Market Walk in Chorley is a fairly nice shopping centre, although it is mainly all outside, they…read morehave tried to keep it as tidy as possible and certainly isn't bad for a small town like Chorley. Stores here include Marks and Spencer Food, Boots, JD, Sports Direct, B&M, EE and Vision Express so the selection of brands is OK. Parking isn't free however unless you visit after 1 pm on a Saturday or on a Sunday or Bank Holiday, public transport links are pretty good though with railway and bus stations close-by. 3* - Not bad for a small town, great for local residents but certainly not worth a trip out for.

TL;DR - A truly unique venue combining art, food and shopping…read more One of Sparky's colleagues tipped us off about this place, and I'm amazed we'd never heard of it before. In case you don't know (I didn't!), Saltaire was built by industrialist Titus Salt (amazing name!) alongside the river Aire to bring all aspects of his textiles business onto one enormous site. He also built a town for the workers, and the whole area is now a world heritage site. The mill has now been converted into an amazing and huge venue spanning several floors. There's so much here it's hard to take in, but I'll try and summarise. The ground floor is a mixture of books on art, stationery and arts supplies, postcards and the like but interspersed with huge art displays. At first I wasn't sure if I was in an art gallery or a shop, but the answer is both. As with the rest of the mill, David Hockney features strongly throughout. There's a basement level which we didn't explore in detail, but it sells rugs and wallpapers and is just as big as the ground floor. The first floor houses the most. One end is a gorgeous bookshop, where the focus seems to be on unusual titles rather than breadth - I saw many, many books in the recipe section which I'd never seen or heard of anywhere else. The other end of the building is devoted to homewares - kitchen supplies, furniture, clocks and more. A lot of it is very expensive, but it's a beautifully curated selection of objects for sale. Between these two wings is Salt's Diner. It's a separate venue on Yelp but suffice it to say we had lunch here and it was great.Through the restaurant you can access a further wing of the building which is split into an outdoor clothing shop, a jewellers, an art exhibit, a treasure trove of an antique store and a small coffee shop. Finally, the top floor is split into three: an exhibit on the history of the mill, a major exhibition of work by David Hockney, and a further cafe/restaurant. On top of all these, parking is free on site and it's right next to the Saltaire train station, so there's really no excuse for not visiting.

Its easy to spend the best part of a day wandering round the amazing Salts Mill with its extensive…read morecollection of David Hockney's work and its eclectic selection of "shops" which include an excellent book shop, the wonderful home section with its stunning array of furnishings and kitchen porn, and the antique/collectables area. At some point you are going to need to get some fuel on board and Salts Diner is not a bad option. Its situated on the 1st floor of this wonderful labyrinthine industrial building in a large area between the book shop and the home shop. It was very busy on our visit between Christmas and New Year but we managed to get a table for 6 without much difficulty. The young waiting girls were all very helpful and attentive and we soon settled down with a reasonably priced bottle of Merlot to have a look at the menu. There is fairly wide choice of available, and while there is no real theme to the menu, there is enough to satisfy all the generations of family visitors that Salts Mill attracts. There are lots of ankle biters about so be careful in your choice of seating if you want a peaceful lunch. I had the roast butternut squash and lentil soup from the daily specials board which was tasty and wholesome, obviously a popular selection as it was soon rubbed off the board. B and I both went down the pizza route for our main and shared a bowl of nicely cooked crispy fries; nothing to complain about but pretty bog standard. The most successful main seemed to be Danny's beef meatballs and pasta in a rich tomato sauce, again from daily specials board, although the other boys were quite complimentary about their beef and ale pies which came in a nice white dish topped with puff pastry. All in all while this was nothing to write home about it was a pretty decent lunch in a great building. Salts Diner itself its not somewhere I would go out of my way to visit but works well a part of a visit to the Mill (I would particularly recommended a visit at the moment to see the amazing "Flowers" show on the top floor of work created by Mr Hockney on his iPad - just stunning). 3 for Salts Diner and 5 for the Mill.

Grove is a fun little bookshop right next to Bolton Abbey. Lots of old books and a good assortment…read moreof books on local topics. One of the owners is quite a character, swirling his wine and pontificating about life from the Yorkshire point of view. Worth a pop in!

