Bells were a well known chain of north east based local shops which were taken over by the big…read moreSainsburys a couple of years ago now. I must admit that as this is my local shop I dreaded the change, the place was okay as it was, served most peoples needs. However the change has been greatly accepted the addition of Sainsburys value ranges and special offers have made the place come alive. Now I don't just nip in for a pint of milk I actually take time to look at what is available and have picked up some bargains along the way. Only complaint is that they run out of newspapers far too early on a Sunday morning!

This is a handy mini Sainsburys on Corporation Road in Darlington. It has a good range of goods and…read moreI find this store really helpful if I should be going to the supermarket for some bits and bobs on the way home from work but can't really be bothered! It has a selection of most of the ranges and you can often grab a special offer or well reduced item. Also I can pick up Nectar points from a local shop!

I love Asda and this is my second favourite Asda store in our area. I kind of prefer the Portrack…read moreLane branch, but that's mainly because it's easier to park (I'll come back to the subject of parking later). This is a really big shop in the heart of Thornaby Town Centre. The store was refurbished about a year ago and now it has a nice new cafe area, along with a really good clothing section (much bigger than it was before) and nice new fitting rooms. This branch is all on one floor, but sells just about everything you could possibly need - magazines, clothing, CDs, DVDs, games, food, groceries, laundry and cleaning products, etc., etc., etc. It also has a pharmacy, and dedicated counters for deli and pizza etc. The pizza is my favourite! They will make up a pizza to your own specification, so we always get half and half, which is really yummy and (of course) really good value. I have always found the staff here really helpful and friendly, they always seem really keen to help, and happy in their work. One of the things I particularly love(d) about this branch of Asda, was shopping there on market day. Because it's not one of those out of town stores, you can have a wander around the market and the other town centre shops, then go and do the big weekly shop in Asda. All in all, it made for a very pleasant morning. However, Thornaby itself is undergoing a massive regeneration at the moment (2008), so what used to be the town centre car park (see, I told you I'd come back to the subject of parking!) is now a building site. You have to walk much further to get to the handful of market stalls who still bother to turn up, and it's all a bit of a disappointment. However, I hope that once the regeneration is complete it will all be sparkly and new and lovely again! Because of the regeneration and the resulting closure of the town centre car park, I have been forced to use Asda's dedicated underground car park (yes, still more about parking!). On the plus side, it's well-lit, and there are lifts and walkways direct to the shop. On the downside, the actual parking spaces are tiny! You have to squeeze your car into the space, and each space has a big concrete post next to it (and judging from the paint scrapings on them all, it looks like a lot of other people have problems with this, too).

Don't try call thus store, I'm not sure if they understand how a phone works. 20 minutes going…read morethrough different departments and no answer.

For food I love this store. It is smaller than other Tescos or the local asda in thornaby but it…read moretends to be a lot less busy and has most of the food range available in larger stores just not the clothing and electrical, or housewares ranges. The staff are efficent and the shelves kept well stocked - very rarely have they sold out of something I wanted (which was a bug bear when I used to shop at Sainsburys as they always seemed to be running out of stuff). Also like most Tescos now it has a petrol station, free parking and is open 24 hours a day (except Sundays).

Tesco Ingleby Barwick is a medium sized supermarket. The store has a range of food, clothing and…read moreelectrical items, as well as it's own Starbucks coffee shop. The supermarket itself is small, but stocks a reasonable range of goods. Service in-store is adequate. I have been charged double price on two occasions for various products and found it a difficult process to get a refund. The stores petrol station is in a handy location as there are few places to fill up in and around Ingleby Barwick. Petrol is also reasonably priced unlike the local competitors.

Asda at Whinfield is sometimes a nuisance because the staff are obstructing the isles with the…read moretrolley's. I thought this was done by the night staff to stock & refill the shelves & not when customers are shopping. Most of the staff are friendly & helpful & their are a few that are unapproachable & dont want to help customers. there is 1 security guard inpaticular who is power crazy & takes his job to serious. he is a bully & has stated that he will bar me from the shop if he sees my son in the shop with me because he is barred. but he has barred him for life! I'm in Asda every day what gives him the right to say that he will bar me from the shop too. he is slating my character. by the way it's the tall one with ginger hair who I'm talking about. All the other security guards are sound & they're not power crazy like he is.

