The cafe upstairs in Fred Winter has really loveely food (and that includes the vegetarien…read moreoptions). the man and lady that run the show are lovely! They really make you feel welcome. But beware if one of the young 'n's serves you! They forgot our order meaning we had to wait over half an hour for a sandwich and when they brought it it was the wrong stuff as they had obviously just made it up to cover us the fact they forgot the write it down! Nice food though.

A History of Fred Winter Ltd (https://sites.google.com/site/fredwinterltd)…read more Fred Winter was a 23 year old Suffolk man who described himself as a draper and auctioneer when he opened his first store on the 25th June 1858. The store was located at 17 and 18 High Street Stratford Upon Avon, and sold general drapery, haberdashery and high quality outfitting for gentlemen. By 1881 Frederick, his wife and a family of five daughters and three sons, shop assistants Clara Cowles, Frank Gibbons, William Potter and James Thornber, and two servants Mary Lively and May Morris, lived above the shop in what is today Marlow's restaurant. This was to be Stratford first real department store [the Shipston sheep farmer JC smith didn't open his store, now Debenhams, until 1870] and was a huge success not only with the towns growing population but also with customers from far and wide as is the case today. Frederick Winter died in 1897 aged 62 leaving the running of the business to his 31 year old son Fred. Fred was a skilful retailer and businessman who by 1908 had incorporated the spacious premises at 14 High Street and turned it into a thriving business. In March 1917 Fred bought the freehold to Reynolds grocery store at 30 and 31 High Street and for the next seven years the company operated from both sides of the street selling everything from reels of cotton, luggage, straw boaters to Aquascutum coats. The lease holds of 14, 16, 17 and 18 High Street were relinquished in 1924 and the Fred Winter store operating solely from 30-31 High Street, became a limited company. By this time Mr Fred Winter had become a local dignitary serving as Mayor on more than one occasion and was responsible with 'Marie Corelli' in uncovering and restoring many of the famous half timbered buildings in Stratford. He died aged 71 in 1941. The business then passed to his 43 year old son Frederick Charles [Eric] Winter who instigated many innovative retailing changes plus the modernisation and enlargement of the store with the building of Bell Court in the 1970's including a large modern extension on the back of the existing Fred Winter Ltd Frontage in High Street. Frederick Brian Winter, the great grandson of the founder took over the business in 1973 and under his skilful guidance achieved unrivalled success over the next 25 years. By the early 1990's Brian's son Guy Winter was in the business and the store became renowned for selling an ever increasing range of merchandise that included furniture, carpets, furnishing fabrics, dress fabrics haberdashery ladies fashion, bed linen, gifts, china and glass. By the late 1990's Bell Court had become run down and a decision was made to build a brand new store behind an existing building in Henley Street. The large and stylish building was completed in 1999 and has undoubtedly become Stratford's premier store. After Brian Winter's retirement a few years ago the company is now under the overall direction of Guy Winter. Steve Newman

The original Stratford department store - it has prime location and is the best of its kind but…read moredoes have an Are you Being Served feel to it. You can buy pretty much all that you want here and parking in Bell Court is fine. there is also a cafeteria and some loos on the top floor which is OK. Most of the action is on the ground floor which feels a bit like a rabbit warren but does provide a nice cut through from one street to another if you know your way around. Not sure how long it will stay in such a prime location on these difficult times but I do hope that it will remain. Could definitiely do with a facelift and a bit of fresh thinking

A great little Shopping arcade in the centre of Stratford. It links two of the streets for shopping…read morein the town, Henley Street and Wood Street and contains some wonderful little shops. In this small walkthrough you can find quirky shops (like Cornucopia), a traditional sweet shop, Clinton's card and many more. It is always well lit and clean, and you can tell that the shops that are there take pride in their appearance and keeping the arcade presentable. The only slight warning is that if it has been raining outside the floor can be incredibly slippy, even with the carpets by the entrances, so you should take extra care.

This is a really cool shopping mall with all the stores you would expect and some wicked ones on…read morethe walkway that you wouldn't - I stumbled across a wooden stand which had some fabulous items! As you would expect, its all clean, well maintained but unless you are used to it, it was a bit confusing, signs weren't brilliant in large crowds. Theres plenty of parking and entrances taking you into the lovely market town of Banbury. Recommended for your weekend browsing!!!

