This newsagent has existed in Formby for as long as I can remember and has managed to survive at…read morethe site despite many of the shops based there going out of business long ago. This is probably due to it being the only shop within close proximity for many people that opens at half 6 in the morning in order for the locals to get their early morning newspapers but their decision to continue to use Martin shows its popularity. It also offers many cheap sweets and bottles of fizzy Panda pop drinks which make it a good place to take moaning children for a little treat to keep them quiet as well as having a wide variety of magazines. There is also a handy post office in the back, meaning Martin newsagents can offer a variety of things in one small shop.

This is a large Boots at Coliseum Shopping Park right by Coliseum Shopping Park in Ellesmere Port…read more While the store looks dire from the outside, with the most disgusting yellow tower, housing the Boots logo, the interior is much nicer. Being a retail park location, it is easy to get in and out of the store quite quickly, parking outside or nearby. I was able to find what I was looking for in-store, but I did only come in looking for a cold beverage. The selection in store was good, and although extra facilities you'd hope to find in Boots including the Opticians are lacking, it is a nice store overall. I also appreciate how they keep the Pharmacy open for the entire store opening hours during the week, when many Boots stores close off the Pharmacy earlier, although this isn't the case on weekends, it is nice to see the Pharmacy open until 20:00 during the week. Despite visiting on a Friday afternoon, and the store being reasonably busy, there was only one staff member on the checkouts, she was friendly and trying her best, but this meant service was slow, especially combined with a lack of self-service tills. A nice Boots store with a reasonable selection and friendly staff, but improvements could be made especially in terms of adding a bit of technology to the customer experience and more staff members on both the checkout and shop floor. 4*

Royal Albert Dock is one of the nicer parts of Liverpool city centre, with the old dock buildings…read morealong the river, consisting of many bars and restaurants including Miller and Carter, Lunyalita and Revolution. It is one of the most visited multi-use attractions in the country outside of London, and the collection of buildings (docks, warehouses) is the largest single collection of Grade I listed buildings anywhere in the UK. It can be a nice, relaxing place to have a walk around, getting away from the busy main parts of the city. I do think it could be laid out better with some signage and notes to the historic past, but I do understand there are some limitations in making changes due to the listed building status. 4* - A pretty cool and historic part of Liverpool city centre

The Albert docks are historical and have now been modernised and preserved to offer a plethora of…read morenice restaurants, shops and some museums, one of which is the tate, and the Maritime Museum and also the International Slave Museum. Here is some history about the docks - "Liverpool's docks dominated global trade by the early 19th century. When it opened in 1846, Albert Dock changed the way the docks worked here forever. Its warehouses were fireproof and secure; traders could do deals before their import taxes were due; hydraulic cranes hauled heavy cargoes across the flagstones. The speed with which ships unloaded and turned around was cut in half." Definitely a worthy and must see stop when you visit Liverpool.

Home Bargains is situated near the busy Lark Lane. This is a fairly big store which is clean,…read morebright, spacious, well organised and tidy. The store stocks many different types of products such as toiletries, clothing, home ware, cleaning products, toys, games, baby care items, art supplies, stationery, soft furnishings, bathroom items, gifts, pet supplies, food and alcohol. The items are always kept well stocked and well organised. The staff at Home Bargains are friendly and are happy to help you find what you want within the store. The queues at the till are sometimes quite tong, but the staff often open extra tills at these times. Once you are at the front of the queue the staff serve you quickly and will help you pack your bags if you need the help. They are happy to chat whilst doing this. Things to look out for here: cheap hair dye and bottles of wine :)

For me the JD brand and its stores has always been heavily associated with the 'chav' culture which…read moreseems to have engulfed not only Liverpool but the country as a whole and as such this meant I was not a fan. I have to say that having seen the JD branch in Liverpool One I have had a dramatic change of heart so much so that I have made several purchases from the establishment. From the exterior point of view the store looks modern and cool and it really entices you inside with its sleek decor and slick appearance. Once inside the display layout of the store just makes you want to peruse all of the produce and there is some quality stock on offer. My only real qualm with this place is the fact that the prices are high and the staff seem a bit distant but this is something which can be expected in large establishments everywhere.

We consider Chester Services to be the half-way point on our monthly journey from Caernarfon to…read moreWest Yorkshire, so often stop here for refreshments or to use the toilets. The services are 24 hour, and are located near Runcorn, just past the city of Chester. The services are quite small but have an ample car park. On the outside of the services in a seating area, and a small grassy verge with trees, separating the area from the motorway. At the entrance to the services is a dog bowl filled with water and an AA stand. Further inside, there's a Wimpy, which is closed at nighttimes, a Costa coffee bar, an ordinary cafe area and a WHSmith, which has the usual stands outside filled with books and special offers, such as camping chairs and waterproof jackets or fleece jackets. Behind these are the toilets. The toilets are clean and there are many of them. Before entering the toilets there is a useful area containing boxes of leaflets for local attractions, and a mobile-phone charging station, which allows visitors to charge their phones, securely. The WHSmith is quite impressive - it stocks a range of foods and drinks, magazines and newspapers, CDs, maps and books. They always seem to have a lot of special offers on too. The Costa coffee is a bit hit and miss, though. Because it's often quiet, they tend to use the chairs to separate areas, which means going outside on the terrace is sometimes not allowed. On a few occasions the coffee has been lukewarm, and once, they had run out of ice, and a customer was given an iced latte that wasn't even cold (I overheard them complaining about it).

This is a decent sized Boots which also stocks premium brands such as Estee Lauder, Benefit,…read moreClinique etc. It also has a pharmacy and a photo counter. It is up at Gemini, adjacent to Next and there is a large free car park out the front making it convenient to visit. It is open late until 8pm most night too making it handy to nip to after work. The selection of brands is good, much better than the Boots in town and the staff are helpful and quick, I have never had to queue for long. The only negative point is that the advantage card machine never seems to be working when I visit so I miss out on picking up any extra points that may be on offer.

This is a large Boots store with lots to offer. There are beauty counters, toys, clothes, medicines…read more& the usual toiletry products. It's situated on the Gemini retail park & is close to other stores such as Next, Ikea & M&S. The staff are friendly & helpful but sometimes I've found it hard to find someone as the store is so big! They always have excellent 3 for 2 offers on at Christmas & I've had some good buys from there. The car park is a reasonable size but I think it could do with being a bit bigger as it does get busy especially at busy times such as sales & Christmas shoppers. It's open until 8pm & I think at Christmas it sometimes stays open until even later which is always good. Overall a good store with lots to offer.

Decent prices, GREAT meal-deals on the food. has a make up counter, cash machine, photo developing,…read morepharmacy, etc. There are usually some good offers on gifts. The staff are friendly and helpful.

Great shop it is very well stocked and the midnight pharmacy is a really helpful and useful…read moreaddition for obvious reasons. The only thing missing is, due to the size of the store it doesn't have premium beauty counters as with the larger stores. The store is well laid out and the staff are helpful and approachable. They are a little bit slow in offering for you to pay at another till when the main till is busy.