There aren't too many places like this left. A shop selling DVDs, CDs, Vinyl (like a big black CD,…read moreplayed by scraping a needle across a groove in the surface) and books, all either new or second hand. The shop is split into two with a coriador between them at the rear of the shop. The music shop sells everything from sheet music, blu-ray films and CDs ranging from rock to jazz. It's the kind of place where you can buy a strap for your guitar or a metronome. The staff are very helpful and I had a good chat about the album they were playing while I was in there. The bookshop is just as eclectic. They have both new and secondhand stuff, ranging from classics in book club editions through to a good science fiction section at the back. I enjoyed browsing very much and I am going to have to get back there.

The best shop in Letchworth.read more

We all know W H Smith's and this branch is in Bancroft the main road that runs through Hitchin…read more I have to admit that this isn't my favourite shop. In my opinion it's not very well laid out, hard to find what you're looking for and with the, much nicer, Waterstones only five minutes walk away I'll go there if I'm looking for a book or to the nearby Clintons if I'm after a birthday card. But the main problem with this branch of Smiths is that it's relatively small size and cluttered layout means it gets very crowded - the aisles are narrow and you're constantly having to jiggle past people and apologise for bumping into them. It all feels very claustrophobic and unpleasant. At busy times the queues get horrendous - I've walked in there to buy and magazine and walked straight out again when I've seen the length of the queues.

I personally feel that W H Smith is overpriced, and that you can get pretty much all of their…read moreproducts cheaper elsewhere. They sell a few DVD's/CD's, a few books, cards, wrapping paper, some stationery, magazines, sweets. They are the type of shop that sell a bit of everything, while specialising in nothing. I find this branch of W H Smith very cramped, particularly the magazine aisles. The queues tend to be long, and there isn't much space in the shop for people to queue so they end up queuing down aisles which makes navigating through the store even more difficult. I find it disappointing that they recently stopped their reward system, though I suspect that this may be linked to the current economic crisis that has crushed many high street stores in the UK.