One of the best-known independent retailers on the high street in Carlisle is preparing for a new chapter.

The Matthews family is planning to relocate its popular Bookends store – but it isn’t going far.

The bookstore has been housed in its current Castle Street store for more than 20 years.

With that lease expiring, Bookends – which sells new titles, toys and other related items – is going to move in with its stablemates further along the street.

The move, due in May, will see Bookends housed in the same building as the long-established secondhand and antiquarian arm of the family-run operation, Bookcase.

Bookcase has been open for more than 30 years. Its large Castle Street base also houses the family’s latest venture, the Cakes and Ale cafe.

Lucy Matthews, a partner in Books Cumbria, which also runs Bookends in Keswick, said: “We’re bringing everything under one roof in Carlisle.

“With the cafe opening around six months ago and getting a really good response from our customers, we wanted to bring all the businesses together.

“It means we’ll have the old and the new being sold in the same building and we want to make it a destination place where people can come and enjoy spending a couple of hours.”

She added: “Even though Bookends and Bookcase are going to be on the one site, we are keeping the businesses quite separate – and we’re keen to stress that.

“Bookends will be on the ground floor in the Bookcase building.

“We’ve already adapted the building for the cafe so you can enter via the front vestibule or there’s the entrance down the side lane for the cafe,” said Lucy.

“If you come in via the front entrance Bookends will be on the right.

“We’ll be doing some refurbishment. We’ll be taking some of the current fixtures and fittings across but because Bookends has been here so long itself we’re investing in some new bits too.”

Fifteen people help Lucy and her parents Steve and Gwenda run the Carlisle operations.

Miss Matthews said it is hoped that the move will also allow the bookstores and cafe to add to their growing schedule of events.

Bookends already hosts book signings, author visits, and children’s story-telling sessions.

The stores will also be supporting the Borderlines literary festival in Carlisle this autumn.