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Inside 20 Storey in Kelso: shelves of books, cards and gifts, with prints on the walls
Scottish Borders

20 Storey, Kelso

A bookshop and gift shop on the Square in Kelso, named by The Times among the best independent bookshops in the UK.

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Welcome

On the Square in Kelso, the town's great cobbled market square, 20 Storey is a bookshop and gift shop with a following well beyond the Borders.

The Times named it among the best independent bookshops in the UK, the only one in Scotland on its list.

Books share the room with a mix of unusual gifts, art, stationery and games, chosen for being a little different rather than for filling a shelf. It is a good shop to go into for one thing and come out with three.

The room is small but the shelves are full, and if a book is not on them the shop will order it in. Look out for the shop dog. 20 Storey opens Monday to Saturday from ten until five, and Kelso Abbey and the banks of the Tweed are a few minutes' walk from the door, so it fits easily into a day in the town.

The Daily

Arrives at 5am every day.

A free morning email to see what’s on this week, catch up on what’s happening in Scotland and find somewhere new to go.

The Daily for 14 November, from Scotland with love. A red kayak beached on a loch shore beneath sunlit rocky hills, Sutherland
Round the cornerRutherfords MicropubA small micropub on the Square in Kelso, named CAMRA's Borders Pub of the Year in 2025 and 2026.Under a mileSee itThe shopfront of Rutherfords Micropub at 38 The Square in Kelso, with its black sign, red awning and tables and chairs on the pavement.

Before you go

Open Monday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm.

18 The Square, Kelso.

Mon to Sat
10:00 to 17:00.
Sun
Closed.

Opening hours

Monday
10am–5pm
Tuesday
10am–5pm
Wednesday
10am–5pm
Thursday
10am–5pm
Friday
10am–5pm
Saturday
10am–5pm
Sunday
Closed

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Where it is

18 The Square, Kelso, TD5 7HH.

Close byIn Kelso.
  1. The pale stone front of Ednam House in Kelso, with its pediment and white doorway, across a lawned turning circle on a spring evening.Ednam HouseA Georgian mansion on the banks of the Tweed in Kelso, now a hotel with a restaurant, a bar and three acres of riverside gardens.Under a mile as the crow flies
  2. Green-fronted Dor shop at number 38, selling lifestyle goods and coffeeDōrUnder a mile as the crow flies
  3. Kelso AbbeyKelso AbbeyThe towering remains of what was one of Scotland's largest and richest abbeys, free to visit in the middle of Kelso.Under a mile as the crow flies
  4. The broken curtain wall of Roxburgh Castle, with an arched opening, along the top of its grassy mound under a deep blue winter sky, a bare tree rising behind it.Roxburgh CastleThe broken walls of a medieval royal castle on a steep ridge between the Tweed and the Teviot, just west of Kelso.Under a mile as the crow flies
  5. Aerial view of Fyvie Castle's turreted grounds surrounded by autumn woodland and fieldsFloors CastleThe great castle of the Dukes of Roxburghe above the Tweed at Kelso, begun in the 1720s, with a walled garden and grounds open all year.1 mile as the crow flies
Directions
The shopfront of Rutherfords Micropub at 38 The Square in Kelso, with its black sign, red awning and tables and chairs on the pavement.BarsRutherfords MicropubA step away
Red dining room with gilt-framed portraits, wall lights and set tablesAttractionsSCHLOSS Roxburghe3.1 miles
Ruined stone castle atop a grassy hill overlooking patchwork farmlandAttractionsHume Castle4.8 miles
Stone tower of Smailholm Tower rises above ruined walls and rolling Borders hillsAttractionsSmailholm Tower5.6 miles
Linton Kirk on its grassy knoll, a stone church with a small bellcote, among old gravestones under a summer sky.AttractionsLinton Kirk5.6 miles
A sharing platter laid on an outdoor table at Wilson's Farm and Kitchen: sourdough, cured meats, salad, cheese and pickles, beside a blue jug of pink and green flowers.RestaurantsWilson's Farm and Kitchen5.9 miles
Thatched cottage with box hedges and blue poppies in a gardenAttractionsMellerstain House5.9 miles
Cessford Castle, a massive roofless tower of red and grey stone, standing in green grass with farmland beyond under a blue sky.AttractionsCessford Castle6.3 miles
Stone tower on a hilltop overlooking patchwork farmland and woodlandAttractionsWaterloo Monument6.6 miles

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Stay nearby

Places to stay near the shop, and when each is next free.

The House in the Hill at dusk, its turf roof over walls of local stone and glass, a bedroom lit inside and the hot tub at the corner.The House in the Hill
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Jedburgh
  • 10 miles from 20 Storey
Free 22–24 NovPlaces to stayEvery stay in the Scottish BordersAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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What we have written about it and more in the Scottish Borders.

ArticleWhere to Shop in Scotland This Christmas
More in the Scottish Borders

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