‘I went to the Peak District book shop that’s like somewhere out of Harry Potter’

As I wander around a never-ending rabbit warren of bookshelves, I feel as if I’ve lost all sense of the outside world. It’s the same feeling you get when reading a good book - an escape from reality; whether it’s stepping into a fantasy realm, travelling back in time or learning about distant lands in travel guides.

I’m visiting Scrivener’s Books and Bookbinding in Buxton, a second hand bookshop spanning five floors and boasting an incredible 40,000 books. Once named among the UK's best second hand book shops by The Guardian, this shop occupies a building which stands proud on a street corner at the end of a row of shops, which gives it a tower-like appearance and makes it impossible to miss.

It has a traditional shop front with all the decorative signage leaving no doubt of what lies inside. You can sense this is a magical place from the roadside, but stepping through the door I’m delighted by what I discover.

READ MORE: 'I went to the Peak District cave which is like entering another world'

The ground floor features everything you expect: the till area, some stationery, greetings cards - the sort of thing you find at a normal checkout in the bookshop. Yet in the corner sits the intriguing bookbinding station, certainly not something you find in your usual high street shop. This is the first clue that this is no ordinary bookshop.

A helpful shop guide lists the subjects stocked on every floor, from the attic to the cellar. There’s everything you could imagine: books on anthropology, archaeology, architecture; fairy tales, fiction and fantasy; travel, theatre and transport. You name it, they’ve got it.

Making my way upstairs I’m struck at how peaceful the shop is; during my visit it’s pretty much empty, bar the