Shops and markets · Bicester
Coles Books, Bicester
An independent bookshop at 22 Crown Walk in Bicester's Pioneer Square, in the town for more than 30 years, with signed editions, a Bicester and Oxfordshire shelf and a book club that brings authors to meet readers.
Rainy days
A proper independent bookshop in a town better known for its outlet shopping, and its local-interest shelf is worth a look before a walk round the old town. It is closed on Sundays, the day Bicester Village is busiest.
- Good: Independent, and in Bicester for more than 30 years
- Good: Signed and special editions are its speciality
- Good: A Bicester and Oxfordshire local-interest section
- Good: Meet-the-author book club evenings
- Worth knowing: Closed on Sundays
About
Coles Books is an independent bookshop at 22 Crown Walk, in the Pioneer Square shopping area in the centre of Bicester. In its own words it has been in the town for more than 30 years, and it opens from 9am to 5.30pm, Monday to Saturday.
The shop stocks new fiction and non-fiction, children's books, cards, calendars, gift wrap and jigsaws, and keeps a section of Bicester and Oxfordshire titles, which is the shelf a visitor may want first. Its speciality is signed and special editions, sold online as well as in the shop, across fiction and non-fiction, and its website also sells vinyl records and Rega turntables.
The Coles Book Club is a meet-the-author evening: buy the chosen book from the shop and it becomes your ticket, then come back to talk to the writer over a glass of wine with other readers. The November 2026 evening, on Thursday 26 November at 7pm, is with the romantasy author Amy de la Force. Coles also sends a weekly newsletter of new books and events.
Crown Walk is close to the south end of Sheep Street, and Pioneer Square has its own car park beside Sainsbury's; parking in Bicester has the details. If you are in town for Bicester Village, it is an easy detour to a shop that is the town's own.
Opening hours and season
| Monday | 09:00 to 17:30 |
|---|---|
| Tuesday | 09:00 to 17:30 |
| Wednesday | 09:00 to 17:30 |
| Thursday | 09:00 to 17:30 |
| Friday | 09:00 to 17:30 |
| Saturday | 09:00 to 17:30 |
| Sunday | Closed |
Open Monday to Saturday; closed on Sundays.
Location
Places to stay nearby
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Travelodge Bicester
Hotel · Bicester
A budget chain hotel on Pioneer Square in the middle of Bicester, under half a mile from Bicester North station and within walking distance of Bicester Village, with family, accessible and pet-friendly rooms but no car park of its own.
Dog-friendly · Car-free
Verified Nov 2026
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The Littlebury Hotel, Bicester
Hotel · Bicester
A family-run hotel on Kings End in Bicester since 1959, with 35 en-suite rooms, breakfast included, a lounge bar, gardens and a large car park, within walking distance of the town centre and Bicester Village.
Family-friendly · Wedding venues
Verified Nov 2026
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Premier Inn Bicester
Hotel · Bicester
A Premier Inn on Oxford Road, on the A41 at the southern edge of Bicester, half a mile from Bicester Village by the chain's measure, with family, accessible and Premier Plus rooms, a restaurant and a paid car park.
Family-friendly
Verified Nov 2026
Nearby walks, places and things to do
- Noughts & Nibbles, Bicester 0.1 km away
- Bicester Green, Sheep Street 0.1 km away
- Vue Bicester 0.1 km away
- Biagio the Jewellers, Bicester 0.1 km away
Sights nearby
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Bicester Market Square
Sight · Historic building · Bicester
The old market place at the centre of Bicester, where the town's market was granted in 1239, lined with listed houses such as No. 47 of 1698 with its oval-windowed tower. The Friday market is on Sheep Street beside it, and the square is due to be remade.
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St Edburg's Church, Bicester
Sight · Church · Bicester
Bicester's Grade I parish church, grown from a Norman church with a central tower into the big Perpendicular church of today. Inside are brasses from about 1500, Georgian monuments by Scheemakers, Wilton and Westmacott, and a Morris & Co. window of 1866.
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Garth Park, Bicester
Sight · Common or park · Bicester
Bicester's town park: about 9 acres of lawns, specimen trees and formal beds round Garth House, a Victorian hunting lodge given to the town in 1946. It has the 1732 bell of the old Town Hall, a bandstand, a café and play areas, a few minutes from Market Square.
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Bicester Village
Sight · Historic building · Bicester
An open-air designer outlet on the south side of Bicester, with more than 150 boutiques on pedestrian streets, open seven days a week since 1995. It has its own station, with trains from London Marylebone and Oxford, and the old town is a short walk away.