Once upon a time Charing Cross Road was famous for it’s collection of book stores selling out of print and niche books as well as mainstream bestsellers. If you wanted a first edition Bond novel then this would have been the place to get it. However with increased rent and intense competition from online vendors, the book shops have begun dying a slow death and many are now boarded, closed or turned into a fast food outlet/coffee shop. The area used to be great for music shops too and these have pretty much gone the same way as the book stores. Turnkey, the old Mecca for music artists to buy their shiny new gear has now closed up it’s physical shop opting to sell solely online.
If you are around London for a visit then do pop by the street to visit the last of the rare bookshops along the road. They might not be around for longer!