This place is absolutely amazing! The staff are super friendly, everything is eco friendly, and the…read moreatmosphere of the store is so peaceful. Great place to get gifts or buy stuff for yourself.

Shared Earth is a great place to buy gifts, although if I'm honest they don't stock much for your…read moreaverage guy. Everthing in the shop is ethical and environmentally friendly. They stock things like notebooks, photo albumns, cushions, throws, money boxes and re-useable shopping bags. They do a great range of jewellery and some fantastic wine glasses made from recycled glass bottles. Buy your gifts here and shop with a clear conscience. The staff are friendly and the shop has a relaxed, laid back atmosphere; they're used to people just browsing. It's not cheap, but not too dear either and you're paying for ethical goods.

"Abandon despair, all ye who enter here", should be inscribed on top of the entrance to The Minster…read moreGate Bookshop. And yes, that's a positive take on the famous "Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate" of Dante's Inferno, for this place represents, in its entirety, the opposite to the Inferno's loss of hope. The Minster Gate Bookshop is a palace of wisdom, an oasis of knowledge, a refuge of hope and peace. When you walk up the stairs and see every single wall covered in the most magnificent old and modern tomes, you can't help but feel total and complete bliss. The selection of books in all floors is impeccable. It could take me or you days just browsing every shelf. I stumbled upon it on a visit to the Minster of York, the main attraction in town, but on a second visit the York Minster will be relegated to a secondary level of importance. My first stop will undoubtedly be The Minster Gate Bookshop!

A slanted, creaking world of antique books and maps can be found inches from the magnificent York…read moreMinster, tucked within a small alleyway. Having all at once the atmosphere of a bookshop, a museum, and an interesting relative's even more interesting house, the building provides a tranquil haven to become absorbed by fiction and history. The antiquarian volumes are breathtaking and cheaper editions can also be found for students stocking up for the new term. The History room is the loveliest, with an old desk and chair and battered old rug on the floorboards. The views out of the window are equally charming as the rooftops of the city reveal themselves like a Mary Poppins landscape.

Got lucky & found this amazing shop on my travels last week. I bought several items & shipped them…read moreto the US, they arrived today & I'm so happy! The shop is full of beautiful things , Holly & Jane we're very helpful & friendly. Will definitely stop in next time I'm in the UK!

Be aware this shop does not offer refunds, only exchanges. Whilst they have a very small sign on…read morethe desk of the counter (and one on the wall, which is not visible to read at all), it is very misleading. My partner bought a Christmas gift (globe) which wasn't accurate for £85 without the staff notifying him to the no refunds policy, which you might expect they would at Christmas time. There is very little of substance to spend £85 on in the store, so very disappointed.

I love this shop. The clothes are fabulous and reasonably priced. I have bought several items for…read moremyself and my children. Quality is good and soo Vintage ( I am 72yrs) they are absolutely smashing. Thanks for bringing my style back into my life .....

A funky little vintage shop on Gillygate in York. Blue Balloon sells retro and vintage clothes for…read moregirls and guys. They stock some original vintage clothes, mostly T shirts and shirts, but some skirts and dresses too. In addition they make retro-look clothes out of vintage fabrics, giving you something just that little bit unusual. Not a widely visited shop as not many people know about it, but well worth going to now you know about it if vintage is your thing. Not wildly expensive either.

Yorkshire Book Clearance Outlet is a great shop for cheap books, which I love as I'm a big reader…read moreand am always keen to buy bargain books. It's a sweet little shop absolutely crammed with cheap books, aka three for a fiver. My only complaint is that they're not in much of an order (such as alphabetical) so you have to have time and patience to weed through them until you find what you want.

Posted on behalf of my wife and her friend:…read more Grudgingly returned to the shop after an upsetting, extremely disappointing experience last year with my friend who was looking for a mother of the bride outfit. This was purchased but after less than 24 hours was returned as she decided it wasn't quite the right colour for her. As noted in previous reviews with important dress decisions for special occasions people can change their minds, however the shops policy of no refunds and only a credit note left my friend devastated and visibly upset in the shop. The refund policy is displayed on a wall tucked away behind the cash point in very small writing. To read it you would need to ask the assistants to step aside from their till in order to read the policy. However, we were told on the day of return, it is also noted on the receipt by which time you have made your purchase and it is too late! We pointed out at no time leading up to the purchase did anyone mention the returns policy. Many other high street stores and independent stores do point this out at the point of sale. We think that with such an important, emotional and expensive purchase this should be made clear verbally! We could not believe this was an unusual situation judging by the thickness of the credit notebook that was produced. The manager was called but was cold and uncaring. Sticking by the policy despite my friend's extreme distress. As pointed out by my friend, for her it was a once in a lifetime purchase and she will never need to buy a dress like this again, so a credit note was of no use to her! At that point I offered to buy the credit note off her. So, returning somewhat hesitantly on Friday this year with another friend for moral support, in order to use the credit note, it was extremely disappointing to see the refund policy still tucked away not clearly visible. To compound matters we were served grudgingly by an arrogant, unfriendly assistant. We were dressed for the weather after our train journey from Edinburgh and possibly we were being judged by this particular assistant (as previous reviews have commented on). Whilst I tried on two dresses the assistant did not engage with my friend at all making my friend feel very unwelcome and uncomfortable. We then went to the other shop, the assistants here were very friendly but we returned to the MOB shop to complete the purchase. At this point we had four assistants squashed into the small point of sale area trying to pack the items up which was quite intimidating for us. When I produced the credit note which covered the cost exactly of both items (which was quite considerable), nothing was said about the comment my friend added to the credit note last year! So main learning points for Molly Brown: * Your returns policy at the point of sale should be seen clearly by the customers - so move it and point it out verbally pre-sale! * Some assistants clearly need some training * Do not judge your customers buying potential by their appearance. You will lose sales. Supposedly you are family run but your customer service is very poor, there are times when rules can be relaxed. The experience my friend had was dreadful and it is too late for you to redeem yourselves, but I do hope this does not happen to any other potential customer.

From the owner: Molly Browns is a family-run business and we pride ourselves on exceptional customer service with…read morethe belief that the customer comes first. Based on old-fashioned values and exceptional after sales service everyone who shops with us can enjoy the attention they deserve both in store and online.