Thistle & Thorn Bookshop

Thistle & Thorn Bookshop Thistle & Thorn is an independent bookshop rooted in the heart of Clitheroe bringing a potent blend of enchantment, story and gifts to the Ribble Valley.
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Become part of a passionate community that celebrates the magic of reading!

Just a gentle reminder, tomorrow, Sunday 20th September we will be closed for the day.We're off to the Booksellers Assoc...
19/09/2026

Just a gentle reminder, tomorrow, Sunday 20th September we will be closed for the day.

We're off to the Booksellers Association Conference.

We're open again as normal on Monday 21st September.

Love n Hugs
Team Thistle & Thorn

*** SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 20th ***WE WILL BE CLOSED FOR THE DAYWe're not quite Going on a Bear Hunt... But we are off to the ...
17/09/2026

*** SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 20th ***

WE WILL BE CLOSED FOR THE DAY

We're not quite Going on a Bear Hunt... But we are off to the National Booksellers Conference.

We're going to meet authors and publishers and to swap ideas with lots of other indie bookshops.

So please forgive us taking this one day to close the shop. We know it means we'll come back with lots of ideas and connections that will make Thistle & Thorn an even better place for you.

*** WE WILL BE OPEN AS NORMAL ON MONDAY SEPTEMBER 21st ***

𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐑𝐓 - π’π„ππ“π„πŒππ„π‘ 𝟐𝟏𝐬𝐭 πŸ•:πŸŽπŸŽπ©π¦π–π‡π„π π‹πˆπ…π„ π†πˆπ•π„π’ π˜πŽπ” π‹π„πŒπŽππ’... 𝐁𝐄 𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐅𝐔𝐋What if gratitude isn't about pretending tho...
15/09/2026

𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐑𝐓 - π’π„ππ“π„πŒππ„π‘ 𝟐𝟏𝐬𝐭 πŸ•:𝟎𝟎𝐩𝐦

𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 π‹πˆπ…π„ π†πˆπ•π„π’ π˜πŽπ” π‹π„πŒπŽππ’... 𝐁𝐄 𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐅𝐔𝐋

What if gratitude isn't about pretending those lemons are delicious?

What do you have in our life that you are truly grateful for?

The choice of date for this event is no coincidence... 21st September 2026 is the 60th anniversary of "World Gratitude Day". It was first celebrated in Hawaii in 1966 and then became "official" when it was recognised by The United Nations on 21st September 1977.

When life gets tough, gratitude can sound like another piece of positive-thinking advice: look on the bright side... count your blessings... be grateful for what you have.

But real gratitude is much more interesting than that.

Drawing on more than 15 years of studying gratitude and the science behind it, Steve explores how living gratefully can help us build resilience, navigate adversity and keep moving forward when life doesn't go to plan.

This interactive talk / workshop looks at what gratitude really is, what the research tells us about its impact, and how we can use it without becoming complacent or losing our ambition.

Many people know Steve as one of the owners of Thistle & Thorn, but he is also an award winning professional speaker and regularly speaks to audiences around the UK (and sometimes around the world) about the psychology of coping with change and living a grateful life.

Because sometimes life gives you lemons... Gratitude won't make them disappear, but it might change what you do with them!

The event is Β£12.50 and places are limited. The ticket price also gives a 10% discount on shop sales on the night. Event booking details in the first comment.

Practical Magic!We love the work of Alice Hoffman and with Practical Magic 2 being out in the cinema we were inspired to...
14/09/2026

Practical Magic!

We love the work of Alice Hoffman and with Practical Magic 2 being out in the cinema we were inspired to make a display for the shop floor.

The films are based on the first and fourth books in the series, which still leaves two other great books to read if you don't like reading a book after you've seen the film (personally we love reading books even if we have seen the film).

Also for those of you who've walked past our superb witch's house while it's been in the window, why not call in and take a closer look now it's on display in the shop!

We're open from 9:30 to 5:30 all this week πŸ’š

Gruffalo Granny... It's a wrap! Well... What a day yesterday was. The shop was buzzing as you'd expect having 30+ childr...
13/09/2026

Gruffalo Granny... It's a wrap!

Well... What a day yesterday was. The shop was buzzing as you'd expect having 30+ children coming to visit for our readings of The Gruffalo.

We had lots of excitement and interactivity and we even got some of the adults joining in with the animal noises and that famous catch phrase, "There's no such thing as a Gruffalo!"

We also learned that Steve a 6'5" ex bouncer and rugby player can get his voice to pitch levels that an opera Soprano would be proud of (mouse) and a depth that a bass baritone could only wish for (Gruffalo). Oh and that he's incredibly gentle when it comes to dealing with small people.

We sold out of unreserved copies of Gruffalo Granny so there are more on order and we have lots of other Julia Donaldson books in stock.

We're open today from 10:00 till 4:00 so if your copy of Gruffalo or one of the other Donaldson books is looking a bit scraggy, come on in and get a shiny new one πŸ’š

GRUFFALO GRANNY... UPDATEPlaces are going fast for the Saturday readings of The Gruffalo... Reserve your book and use th...
11/09/2026

GRUFFALO GRANNY... UPDATE

Places are going fast for the Saturday readings of The Gruffalo... Reserve your book and use the link in the first comment to reserve a place for your little one.

