This huge department store is still a family run company which really made me want to love the…read moreinside. Everything is really well laid out and sell kitchenware, gardening items, jewellery, china, art, mirrors and lots of things for the home. I hardly ever see things I don't like in this shop and they even have an old fashioned haberdashery department. Staff are all lovely. cafe is a bit of a let down but is no worse that one you'd find in debenhams.

I found this amazing shop while passing through Kirkcaldy. I was amazed at the sheer volume of…read morehoushold goodies and soft furnishings. The design ideas are fabulous and it is such good value I have travelled through from Glasgow about once a month since I found it. Staff are always friendly and enthusastic and always changing things around so there's always something new.

There's a dilemma here. You see, by Lanark standards, this is a "FANCY" shop. The kind of place you…read morego to buy some kind of object to give to someone as a present. The kind of place that your mother would appreciate and wander round looking at everything and buying nothing but a packet of soor plooms. Having said that, it's just a giant square space full of things. There's no real layout, there's no joyous discovering of another section or a flight of stairs to another floor that's full of Dyson vacuums piled next to cheap cans of Irn Bru and maybe some solid silver picture frames... I can't help but compare this to the wonder of the Glasgow branch that I also reviewed, and sigh a little. While the cheap sweets, juices and biscuits are here, and some of the nice nicknacks and whatnots, it just doesn't have the same majestic soul that the Glasgow branch does... and it makes me a little bit sad and jealous. I know. I'm weird.

As Marks & Spencer stores go, this one is one of the smaller offerings, however if the last time…read moreyou visited Hamilton was around 12 years ago, the store is now nearly 4 times the size it was way back then - so, it's not as small as it could be!! In the last 12 years the store has been extended 3 times and even more recently has been re-furbished which means that although it's exterior looks like something from the 70's, the interior is modern, fresh and airy, just like every other modern M&S. I might be slightly biased as I worked in the store for 7 years, albeit several years ago, but I reckon the staff in the Hamilton store are among the most helpful and friendly staff employed by M&S and this is reflected in the neat and tidy, well stocked shelves/racks in the store. One of the best additions to the store in the last few years is the coffee shop - it's well worth a visit!

A haunting whiff of desperation wafts around your nostrils as you walk through the Regent Shopping…read moreCentre in the middle of Hamilton, a few lurking souls hide in the shadows, some of the store fronts stare back at you like a black abyss contained behind glass or garish trinkets vie for your attention. And then like a shimmering white eruption of sophistication at the end of the world trusty M&S looms into view. The branch of Marks and Spencer itself is probably what you would expect in a small town, recently modernised to the new M&S decor and display styles they squeeze quite a lot in, although don't expect the same range as you would find in a city centre or out-of-town style branch. They have smaller ranges of the usual clothing departments, a home accessories section and a cafe. The food-hall is good for this size of store; at the end of the day, post-work, the shelves are generally well stacked as the staff are busy beavering away to replenish the stock. This is the part of the shop that I visit most and do find it to be the busiest, at least in the evening when I think most of the customers are popping-in on their way home.

I've recently been checking out and reviewing some of Edinburgh's many gift shops. I came across…read morethis one today, situated at the top of the High Street, and popped in. If there was a scale of gift shops, this would be at the upmarket end. There is a wealth of cashmere items along with a great deal of tartan, amongst a small range of other clothes. I would imagine the prices would reflect the high quality of the offered product. Thankfully, this shop is not full of any of the mass-produced tourist rubbish that you find in so many gift shops. This shop is for the more discerning shopper, looking for that high-quality memento of their visit to Edinburgh. If you love cashmere, and let's face it, even the name sounds comfortable, then this place may well be one of your first ports of call. Prime location for prime merchandise. Definitely worth a look.

We popped in to do a bit if pre XMAS shopping but, after realising that family members had gone in…read morewe popped back. The store is similar to a lot of clothes and home wares retailers. I personally like the layout and the large range of clothes for guys, but there are loads of clothes for children and ladies. I always find it nice to look around the home wares for those small decorative touches. The big Issue I noticed, as we were with family members who have mobility issues and both use walking sticks, was the lack of space at the tills.. The main store itself appears to me to have a far better amount of space than a lot of retail stores. As it was quite busy and with the large amount of XMAS promotional items in the queue lane and by the tills themselves, there was, in my opinion, insufficient space for people with mobility issues. I'm not sure how anyone in a wheelchair would manage to get to the tills and then manage to get back out without having to wait for each till being freed up first. All in all I like this store but there are something's that let it down, in my opinion.

This is a large store in the retail park. It has a lot to offer every member of the family. The…read moreclothes stocked include outfits for babies and toddlers, to jeans, tops, trousers, jogging outfits, shirts, underware etc. They also have items for the home from towels, bedding and pots and pans. At Christmas they had some gift ideas and toys. The only negative I can think of is that the toys are on shelves and rows which as quite close together so you might have to wait to get into the shelf if there are a number of people looking at what you want to look at. They have various special offers on but you need a Matalan card to get them. The cards are free. There always seems to be a queue here but you do not spend long in them.

This particularly large Primark opened last December and honestly, I can't get enough of it! Every…read moretime I go to Fort Kinnaird, this place is usually my first stop so that I can avoid the afternoon chaos later on. The layout is much better than its sister store on Princes Street and since it is all on one level, getting around is pretty easy as you can see everything from when you enter and you won't have to negotiate any of those dreaded escalators that make you go ALL the way round to the other side of the sales floor to get to the next one. The men's department is an adequate size and is conveniently located near the front of the store. The only downside to this, is that you will have to walk all the way to the back of the shop if you want to try something on as that is where the fitting rooms are located. Speaking of the fitting rooms, they are modern, bright and have never been subjected to horrific queues when I've visited. (Unlike the shambolic Princes Street store.) One thing that annoys me is the checkouts. They are also at the back, on either side (one set in lingerie and the other in homewares) and usually have slow moving long queues. This is not ideal when all you are buying is a t shirt, a pair of jeans and some sweets. Another thing that bugs me is the till staff. I know it must be horrible working 9-5 in Primark under the harsh fluorescent lighting and with demanding customers but a smile would be appreciated. It could be stocked a bit better and they should assign more workers to the checkouts to cut down queues but other than that, this store provides a less chaotic experience to the city centre store and is much better in many ways.

So this is a fairly small store with everything all on one level but stocks everything you need,…read morefrom clothes, homeware, lingerie, to kids and mens clothing too, the staff are lovely and helpful and all do a great job. There is only one complaint however in that you have to leave your basket if you want to try anything on which makes things a bit of a hassle. Apart from that well worth a look and with mcdonalds right next door what could be better.

This used to be Focus DIY before it lay empty for quite a while. It then became a hive of activity…read moreand there from the ashes of Focus arose a B&M Home Stores. Yay! Says me! Bargains-a-go-go! As Focus was huge I was expecting good things from B&M and I was not disappointed. There is plenty of groceries, beauty and cosmetics, baby stuff, toys, home furnishings, DIY and an outside section for garden products, which they've kept from Focus. The prices are mighty good and I thought that this year I would do a little bit of Christmas shopping here for a change. I noticed while I was in Asda that they sold some of the same products but B&M was much much cheaper. They have a good selection but I have to admit I did struggle for the men in my family, all the ladies and babies are sorted but I'll need to go elsewhere to sort out the menfolk presents. I've been popping in over the few months it's been open and I've always managed to get the bits and bobs I've needed. It's very handed as it's only minutes drive down the road from me. More and more of these B&M stores are popping up and I have to say they are rather good.