn escapism with its priorities firmly in order. Book it.
The Fife Arms, Braemar
For a picture-perfect vision of autumn, head to Braemar in the Cairngorms, which gives you mountains, russet woods, cold clean air and – in all likelihood – weather that provides ample excuse to cancel outdoor plans. Inside, maximalism reigns: art, antiques, tartan, roaring fires and gloriously enveloping rooms. Its literary credentials include the annual Braemar Literary Festival, while even the hotel's famously atmospheric Bertie's Whisky Bar has been conceived as a dark library, with its hundreds of whiskies displayed like illuminated books. Simply, walk while the sun is out; read when it isn't. Follow several chapters with afternoon tea and, later, swap your novel for a dram at Bertie's. There are worse ways to lose a weekend. Book it.
The Arden Hotel, Stratford-upon-Avon
The Arden Hotel
It would be perverse to compile a list of literary autumn escapes without finding room for Shakespeare. The Arden sits directly opposite the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon, making it possible to move between bedroom, book and Bard with little effort. Stratford is particularly lovely in the autumn, the trees beside the Avon turning gold and russet, the summer crowds thin thus making the prospect of an evening beneath the theatre lights far less hectic than in the summer. The hotel's current autumn stay runs until the end of November, leaving plenty of time for riverside walks, Shakespeare's historic houses and a performance across the road. Book it.
FAQs: UK Literary Escapes
Where are the best literary hotels in the UK?
Some of the best include The Academy in Bloomsbury, University Arms in Cambridge, The Book Hotel at The Falstaff in Ramsgate, The Fife Arms in Braemar and The Arden in Stratford-upon-Avon. Each has a strong literary connection, whether through its location, library, bookshop or dedicated literary experiences.
Which UK hotels have particularly good libraries?
University Arms in Cambridge is a standout, with a handsome, fire-lit library stocked by Mayfair bookseller Heywood Hill, as well as books throughout its bedrooms and suites. The Academy in Bloomsbury has its own intimate library, while Bertie’s Whisky Bar at The Fife Arms takes its inspiration from a traditional reading room.
Are there any hotels in the UK with their own bookshops?
Yes. The Book Hotel at The Falstaff in Ramsgate combines a hotel with an independent bookshop, café, bar and literary event space, making it particularly well suited to a bookish weekend away.
Where can I stay for a literary weekend in England?
Cambridge, Bloomsbury and Stratford-upon-Avon are particularly rich in literary history, while Ramsgate offers the appealing combination of books and bracing seaside walks. For something more remote, Braemar pairs spectacular Highland scenery with the literary credentials of The Fife Arms.
What makes a good autumn literary escape?
For us, it is less about packing the weekend with sightseeing and more about having somewhere lovely in which to linger: a good library, comfortable armchairs, a fire, excellent food and plenty to explore should you eventually decide to put your book down.
