Walkden Town Centre (formerly known as The Ellesmere Centre, but many places still use the outdated…read morename, probably down to habits) is the main shopping centre serving Walkden town centre, while it isn't the largest of shopping centres, it does have the largest Tesco Extra store in the UK, this does take up the big bulk of the shopping centre, at least the indoor part anyway. I think the name change was to add the outdoor part of the shopping centre too. There is a lot of car parking, the indoor area is unusual in the sense that instead of escalators, they use travellators, I much prefer these as they are more accessible for all, and look better too. Public transport links to the centre are OK, I do find it annoying that the 36 and 37 buses which are both on the Manchester to Bolton route, which calls here, actually call at different stands at different ends of the shopping centre, I do think having a small bus station would be easier, as it means having to go to one specific bus stop, rather than being able to wait at the same stop for multiple services. Stores located here include Marks and Spencer, Aldi, Poundland, Pets at Home and Boots, there is also a small number of banks and a Post Office. Food retailers located here include Subway, Nando's and Domino's. 3* - Not too bad, it is nice for a small town like Walkden, the lower floor on the inside part of the mall does seem to be pretty empty as many retailers have moved to the outside retail park area or the main road.

The Ellesmere Centre is starting to improve. The whole place has been refurbished and new parts…read morehave been built to attract that lacking custom and shopping vibe in Walkden. Tesco was completely rebuilt and revamped - though it does feel very clinical and a bit like the Hive out of resident evil at night... It's already attracted new custom - Costa Coffee - which is great! They seem to be doing fairly well too. There are always people inside and hopefully this will inspire more custom from other businesses too. The banks have moved and now have very shiny new spaces; HSBC, Lloyds, Halifax, Santander. The market hall is also revamped with a bigger and better area. There's a good selection of stalls from handbags, to a card shop, to a clothes shop, to a fancy dress shop, to a Polish food stall, to a pet items stall AND best of all.... the old school sweet shop! However, it does cost 10p or 20p to go to the toilet but they are well looked after! A list of other shops/facilities around the centre; JD Opticians Electricians Shoe maker St.Anns Hospice Greggs Computer shop Quality Save Nails Hairdressers Carpet shop Boots Phone shop Key Cutters Subway Tanning shop Dominoes Betting Shop Scents/Candles School clothes Aldi - opening this week! With hopefully more to come!

This is a ladies fashion store, selling cheap fashion at prices a bit higher than primark, although…read moresome times the quality is not as good. It is the sort of place that if you are picky enough you will find some good stuff. Its a good place for casual clothing and also clothing suitable for work as its not too expensive. The sales are always worth checking out as its a good time to pick up a bargain.

This used to be a really good shop, but now it seems to have dissapeared!! not sure whether its…read morebecause they are building a new tesco so have had to move it or just because it wasnt doing very well, not sure where it is now. I used to get some nice things from there, jewellary, shoes, the odd top and jeans. As it was quite cheap and the only real clothes shop in the centre. Mkone,,,,,,, where are youuuu!!!!?????

Tesco Extra in Walkden, is the largest Tesco store in England by floor space, with 17,230 square…read moremetres (185,500 sq ft) of floor space. It is located within Walkden Town Centre (formerly known as the Ellesmere Centre) on Bolton Road, it takes up pretty much the whole of one side of the shopping centre, the entrance does feel pretty weird as you have to go up the travelators within the shopping centre, and then turn to get into the store. It isn't the most modern of Tesco stores, I do prefer other locations in that regard, they didn't even have the newer "Scan as You Shop" scanners, they did have the older style devices, which still work as fine but aren't as good as the new ones. Strangely, they have the newer-style checkout machines for these handhelds scanners which don't accept cash. As you'd expect from such a large store, the product range was very good in most areas, most items you'd expect to find from a Tesco are stocked here, although I do prefer the selection of brands especially at Sainsbury's, this store is still good, I did find the fruit and vegetable section to be pretty poor, although it was a large area of the store, many crates were just empty and I couldn't find what I was looking for, which is generally in good stock at other Tesco stores. I do think the store could have been organised better too, for example, some of the aisle numbers did not state what is along that aisle, but some did, which makes no sense to me. Did they start running low on ink part-way through? The staff seemed friendly and helpful, however, it was almost impossible to find a staff member on the shop floor, they all seemed to be at the front of the store and the checkout area. I do find parking to be pretty awkward here, as it is located in a shopping centre, although they do have their own dedicated parking area, it does involve going through the shopping centre again which can be a pretty annoying walk with a trolley full of shopping. They didn't seem to have a deli in operation, many of the counters didn't seem to be manned, and the section which was left for people to purchase seemed half-attempted, compared to a smaller Tesco store, such as the one in Burnley, it is so much worse. 4* - A very large store, the product range in many areas is good, I would for sure visit this Tesco location again but for ease of access, facilities and overall store appearance, it isn't the best Tesco store.

This store has a clothing department. They seem to sell everything. Staff are very friendly and…read morevery helpful some self checkout tills which is good if you just have a couple of items but it can get very busy as it is on the retail park. There is plenty of parking for cars and there are lots of other shops around in a shopping centre.

