This bookshop is my type.
5
5
Date of visit: July 2025
I am a disabled person. I have experience of challenges around: a hidden impairment and moving around.
Overall Rating
Excellent
I love bookshops and I especially love queer bookshops. I have found them to be among to most welcoming places I visit and The Bookish Type is no different. The Bookish Type is much more than just a bookshop. It is also a community hub, providing a space for people of all ages to meet in a sober environment and connect in person, through books and zines or via the community noticeboard. There is an array of merchandise from local artists and even a whole shelf dedicated to disability! There is a cosy nook with a sofa between the children's book and the pay it forward gift tags. both of which made me emotional as I was thinking of young people growing up in an affirming environment, or at least finding it here and in books paid for by the community.
Disabled Access In and Around
Good
After spending a decent amount of time on my visit to Leeds hanging around outside venues trying to get a staff member's attention to ask about ramp access, I was delighted to find that The Bookish Type had installed a bell labelled "ring bell for ramp". This way I knew that there was a ramp and I could very easily let someone know that I needed to use it! The front door is quite narrow and on the right side of a little porch, so it is a bit of a challenge to get the angle right. I managed on my way in, but on the way out, I got caught on the moveable ramp and dragged it down. The staff member immediately came out to help me untangled and everything turned out okay, but in the future I might just go down the little step without the ramp. There was enough space inside the shop for me to get around in powerchair (62 cm wide). There is a bench without a back or armrests outside the shop and a sofa with a backrest inside to sit on. Dogs are welcome.
Parking & Transport
Average
There is on-street parking outside the shop and on all the surrounding streets as well as a multi-storey car park (JustPark) on the same block, access via Leighton Street. There are no bus stops in the direct vicinity; the closest would be at Westgate (14,19, 19A, 49, 50, 50A, 55, 55C, 65, 72) Woodhouse Square (5) or Millennium Square (5A), all about a 0.2 miles away, starting with the shortest walk/wheel. Leeds Station is half a mile/a 12-minute walk or wheel away.
Accessible Toilets
0The toilet at this venue is down a flight of stairs, so I did not go to see it.
Staff
Excellent
The staff was lovely. They were very quick to help me with the ramp and we had a nice conversation about Euan's Guide and my local queer bookshop in Glasgow.
