66 Books: Everything You Need to Know About the UK’s Biggest Book Warehouse
- Lee & Debbie
- Apr 10
- 5 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
Full Review Of 66 Books & Tips To Get The Most Out Of Your Visit
If you’re a book lover who enjoys finding great deals, a visit to 66 Books in Hemel Hempstead should definitely be on your to do list. Located just outside of London, this popular book warehouse has become a go to destination for book enthusiasts, offering huge discounts on books across every genres - from fiction and non-fiction to children's books, cookbooks and more. We recently took a day trip to explore it ourselves - here’s everything you need to know before you go.
Contents.
06. Extra Tips.
07. Is It Worth It?
What is 66 Books?
66 Books is one of the UK's largest book wholesalers, with its warehouse located in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire. While it mainly serves trade customers, 66 Books opens its doors to the public on select weekends each month, offering visitors the chance to browse thousands of books at discounts of 70% off the retail price!
When Can You Visit?
The warehouse is open to the public only on select dates throughout the year. If you visit outside of these days, you will be turned away, so it's important to check the dates before your visit. The 2025 public openings for the rest of the year are scheduled for the following dates:
17th - 18th May
31st May - 1st June
28th - 29th June
12th - 13th July
26th - 27th July
9th - 10th August
16th - 17th August
13th - 14th September
27th - 28th September
11th - 12th October
18th - 19th October
1st - 2nd November
15th - 16th November
6th - 7th December
13th - 14th December
How To Get To 66 Books.
Address: Unit 2 Eastman Way, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP2 7DU
The 66 Books warehouse is located about an hour's drive north of London, making it an ideal day trip from the city. While it is accessible by public transport, driving is the more convenient option, especially when transporting your books back.
There is parking on-site, although it can fill up quickly, especially on busier days. Be sure not to park on the surrounding roads of the industrial estate as you may come back to a parking ticket. If the main car park is full when you arrive, we suggest heading to a nearby free parking area and walking to the warehouse.
Queues & What To Expect Before You Enter.
The popularity of the warehouse was at its peak a few months ago, with visitors facing queues of up to 3.5 hours to get in. However, it appears that the initial rush has eased, and average wait times have significantly decreased - down to around 30 minutes in the morning and no wait at all from lunchtime onwards. We visited on Saturday 5th April 2025 at lunchtime and had no issues finding a parking space and were able to walk straight in. However, this may vary depending on when you visit - peak times, such as during school holidays or bank holidays, may be busier. For regular updates on queue times for both the car park and the warehouse entrance, be sure to check the 66 Books Facebook page here.
If you're visiting in the morning, you'll find a coffee truck outside of the warehouse, which will make the wait more enjoyable.
Before you can start browsing, there is a small membership fee of £2 which you can sign up for easily by scanning the QR code by the entrance. This membership is valid for the whole year and covers all members of your household.
You'll also receive a brief talk about what 66 books is and what to expect once inside including some ground rules for visiting the warehouse.
Inside The 66 Books Warehouse.
Once inside, it's important to remember that 66 Books is a warehouse, not a bookstore, so expect dusty books, narrow aisles and lots and lots of books. The books are not organised in any particular order, so make sure to take your time and peruse each aisle so you don't miss anything. It can be a little overwhelming due to the sheer volume of books on the shelves but work your way methodically through the aisles and you'll be fine.
You won't find new releases or TikTok favourites, but what you will find here is an impressive selection of over 15,000 titles, all available at 70% off the retail price. There is a huge children's section, as well as expansive sections dedicated to cookbooks, fiction, art and hobby books, self improvement, classics, and much more. We highly recommend a visit if you're an avid reader or someone with varied literary interests - there’s something for everyone. It's also a great place for finding gifts for friends and family who are booklovers.
In addition to the vast collection of books, we were surprised to also find a variety of board games, puzzles, stocking filler gifts, colouring books (both children and adults), and even art supplies.
Extra Tips For Visiting.
Here are some extra tips and information to make your visit more enjoyable:
• Food and drink aren’t allowed inside, so make sure to eat and drink before you enter the warehouse. There are toilets inside, located near the exit.
• The temperature inside the warehouse was pleasant, so we'd recommend wearing light layers to avoid being too warm.
• Be sure to wear comfortable shoes as you’ll likely spend around 3 hours exploring all the books.
• Grab a basket for each person - one basket was not enough for us both when we visited.
• Bags and boxes are provided at checkout, but if you're travelling by public transport, we saw a few people with small suitcases to help carry their book haul home.
• Both cash and card payments are accepted, including American Express - perfect for racking up those flight points!
• While children are welcome, we wouldn’t recommend bringing younger ones due to the long hours they’ll be on their feet - it might be a bit much for them. However, if you have older children, they're sure to enjoy exploring the children’s sections.
• If you're concerned about long queues (we were also put off by reports of the 3.5 hour waits), try visiting on a Sunday. Check the Saturday queue updates on the 66 Books Facebook page to get an idea of the expected wait times for Sunday.
Is It Worth It?
For us - absolutely! We came out with 28 books in total, most of which were hardbacks. At the retail price, our haul would have cost about £475, but we paid just £145. So we saved £330! Many of the books were on our TBR lists and the biggest bargain for us was the beautiful Chiltern Classic series, which we started collecting last year. Each book has an RRP of £20 but we managed to pick up 8 books to add to our collection at just £6 each with the discount (pictured below). Let us know if you'd like to see everything we picked up.
If you're looking for the latest releases, TikTok favourites, or have a particular author in mind, this may not be the place for you. However, if you have diverse interests and a long TBR list, 66 Books could be the perfect spot. We weren’t expecting to walk away with as many books as we did, but we did notice some visitors left with very few or no books at all. So, it really depends on how much of a reader you are and what you're looking for. If you're local, we would 100% recommend giving it a go.
We hope this has given you a good idea of what expect when visiting 66 Books. Have you been before? Let us know in the comment section below and lets talk books!
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