I took my Mum here recently and she adored it! On second glance, I realised that I too was finding…read moretrinkets and treats galore in every corner. Whilst it's your standard gift shop, housing all kinds of clocks, jewellery, scented candles, and the like, the items inside are actually pretty unique and interesting. I remember being particularly enamoured of their clocks, so perhaps enough hints will get me one for Christmas... ! The main event on this occasion was the jewellery. My Mum needed to pick up some gifts for the girls at work and so spent a good deal of time deciding over a few of the items that were artfully displayed on this lovely fake tree. I ended up chatting with the lady about the tree and she gave me some suggestions of where to find one, as this would solve a myriad of problems in storing my many necklaces and earrings! In the end Mum opted for two of the bracelets, sort of chunky gemstone and shiny beaded ones, and she was really pleased. The lovely lady was really patient with us whilst we mulled over the options and all in all it was a really pleasant shopping experience. One to watch for Christmas goodies!

Ilkley, darling, has a higher caliber of people, I am told, therefore their gift shops meet the…read moreneeds of these - the middle aged, the higher-middle class and the higher-earning. Bluebell Gifts is one of a few gift shops in Ilkley, a nicer shop than anything you will find towards the city of Leeds, even in the Victoria Quarter or Chapel Allerton. It sells a large range of gifts that would come under the home-ware category. Many of these are of a designer and novelty kind. There are Alessi corkscrews and salt shakers, in the shape of people; Black Ginger chopping boards in silhouettes of cats; Cath Kidston and Emma Bridgewater china that you have probably seen in someone's kitchen at some point. All of this is luxury and would make a good gift for any home-owner. They also sell scented candles, soft toys, wedding gifts, and amazingly coloured tea pot and tea cup clocks. I loved these and would have impulse-bought one if they weren't about £50!

This Costcutter is fairly new, it's opposite Bradford College, so in prime location for all the…read morestudents from the College and University. It's a clean and spacious shop. It sells everything from food to alcohol, and so is a perfect convenience shop for students in the area. Prices are around average, but lean towards the cheap side too. The staff are very friendly and helpful.

The market down of Ilkley is known for its upmarket status and fine shops so it's no surprise to…read morefind a little piece of Joy like CoCo there. Now we're talking girls because it's bag heaven. All aboard the bankrupt train and don't stop till the final destination. If the bags aren't what you're after then worry ye not. It's an accessory paradise with belts galore, hats and some truly lovely jewellery. It's a really nice lay out too and is lots of fun to go for a gentle wander around whilst planning your next big money spending raid. I find it ideal for gift ideas. It's especially good for gift ideas regarding certain members of the family so with Mother's Day coming up you could do a lot worse than have a look around. What mum doesn't like a nice bag or some bling? Nothing in Ilkley is particularly cheap but sometimes we need to share the wealth.

This is a lovely teahouse. It's a unique spot as it's traditional farm shop, but it also has a…read moretearoom and country store located in a 16th century barn. The restaurant features freshly made dishes made with homegrown seasonal produce. While visiting our family in Liverpool, we came here as a group for afternoon tea. My mother-in-law and sister-in-law had been here before, so they knew it was great and brought us back, along with my husband's grandparents. Do take note, you have to book your table in advance. We sat in one of the backrooms which was very cozy and inviting, albeit a bit noisy from a rowdy group of "ladies who lunch," but it was fine once they left. We all really appreciated that savory items were included in the the afternoon tea. The menu features a selection of sandwiches, savouries, a cup of soup, a bucket of chips, a selection of cakes and a mini trifle. Plus your choice of a pot of tea or cup of filter coffee. I was happily surprised at the wide variety of teas! There was ample to eat. My husband and I ate our entire afternoon tea, but everyone else in our group had a few sweet treats left to take home. The food was very delicious. I loved the little quiche best along with the soup served in a cute tea cup and saucer! Plus, the little basket of chips was a nice touch! Scrumptious! Also, it's just 14 pounds for Afternoon Tea which I think it a great value for such a delicious savory tea. Afterwards, my family browsed the farm store and boutique which featured a lot of cute country style home goods and seasonal produce and artisanal food items. Do go upstairs to poke around at their merchandise. It's cute. I really enjoyed this afternoon tea and I'd love to return next time we're back to visit my husband's family!

This is now a beautiful place to visit. The grounds over recent years have had lots of care and…read moreattention and it's now a lovely place to wander round on a weekend. Race For Life takes place in the grounds of Cartwright Hall and it's great jogging round and seeing what a lovely park this is. The art galleries are really good and there are often new exhibitions open. This is a good place to visit whether it's raining or shining!!