Ian Allan Bookshop

I welcome any and all book stores that choose to operate in this fair city — anything that staves off the rise of the Kindle is received with open arms!
Ian Allan Book Shop caters to more of a niche market, mainly those interested in the military and transport industries, with an expansive and well-​designed layout that struck me as orderly and precise, much like the attributes you need to create the intricate models on display.
Offering everything from Wargaming figures and aviation magazines to model train kits and history books, Ian Allan is undoubtedly Cardiff’s transport and military hobbyist emporium.
If you fancy a bit of socialising with like-​minded aficionados, have a look at the bulletin board as you walk in, where you’ll find a range of notices for clubs, presentations and conventions aimed at transport and military enthusiasts.

It’s a funny thing how niche bookshops have managed to stay alive in this day and age, sometimes far better than the ones that might sell everything and anything.
Now, not being a massive fan of anything non-​fiction, I felt a little cheated after walking in here. I’d followed the big blazing word ‘BOOKSHOP’, but hadn’t paid any heed to the small print. So I found myself in a shop all about transport and trains, the navy and military aviation.
Since then, I’ve heard quite a few people discussing this shop, so clearly it does something for the people at all interested in the areas it provides for. And apparently the staff are great; my experience shows that they’re probably used to people walking in and looking around in bemusement.
It’s a nicely laid out shop and, most importantly, it had that bookshop smell.
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Again, my geeky side shall be shown to the world.
Ian Allan bookshop specialises in all things involving Transport, aviation and military. As well as book they do have models involving all the things above too.
Staffed by very helpful and enthusiastic people, IA bookshop is a great place to go if your looking for something in particular.
I was looking for a book on D-​day landings for my pops a while back and was whisked away to the Military section and given the most extensive rundown of all things WW2. «So this is what service is supposed to be like, my history teacher was not as knowledgeable» I thought to myself.
If any of your hobbies are any of the above you may know about this place already, but if your not familiar it’s worth checking out just for the pleasant experience you will get there. If only all shops and their staff were more like this, *sigh*.