I ordered a freestanding shelf unit from Accessories for the Home and when it arrived (very…read morepromptly), I found it to be completely unusable - it was so wobbly, just a tiny touch sent it rocking around in circles. I immediately got in touch with the shop owner explaining the situation - it took me sending two emails and then finally calling to get someone'a attention. She then admitted that the shelf she had in stock was in the same state, so couldn't offer a swap but said I could take a discount or a refund. As I spent almost a couple hundred pounds on it I opted for the refund. it's now been two weeks and i can't get anyone to reply to an email or my phone calls. terrible customer service - stay away!!

From the owner: Quirky and Stylish Home Accessories, Gifts and Industrial & Vintage Style Furniture. We have a…read moredatabase of lots of different suppliers and can source all styles and types and furniture. Customers are welcome to come to our shop/showroom for a coffee and a chat/advise and browse our catalogues.

Sole Trader is one of those shops that has something for everyone:…read more There's Uggs for skinny people that want to keep their tootsies warm. There's biker boots for girls that want to look edgy and feminine. There's knee-high leather boots for office workers and dominatrixes. There's Timberlands for men that want to look like they work in construction. There's Paul Smith shoes for men with style and money. There's Hush Puppies for men that go shopping on their own. There's Converse for students, indie kids and comic book fans. There's Pretty Ballerina slipper shoes for hippies and ex-ballerinas. And there's Sugar Daddy boots by Rocket Dog for those that are blind or visually impaired.

I realised something one year while braving the snow (uh, yeah, trying to imagine snow NOW…read more Heatwave, hello?) to try and see what the January sales had to offer. There are so few decent places to buy shoes in Manchester. We're talking variety, lots of brands, reasonable prices, that sort of thing. So many shoe shops seem small and crammed and claustrophobic. Well, Sole Trader doesn't break these rules exactly. It's small, crammed and claustrophobic, and somewhat limited. But it has the potential to be the best of a bad bunch. Sole Trader stocks some really unusual Converse, which I love; unique patterns and different styles and what-not. It also boasts a small range of Diesel shoes, something I rather like. And? Many Mancunian maidens will be pleased with the sheer variety of Uggs in store. Everybody loves an Ugg, except Hadley Freeman, who's never liked them or harem pants or leggings, and me, who is firmly committed to Bear Paws. But were I the Ugg-buying sort I'd be in there like a shot. And again, we have our own range of Converse to choose from as well as 'sensible' formal shoes. It may not be doing Manchester's bad shoe reputation any favours, but for me, Sole Trader is just fine for a quick browse. And the sales are pretty good too, so hop in there while they're on.

Appalling and unprofessional service, poor quality item. Wrote a review elsewhere and they offered…read moreme a measly £18 compensation for the poor quality of the item (incl. a part missing) but ONLY if I took the review down. This is why I assume they're scoring highly on here - they've paid unhappy customers to change / delete their reviews. Avoid these cowboys.

Furniture in Fashion, in my opinion THE BIGGEST BUNCH OF COWBOYS OUT THEIR, customer support 0 out…read moreof 10, integrity 0 out of 10, honesty 0 out of 10. In fact it's zero for everything. I Purchased a table and chairs from them. When they arrived I found the chairs were damaged, they wouldn't replace the chairs, they swopped the damaged parts only. The table top appeared okay, but due to circumstances I couldn't assemble the table and chairs for 8 months. When it assembled and the screws tightened they came through the table top. They were obviously too long. I reported this to FiF all they did was make excuses and stall for time. Even though consumer protection said I was in the right FiF would not budge. They blamed assembly in fact they basically accused me of making a fraudulent claim. Forget the fact that if the correct screws were supplied this would not have happened. The stress and anxiety they caused was horrendous. Finally although they said it was my fault they offered a resolution. They would supply a new table top, not the whole table just the top, at cost price, I would have to pay £100 and they would match it. On their web site they were selling the complete table at £199.99 retail so the table at so called cost would be a lot less. So I ask myself how is £100 the cost price for the table top, yet another rip off. The table top has now been delivered, I had no choice, they wanted the old table top back and no screws were supplied. I'm quite sure that FiF will answer this and say what they say with every complaint, they will say they did everything to help and sort things out and it was my fault. This company has no integrity I wouldn't trust them, I certainly wouldn't buy from them again, I would suggest that people check the other reviews before buying from them.

I have always been skeptical of using storage facilities, as normally I would be able to leave my…read morebelongings at a friend's house over the summer free of charge. However this year I had to reconsider as none of my friends were available to take my belongings this year. After comparing local storage unit prices I found GRG Storage and not only were their prices affordable they were also nearby and just five minutes away from my university accommodation. I decided to give them a try and leave my belongings for the summer. I have to say that I was impressed by the quality and affordable prices I was offered. Using my friends to store my stuff is good however now I can take the hassle off their shoulders just simply by using GRG Storage for summer storage solutions. It is an easy and reliable service offered at great competitive prices just minutes away from the University of Salford! I highly recommend this as my proffered storage provider for my fellow students at the University of Salford!

From the owner: GRG Storage in Salford, Manchester, has self storage units available at a variety of sizes starting…read morefrom 10 sq ft onwards. You will have your own self-containing lockable storage room, which is clean, dry and secure and above all private, as you are the key holder. We have three loading bays at different sizes to suit your needs. Our Building is secured by 24hr CCTV and the Red Care alarm system in place. The entrance to the self storage area is digitally controlled and alarmed.