Ended up stopping for a coffee instead and had a genuinely pleasant chat with Douie, which made the…read morevisit worthwhile.

Meeks is a good old fashioned shoe shop, that I would only ever go to in search of kids shoes for…read moreschool, and yet given the choice, I also wouldn't go anywhere else! The staff are friendly, helpful and knowledgeable, and all have the essential ability to get on with kids and get them to co-operate in the shoe-fitting process, something that I would guarantee requires saint-like patience! The last time I took my child there, they managed to kick the assistant in the head (accidentally, I might add!), and this still didn't detract from the quality of service and the willingness of the assistant to help. They even offered us the opportunity to take some shoes on 'sale or return', something which we gladly took them up on (as long as the shoes weren't worn outside) and in this case it actually resulted in us returning the shoes for a full refund. I would heartily recommend Meeks and its happy group of staff for the quality of their service and the quality of their goods. Top marks!

Looking for a cheapish pair of shoes. This is the perfect place to go if looking in the right…read moreplace. Good selection of all types of shoes from robust to leather to converse to plimsoll shoes. Have a gander!

This is a specialist niche shop that caters for the needs of Sales dancing public, whether their…read morepreferred style is ballroom, jazz, modern or tap. Aided, no doubt, by Cadmans Dance centre directly above it, Salters is locally run and the sort of place where you're guaranteed friendly, personal service and competitive prices. I recently had cause to visit there in search of some specialist dance-sneakers that were needed for a friends daughter... I was confident that a local supplier would come-up-trumps compared to the bigger (if not better) firms in central Manchester. I was right! Not only did they stock the required article, but although they didn't have the right size in stock, they ordered some in, in a variety of likely sizes AND texted me when they came in to let me know. I call that personal service! Chances are I won't have cause to go there in the near future, but if I do, I will be there in a heartbeat!

I pity the staff that have to work at New Look. Opening the store at 8.30a.m. with a hangover is…read morebad enough but the lights are so bright in this place they should come with a migraine warning! To make matters worse, the majority of the stock lacks the style of other contemporary brands like H&M and Top Shop. The one saving grace is the men's Giles by Giles Deacon capsule range. Priced £15 to £30 and only available for a limited period, there's some fantastic military cardigans, graphic tees and skinny jeans.

Staying on a Timberland tip, this branch of Schuh has £20 off the brand's Nellie boots in their…read morecurrent sale. When I popped in they still had most sizes left - so if there's any builders or bears out there in need of a new pair.... They also have 25-45% off select Red or Dead boots, Fred Perry training shoes and Rocket Dog sneakers. I tried a pair of divine purple boots on and was determined to treat myself until I stood up and tried to walk. At that point I had to be real honest with myself and say: "SJ, you can do cowboy boots, you can do Cuban heels but there's no way you do 5" rock star boots and not break at least one ankle!" If any ladies out there are up for the challenge, those boots look and feel divine and at £59 for soft leather are a snip.

Now I'm a really big fan of Schuh shoe shops (see what I did there?). The first thing that strikes…read moreyou when you walk into this Schuh in Manchester is that there's just so much choice. There are just shoes of every make and style all over the place. It's ace. It kind of gives you the confidence that there will definitely be something that you really like and will want to buy. And that's a good way to approach shopping. I actually went for a pair of Caterpillar shoes (I know, confusing!) from Schuh. Normally I wouldn't go for this make but they had some interesting high top deck shoes that didn't really look anything like Caterpillar shoes and were perfect for me wearing to work. At £50 they weren't cheap but they were exactly what I was looking for so I was pretty happy. The girl serving me was super friendly and helpful. She must have either been new or just ridiculously nice. It was great, anyway. There was a slight confusion with buying the shoes as it took ages for the box to be brought down from the stockroom, but apart from that, everything was great.