<strong>Escape the everyday:</strong> Do you dream of running your own cozy Scottish bookstore? Now you can, thanks to <a href="index.php?page=&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftheopenbookwigtown.tumblr.com%2F" target="_blank" target="_blank">The Open Book</a>, a bookstore vacation rental in Wigtown, Scotland.
Escape the everyday: Do you dream of running your own cozy Scottish bookstore? Now you can, thanks to The Open Book, a bookstore vacation rental in Wigtown, Scotland.
Courtesy Wigtown Festival Company
<strong>Bookstore with a twist</strong>: Visitors to the Open Book run this pretty second-hand book store for a week. They're encouraged to get stuck in and make the experience their own: "We suggest that people take the initiative and do events in the shop, even share the culture that they're coming from with Wigtown. People really do that. They do some imaginative, wonderful ideas," says Fox.
Bookstore with a twist: Visitors to the Open Book run this pretty second-hand book store for a week. They're encouraged to get stuck in and make the experience their own: "We suggest that people take the initiative and do events in the shop, even share the culture that they're coming from with Wigtown. People really do that. They do some imaginative, wonderful ideas," says Fox.
Courtesy Wigtown Festival Company
<strong>Dreaming big:</strong> US-born Fox had her own distinctive path to Wigtown. A former NASA employee in California, she packed it all up after fantasizing about a bookshop by the sea in Scotland. She never looked back: "It's not just me, I think the people who come to the Open Book have a very similar reaction to Wigtown," says Fox. "It's a magical place, it has all the things you could hope for in a trip to Scotland."
Dreaming big: US-born Fox had her own distinctive path to Wigtown. A former NASA employee in California, she packed it all up after fantasizing about a bookshop by the sea in Scotland. She never looked back: "It's not just me, I think the people who come to the Open Book have a very similar reaction to Wigtown," says Fox. "It's a magical place, it has all the things you could hope for in a trip to Scotland."
Courtesy Wigtown Festival Company
<strong>Novel beginnings: </strong>One visit had Fox hooked and she decided to spread the word. "I thought I couldn't be the only crazy American who dreams of working in a bookshop by the sea in Scotland, there has to be more of us," she laughs. So the idea of Open Book was born.
Novel beginnings: One visit had Fox hooked and she decided to spread the word. "I thought I couldn't be the only crazy American who dreams of working in a bookshop by the sea in Scotland, there has to be more of us," she laughs. So the idea of Open Book was born.
Courtesy Wigtown Festival Company
<strong>Runaway success</strong>: Open Book has been operating as a bookshop residency for about five years. It's become more popular than the creators envisaged: It's booked up on Airbnb years ahead.
Runaway success: Open Book has been operating as a bookshop residency for about five years. It's become more popular than the creators envisaged: It's booked up on Airbnb years ahead.
Courtesy Wigtown Festival Company
<strong>Wonderful Wigtown</strong>: "It's totally surreal, we're delighted and really surprised and, I think, anxious to welcome as many people as possible to Wigtown," says Fox. She extols the virtues of cosy Wigtown during the winter months, but also says it's great in the busier summertime.
Wonderful Wigtown: "It's totally surreal, we're delighted and really surprised and, I think, anxious to welcome as many people as possible to Wigtown," says Fox. She extols the virtues of cosy Wigtown during the winter months, but also says it's great in the busier summertime.
Courtesy Wigtown Festival Company
<strong>National book town</strong>: Wigtown was officially designated Scotland's National Book Town in 1998. It's also home to Scotland's largest second-hand book shop, pictured here, called simply The Bookshop. Guests are encouraged to explore the town and residents are famously hospitable.
National book town: Wigtown was officially designated Scotland's National Book Town in 1998. It's also home to Scotland's largest second-hand book shop, pictured here, called simply The Bookshop. Guests are encouraged to explore the town and residents are famously hospitable.
Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images Europe/Getty Images
<strong>Close community</strong>: "I'm a volunteer, it's mostly run by volunteers, so any profit that the Open Book makes goes right back into the community of Wigtown," says Fox. "The town really makes sure they're comfortable and will invite them to dinner or the pub, so it's a community effort."
Close community: "I'm a volunteer, it's mostly run by volunteers, so any profit that the Open Book makes goes right back into the community of Wigtown," says Fox. "The town really makes sure they're comfortable and will invite them to dinner or the pub, so it's a community effort."
Courtesy Wigtown Festival Company