We've taken to going to city centre M&S cafes for great coffees and cake rather than the Starbucks…read moreand Costas on our month long tour of England. M&S provides comfort, complimentary iced water (Starbucks take note) fast free WiFi and clean toilets so it's all good. It's buy 6 get one free if you use their app. I mean there's no downsides and M&S pay tax and are a decent company that we trust. Our tour is going well with the only downside being the weather is lousy.

This is a nice Marks and Spencer location, it is located on Bridge Street and is one of the larger…read morestores in the historic town centre, despite being in a fairly attractive and old building, they have done their best to make their store look fairly presentable, modern and similar to any other Marks and Spencer store inside. The store was reasonably stocked, and although I couldn't find my usual brand of milk, I was able to find a reasonable alternative, while also being impressed with the gluten-free sections, including items they had reduced due to nearing their expiration date. The checkout process was simple using the Marks and Spencer app, which allows you to scan items as you walk around the store, pay on your phone and leave. The store was easy to follow and find what I was looking for, without the assistance of a staff member. I would prefer this store be open slightly longer in the day, I find their 6:30 pm closing time to be too early for my liking, but sadly this is in line with other shops nearby and they must have decided to follow suit. 4* - A nice Marks and Spencer location overall, while I do prefer the visual appearance and actual selection and unique offerings of their newer and refurbished Food Halls, this is a nice location nonetheless.

Quality/Quantity - We were told to visit here for the…read moreamazing views. Not sure where all my pictures went? But it's ok, as the views were not that amazing... Fairly good size mall, seems upscale-ish. Atmosphere - 3 stories Fairly new mall, indoor/outdoor spaces. 20 restaurants/bars, from casual to fine dining. Main restaurant attractions would be the ones on the rooftop terrace. Cinema, 24 hour gym, etc. Events are held here too - see website. Mall is open 7 days a week, see Yelp and see individual businesses for their specific hours. Service - Good. Price - N/A Owner Comment - Congrats on all your success; you are the main mall attraction in Oxford!

Nice mall just next to the Oxford university. Lot of people there, ample parking lots, lot of…read morebranding stuffs.

Now called the House of Fraiser, this is a good department store.There is about 3 or 4 levels to…read morethe store. On the top level is the cafe, which always serves lovely food at reasonable prices, there is quite a big seating area so it is quite easy to get a table. They stock well know brands for men, women and children, also they sell shoes and homeware items.

A great old style department store where you can lose a few hours. The handbag ranges include…read moreRadley and the prices are in line with others. the cosemtic counters are always happy to give free advice and make overs. There are a number of designer type clothing bits, with Mexx and Oasis for the younger lady and some more older type womenswear upstairs. the cafe is ok. There cards and stationary is good and there is a good selection of jewellery - although mainly costume

While on a trip to London we made a quick stop here to purchase a delightful umbrella for my wife…read moreto use during our travels. Fair price, helpful customer service reps, and a clean, well-lit store... I've got no complaints at all and we would gladly go back again if we ever visit Oxford again - hopefully we will.

I love this shop. It used to be a real rabbit warren of a place, a bit like an old fashioned…read moredepartment store. (Think 'Are you being served') It was gutted a few years back and although the building looks the same on the outside inside it's a totally different place. There are three floors (as per usual) which are jam packed full of things to peruse and buy! The womenswear floor is large with a wide range of items for women of any taste. They have a Coast branch inside and a big collection of fancy dresses to suit. The homeware floor is big as well with quite a decent range of kitchen utensils which is nice because a lot of stores skimp on things like this. All in all the store is nice and bright, it can get a bit congested on the escalators and in the lobby though so be careful.

During our trip to Stratford, hubby realized he'd run out of clean t-shirts and you know, ain't…read morenobody got time to visit laundromats while you're attempting to fill every waking hour with sightseeing and face-stuffing. Anyhow, we stopped in here and kinda slowly realized that the clothing in the store was fashioned for...older adults? That was just the feel that I got and no one shopping there appeared to be under 60, just saying and definitely not trying to be offensive in any way. I don't know anything about this clothing chain but perhaps we happened upon one that stocked more items for the golden crowd, nothing wrong with that. We did end up finding a simple t-shirt on clearance, but it happened to be on a display mannequin. A kind woman working there helped me get it off and we made our purchase and were on our way!