Monsoon Accessorize is one of my favourite shops. It is two shops but they are both the same…read morecompany. The Monsoon part sells clothes and the Accessorize part sells jewellery, shoes, bags, hats, and other accessories. All their stock is really nice, as it's unique and quirky. It's all well made, and although it's a bit expensive it is normally of good quality. Their clothes in particular are long lasting. Although they're a bit expensive they have amazing sales with about 75% off, so definitely worth a visit then.

This was a fun and clean store. Some of the things are so pricey now, but I get it, Lego makes…read morealmost every character from every movie or book. My kids and I enjoyed making our own Lego characters, including accessories. We got a little 3 pack to commemorate our England trip.

Lego pick and mix alone is worth five stars however they get demoted to four stars for the simple…read morefact you can buy most of the sets elsewhere cheaper. I found the shop to be a little cramped however this was the first weekend the Trinity opened so it was always bound to be full to the brim. the pick and mix is a fantastic facility for anyone who is missing a few bits of any set however it is just standard blocks specialist pieces weren't there. The other great thing is for £3.50 you can make three minifigures up with an accessory and hair from a separate pick and mix, my kids could have spent an age just looking through the various heads and bodies available. The staff are friendly and helpful and the range of sets available is very impressive indeed. For my little boy it was a pleasure to see him take it all in and rush about deciding which set he wants next, however I cant help feel this will become a Jessops type arrangement with customers going into the store having a look to see what they want then buying it cheaper elsewhere.

Wow. I hadn't even realised somewhere like Clintons would be getting in on the idea of some outlet…read moreaction, but there it was in all it's glory. I must admit, I sneered at the idea. I mean, I'm not bowled over by Clintons as a card company as it is, so a store with all the cheap reject cards was more than likely going to be useless. Giving them a chance, I wandered in. Having seen how busy Card Factory was in Crossgates Shopping Centre, this place was surprisingly empty - a sign perhaps? In I plunged, and had a scan around. Sure enough the selection of cards left little to be desired. I saw all the standard 'funny' (not funny) cards, the simply bland ones, a few nice-ish ones and more all on display. But they were cheap, man, they were cheap. And to be fair, the shop was laid out really well. Usually finding a specific card can be hellish, from what I browsed everything was in a reasonable order. Happy days. They had the usual obligatory gift items too, the forever friends toys and such, but these were the non-half-price items unfortunately. To make up for that though there was a decent selection of gift wrap retailing at 29p per sheet so all's not lost. I think overall I was underwhelmed. The choice, in spite of outlet status, was as predictable as any other Clintons. Some awful cards, some not so bad, but nothing I'd consider to be extra special. One big bonus? Uber cheap. Aw yeah.

This shop is so very exciting from the outside. A brief wander past the window, most especially at…read moredusk, and it shines out like the north star - a beacon of shiny! Inside it is packed with all kinds of ornaments and gift items, including some awesome vintage styled wire frame candle holder type lampshades, cute garden ornament animals and beautiful vintage style birdcages. I don't even know why I want a quirky birdcage, but I do, and Leaves and Linen stocks lots of them! I think they'd make a great jewellery and scarf holder, certainly it would look really funky, but perhaps for the more experimental person even a great flower pot holder! As well as this there are flowers, cards, linens, throws, terracotta and many other troves of gifts and such inside. Apparently all of the stock is hand picked by the owner from all over the world and this personalised sense of style is apparent throughout. Everything you could want for the home and garden are within and there is brilliant advice on offer too for throwing about ideas. For the shiny obsessed magpies out there this is a delightful shop. For the patient-but-gloomy-disinterested boyfriends, not so much apparently...

Another shop selling dangly wind chimes in Ilkley! Leaves and Linens is the kind of place you can…read morefind a gift for your mother or grandma as they sell floral tea towels, oven gloves, flower, mugs, and candles. The whole shop is nearly entirely filled with beautiful, colourful flowers but I was disappointed to find they were all fake, after a brief period of amazement! Oh well, they last longer, right? There are real, alive flower outside the shop. The man working there was eager to be of help then politely left me to look around when I said I was 'just looking'.

The Vac Shop is a great little addition to Pudsey town. It's hard not to miss their vibrant…read moresunshine yellow signage when standing at the bus station as it pretty much calls out "I'm over here" no matter what you are doing. I imagine this is the purpose of such a shade of yellow and it serves the place well. Just a quick glance in their window will inform one as to what they are all about, and it's not just vacuums it seems! This little beauty sells all manner of important convenience items, white goods and useful appliances that no home should really be without. (I say that, but there's not really an essential need for, say, tumble dryers, but you get what I mean.) They do everything from kettles, vacuums, washers, TVs, irons and more. Judging by some of their prices you could do a lot worse than shop here too - sale's on now guys so I'd hurry down if your toaster's broken!

Personally, the only reason I use this Debenhams is to purchase more luxary make-up brands, that…read morearen't all available in the smallish Boots in Harrogate. I must stress, there is nothing exactly wrong with the rest of the shop, however I personally find the layout poor, meaning there is a great feeling of a Primark-like clutter all around the shop. Combine this with the great number of shoppers you find in there and the highly pressurised air, it just doesn't make for the nicest shopping experience. On the plus side, I have found the staff to be friendly, and they do stock some good brands all under one roof. It may be worth a look, but in my opinion as all of their products (I believe) can be found elsewhere, it really isn't a very necessary shopping experience, and one that I'd avoid if I could.

This newsagents was mighty handy when I spent days in the library as a student. They are…read moreessentially a newsagents selling cigarettes, papers, sweets and drinks but they also sold things I might want in study-breaks like yoghurts, cottage cheese or a muffin. The little pot of yoghurts are so cheap and if you ask they will give you a spoon too! It gets busy around lunch time but that's to be expected in any of the shops opposite the Parkinson Building. There is a big sign in front of the newspapers proclaiming that the shop is not a library, which always amused me as the space to read them is so narrow anyone attempting this would be put off by all the other customers barging past - something I have witnessed. Its a good place to pick up phone credit if like me you still have a pay-as-you-go mobile for fear of commitment to a contract and the guys working in their are pretty friendly especially if you're a regular.

The quintessential place to buy an elderly relative a card that would receive appreciative sighs. A…read morelarge quantity of twee sentimentality has been injected into this shop and although the style does not comply with my own, The Card Room does provide a more intimate, local setting in which to purchase this style of card. Alongside the vast array of aforementioned cards, there is a random miscellany of gifts. Ranging from handmade jewellery to calendars, umbrellas to clocks, and photo frames to keepsakes, The Card Room has the bagatelle market covered. There is an entire baby section at the rear of the shop, and whilst I was there recently, a staff member was expertly guiding a gentleman around the selection of photo memory books for babies. The man in question did not take much encouragement to proudly announce that he had just become a Grandfather for the first time, regaling his assistant with her name and weight. It was a touching moment to overhear! If you were wondering, the baby was called Amber. The Card Room is a perfectly adequate shop in which to purchase a fairly conservative range of cards and knickknacks. Although I doubt I would make the detour from the city centre to visit the shop, for certain recipients, I would consider the trek.

The Card Room is a pretty standard gift shop selling a huge range of reasonably expensive cards,…read moreand loads of gifts. Gifts include rather cute sort toys to mugs, drinking glasses, picture frames, decorations, hand bags, umbrellas, clocks and placemats. The shop is quite large with products well-displayed and the staff are friendly and helpful. Like most gift shops, the majority of items are quite expensive, but if you like gifty paraphernalia you're likely to find something to fork out for.