No longer 24 hours (shuts at 23:00) tho looks shut even earlier as they pull the entrance shutters…read moredown way before closing which makes it look less inviting and closed to potential customers passing by. Love this supermarket tho, good quality produce at fantastic prices, I just wish we had a bigger one more like the bishop Auckland branch. The cost of fuel is always cheaper here too, tho when taking nectar points into consideration sainsburys fuel work out cheaper in the long run.

Asda is one of my favourite supermarkets as they are great on price and usually have a good…read moreselection of items. This branch, sadly, is one of the smaller ones, and doesn't have much at all. It's really just the basics, food and general grocery items. The staff are helpful and friendly, and the prices are good. It's handy if you happen to be in Billingham and need to stock up on food, but really I'd only use it for top up shopping, not the main weekly shop.

This is one of the smaller Asda stores but the product range is excellent for a store of it's…read morelimited size. The staff are extremely friendly and helpful and they tend to have more tills available than can sometimes be found in the larger supermarkets so queuing is minimal, even during busy periods. Due to the size, seasonal stock (Easter/Christmas gifts etc) are limited but they tend to rearrange the store and squeeze in as much extra stock as possible.

Tesco Durham is a HUUUUGE store, the staff are very friendly and the shelves are generally well…read morestocked. There is always a good variety of all products - a good choice of brands with a range of prices to suit every budget. They also have a very good clothing section that often has a sale on. The atmosphere in Tesco is always bustling, even at 3 in the morning near Christmas and New Year. Although most of the staff are very friendly and will drop everything to help you look for a product but some of the staff that work on the electrical counter are a little to be desired. They are very unwilling to negotiate a refund/exchange even when you bring the product back within a week brand new!

I was amazed how big this store is, they must make a fortune!…read more The staff I have been served by dont usually speak to you at all unless they have or talk amongst themselves, so thats disappointing. Loads of extras in this store unlike small Tesco stores. The food variety is not as big as it should be though, electricals are quite expensive and can be got cheaper elsewhere.

This tesco is huge. It has everything you could possably want under one roof. Upstairs is the…read moreclothes and elctricals, downstairs is the food , garden, alcohol etc. I prefer the smaller branch in Inglbey for food as I know my way around that one but if I want clothes or anything else this is the store I come to. You can also pick up your orders from Tesco direct here so you don't have to pay postage and have the convience of setting your own time - they notify you when the item has been delivered to the store and you print off the receipt and take it in at a time that suits you.

The Durham Road Tesco's is huge and amazing and I really enjoying shopping there! The sell…read moreeverything you could possibly need to buy during a trip to the supermarket plus a whole load of other stuff that you just WANT to buy! Downstairs is mainly food and drink and there is soooo much choice. You will also find gifts and partyware, toys and seasonal stock downstairs, along with a cafe and tobacco/lottery counter. Up the moving walkway and you find a massive clothing department, which stocks ranges for men, women and children as well as lingerie and footwear. There's also homewares and DIY goods and a HUGE electrical departments which goods include LCD TVs and kitchen appliances as well as accessories. The car park is massive so there's always enough spaces. I have been told there is now an opticians in the Tescos aswell!

This is a handy store close to the railway station in Darlington and stocks a small range of…read moreSainsburys goods. Because of this you know that you are getting good quality goods and you can often get the offers advertised. There is a cashpoint outside that you do not get charged for using which is useful to know given that they are hard to find outside of the supermarkets and town centres now. Parking is pretty easy and you can usually get straight outside. Hours are also handy and the store is open between six in the morning and eleven at night.

holds the basics you need if you can't make it up the road to the big sainsburys. I find it very…read morecramped though, not enough space between aisles.