We've got a limited number of copies and places for the Saturday reading of the story that started it all "The Gruffalo" are limited and going fast!

The deal is... Reserve or buy the Gruffalo Granny from us and book a space online for you and your little one to come in on Saturday for one of the group reading / performances of The Grufallo (Steve who is doing them is an award winning professional speaker so your little one won't be disappointed).

GRUFFALO GRANNY... SHE'S HERE ❀️❀️❀️OMG... We've just read it and it genuinely is WONDERFUL!!!We're not going to give th...
10/09/2026

GRUFFALO GRANNY... SHE'S HERE ❀️❀️❀️

OMG... We've just read it and it genuinely is WONDERFUL!!!

We're not going to give the plot away... But we can say that Julia Donaldson has done a superb job and there are lots of Easter Eggs for fans of her other work.

We've got a limited number of copies and places for the Saturday reading of the story that started it all "The Gruffalo" are limited and going fast!

The deal is... Reserve or buy the Gruffalo Granny from us and book a space online for you and your little one to come in on Saturday for one of the group reading / performances of The Grufallo (Steve who is doing them is an award winning professional speaker so your little one won't be disappointed).

UPDATE: 30 in 30 Challenge for Teenage Cancer Trust - 6 done 24 to go!The team are starting to get into our reading chal...
09/09/2026

UPDATE: 30 in 30 Challenge for Teenage Cancer Trust - 6 done 24 to go!

The team are starting to get into our reading challenge now, but we still have a very long way to go!

We are determined to hit our goal of Β£350 raised for the charity and there are a few ways you can help us...

1. Like and share this post so people know what we are up to!
2. When you're next in town drop in and drop a few coins in our collection box
3. When you're dropping the coins in the box offer us some words of encouragement
4. Drop us the price of a coffee as a donation via the link in the first comment below

OR ALL OF THE ABOVE!

We really want to do this... In the Northwest alone between 250-300 Teenagers and Young Adults are diagnosed with cancer every year. The work that this charity does supports them and their families through what is often a very frightening time.

We appreciate the love and support we've already received, and we just want to thank you for that support. Together with your help we will achieve our goal.

GRUFFALO GRANNYTwenty-two years is a long time to wait for a Granny.Gruffalo Granny is out on Thursday, the first new Gr...
07/09/2026

GRUFFALO GRANNY

Twenty-two years is a long time to wait for a Granny.

Gruffalo Granny is out on Thursday, the first new Gruffalo story from Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler since 2004. To mark it, Steve is doing three readings of the original Gruffalo at the shop on Saturday 12 September. Voices, actions and plenty of joining in, about half an hour each.

11am, 1pm and 3pm. Twelve places at each one and that really is all the room we have.

Here's how it works. Buy or reserve your copy of Gruffalo Granny from us, in the shop or over the phone, then book your free place at whichever reading suits you. The book is Β£14.99 and the reading is just because we love having fun!πŸ˜€

YOU ONLY NEED A TICKET FOR YOUR LITTLE ONE - ADULTS ARE EXPECTED TO STAY WITH THEM FOR THE READING

Gruffalo Granny is written for ages 3 to 7, and the reading of The Gruffalo suits about the same age range.

Reading booking link is in the first comment (please note this doesn't reserve you a book you need to do that with us).

Happy Monday!We know it might be overcast and the summer holidays are well and truly over but... For some families in th...
07/09/2026

Happy Monday!

We know it might be overcast and the summer holidays are well and truly over but... For some families in the area, today will be simply another day where a teenager they love is battling cancer.

Just think about that for a few seconds... It sort of puts our 'Monday Blues' properly into context doesn't it? Here in the bookshop we don't want to bring anybody's Monday down. So at the start of September we decided to do SOMETHING POSITIVE πŸ’šπŸ’šπŸ’š

For this month, Thistle & Thorn Bookshop has decided to take on Teenage Cancer Trust's September Reading Challenge.

Teenage Cancer Trust does brilliant work to support teenagers through every step of their battle with cancer and we want to help them in that mission! To do that, we have set ourselves the challenge to read 30 books in the 30 days of September that's one book a day so wish us luck! πŸ€πŸ€πŸ€

WE NEED YOUR HELP AND SUPPORT

This is where you come in... You can help us out by donating on our fundraising page, donating in store with us, or just by sharing this post so more people can hear about our challenge.

Even just coming into the shop to chat about what we're reading will really help keep us motivated. And we really need the support right now because we're now 6 days in have only finished 3 books!

Tomorrow we will have been going for a week so we'll post an update on where we are up to (we need to get updates from the team today and we're hoping they've had a productive weekend reading).

Here is the link to our fundraising page:

https://support.teenagecancertrust.org/fundraisers/thistlethornbookshop

Address

Castle Street
Clitheroe

Opening Hours

Monday 9:30am - 5:30pm
Tuesday 9:30am - 5:30pm
Wednesday 9:30am - 5:30pm
Thursday 9:30am - 5:30pm
Friday 9:30am - 5:30pm
Saturday 9:30am - 5:30pm
Sunday 10am - 4pm

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