A weekend in Frome: Bookworm edition

It’s crazy how only 2 months ago, I was sunnying myself in DisneyWorld Florida (no blog, sorry), enjoying good food and just having a bloomin’ good time! Fast forward to now, my boyf and I managed a child-free (dog-free) weekend and popped to Frome (pronounced ‘Froom’, as in broom).

Call it a green-weekend; a trip not too far from us where we could go via electric car – woo!

If you’re on the lookout for a UK weekend break, or a short visit to Somerset and not sure where to start, this may be the blog for you… with a bookish twist, of course.

What to expect when visiting Frome

If you’re thinking of visiting, it can be done and slowly or as quickly as you’d like. We were quite efficient and found ourselves visiting all the key Frome sites in a morning, despite booking 2 nights’ stay!

Be prepared for cobbles, hills and lots of walking as you explore the cute town. It’s full of bookshops, restaurants, cafes, bars and independent shops. It was so nice to see a whole street (Catherine Street) dedicated to them. And let’s not forget the MANY MANY MANY DOGS!! In fact, dogs are highly encouraged in Frome 😀 

We quickly realised there wasn’t too much to do, but if you plan enough, you can even pop to Bath for the day. My boyfriend and I are quite efficient when it comes to exploring places. Coffee. Food. Go-go-go. We’re the kind that will look frustrated and overtake you if you’re dilly dallying in a city, but walk at a more leisurely place to enjoy the sights in places like Frome.

Books and Nooks: Things to do in Frome for a bookworm

There are 3 main bookshops and 2 key streets I want to point out:

Cheap Street

The most Instagramy, if you will. Mind out for the old-school gutter as you go, where you’ll find Choc et al (oh my, yum) if you need a chocolate fix, but more importantly, Winstone’s Hunting Raven Books. I’d say this is the best choice for books in Frome, where I picked up a gorgeous Van Gogh travel mug and a beautiful paperback edition of Demon Copperhead, which I look forward to reading even more!

At the top, you’ll find The Frome Bookshop: a very, very old school bookshop. Here you’ll find old editions of Alice in Wonderland, ye olde books; that kind of thing. Can you smell it? It’s also where you’re most likely to find tourists.

Catherine Street

Set at the bottom of Catherine Street is Sherlock and Pages, a super itsy bitsy, twinky winky dinky bookshop! It wasn’t quite my vibe, but was still pretty, selling mostly non-fiction, earth and historical novels.

Where to stay in Frome

If you’re looking for something that’s budget-friendly and acts as a pitstop for your stay, I’d highly recommend this AirBnB. Whilst it isn’t 5-star excellence, it is for the budget you pay: it’s easy to find, walkable from the town centre and in a quiet location. It had all the amenities you should need, plus a fantastic bookshelf!

Frome Food Favourites

Talk about a tongue twister! The town has no shortage of places to eat! 

Breakfast was at Moo + Two on Catherine Hill: thankfully we got there early, not realising how busy it would soon become! The coffee and pain au chocolat were okay; with hindsight, I wish I’d saved myself for…

Rye Bakery, our favourite place for coffee and pastries.

They have 2 locations: one near the station which also serves pizza (dinner, sorted), and then a second in a very impressive old Church (?) for a tea break.

Lunch saw us go to (the very popular) High Pavement. I’m aware I’m not a food blogger therefore cannot do justice to how gorgeous and delicious this food was. Think tapas. Herbs. Fragrant spices. And heaven. Oh boy, that food was exquisite. 

For most of the day, we were trying to kill time and didn’t want to waste our 2nd night at the AirBnB by leaving early, so got drinks at Little Walcot (had a delicious mocktail), where we had a lovely view up Catherine Hill and the many, many dogs.

Will we go back?

If we were to go back to Frome, it would only be for the food. I’m in no rush, but it’s nonetheless a lovely day out 🙂