Why I paid £400 to run a bookshop for a week

For just £400, two people can rent the flat above the shop on Airbnb for a week, running the shop in whatever way they see fit. I’m clearly not the only one for whom this is a lifelong dream – The Open Book is currently booked out until 2023, but I got lucky with a last-minute cancellation.

So, on an icy Monday morning, my boyfriend and I hastily booked a rental car – public transport to Wigtown is practically impossible, thanks to its remote location – and started the long drive north. The harsh winds and icy rain hit us the minute we arrived.

With the assurance that there was no need for heavy-duty locks or alarm systems here, we were given a key and access to the cash float. All the money made in The Open Book goes back into ordering stock and keeping the shop going.

Because we were there during the winter season, the customers were few and far between, but always memorable. An old chap arrived just before we were about to close, who took a real interest in the old 1970s Playboy annual we had in stock. He proceeded to tell us – at length – about the differing aesthetics of Playboy and Penthouse models throughout each magazine’s history. Forty minutes later, when we were just about losing the will to live, he left, having bought nothing.

lol