The Rock, Bury or 'New Bury' as some call the Rock, is a large 300 million development…read more Pedestrianized with £70k flats towering above shops a plenty such as Debs, M&S, Next, Costa, Subway; Vue Cinema, AMF bowling, Nandos etc. Free car parking after 6 pm (multi-story). St. Johns Gardens are a nice place to sit if it is warm. And there is a right good 99p shop there too. Love the place. Tai food opposite the gardens. Heaps of bike racks used as extra ram-raid stoppers near the clubs.

Wow shopping madness wasn't this busy over Christmas. Maybe people shopping last minute for…read morenew years eve. Great vibe everyone in high spirits.

Middlebrook is actually pretty good for a retail/leisure park. It has all of the regular big shops…read moreyou'd imagine, selling sofas, carpets etc, as well as some good clothing stores and general shops, plus a large VUE cinema and several restaurants of both the fast-food and dine-in variety. There's also a bowling alley and arcade. It's also great that the plentiful parking is all free, unlike Bolton town centre, and is secured by the (slightly controversial) UKPC. If parking doesn't matter to you, it's easily accessible on foot, and bus services run through it via several bus stops, and the stop at Horwich Parkway Rail Station. It can get congested around match days and the such, as there's only really two ways in and out, and both clog up quite quickly. They also have occasional promo events and activities, such as radio stations broadcasting from there, free kids face painting and character events, petting zoos etc.

middlebrook is a superb retail park with big names such as boots, m&s, a huge asda, vue cinema, the…read morelist goes on. there is loads of free parking but becareful if bolton wanderers are at home on a staurday, it gets so busy. the location isn't ideal for everyone, as it is based in horwich which is close to wigan, sop it can be out of the way for some.

Debenhams in Blackburn is one of the many department stores I have visited of late. This is quite a…read moredecent size store and is part of The Mall, I came here to use the toilets after grabbing a coffee near enough next store at Rhode Island Coffee, who sadly don't have any toilets. The store was cluttered with "Black Weekend" stickers and most of the offers weren't worth shouting about in all honesty. Inside the store, it just felt average and perhaps a little like the old BHS store in Manchester before it shut down after the company went into administration. The toilets were average, and so were most things, it just didn't stand out as well. There was an issue with the lifts which were very slow, and the signal in store even with Free wi-fi remained poor. Overall, this is a decent store but it lacks on so many levels to the point I sadly think even two stars is slightly generous.

Debenhams has got to be blackburns best department store. It has everything in here from perfume to…read morepots and pans! I think the staff are lovely in here specially around the make up area as they are very helpful. I went to the make up section in debenhams a few months ago and i wasn't sure what to buy or what suited me so the lady tried all these different products on me and after almost an hour we finally found which brand and product was for me. That lady definatly went the extra mile for me. I think the staff on the underwear section are a little bit stuck up. I once asked if i could try on a bra and they looked at me as if i had said something very offensive! The toys are great in this and as for the clothes there is definatly something for everybody here whatever your age or size. Overall a really good store that i use very often.

Millgate Shopping Centre may no longer be Bury's main/flagship shopping centre, but giving credit…read morewhere credit is due, they have still carried on despite the new The Rock development and tried their best to still grow and improve, which is rather good for a small town, considering there3 is a lack of empty units around the mall, which is good to see. Brands here include Boots, Costa, CeX, EE, HMV, Waterstones, WHSmith and all of the UK's main mobile phone operators, and Bury Market is right outside. Parking is generally quite cheap, at a couple of pounds, it still could be better value for money right now and as of January 2021, the car park is closed until further notice but there are satisfactory public transport links nearby including via bus and Metrolink, the latter is, of course, quicker from Manchester compared to the 135 which takes twice as long. The staff around the mall seemed friendly and happy to help. 3* - Great for the people of Bury, not really worth a trip out for, but still a decent shopping centre for a small town, supported by The Rock nearby.

Mill Gate is in a good location, being in the middle of the market complex, it is generally busy,…read morehardly any premises up for rent, though not of the Trafford Centre size, the variety of shops is quite good, plus various pop ups, and one can access the indoor market without going outside in bad weather, which is useful, certainly a better set up than Bolton or Blackburn, since Bury parking is much better than Blackburn!

A pretty large, modern Next location at the Manchester Trafford Centre, while it might lack the…read morecoolness and added brands and features of the nearby flagship branch at the Manchester Arndale, it still is a decent store and features a Costa Coffee. It works better with their Home Store at the other side of the mall within Barton Square, as this branch mainly consists of clothing. Lifts are notable as they seem to be quicker and have fewer people queuing at peak-times compared to the main lifts within intu Trafford Centre. Staff seemed friendly enough. A pretty decent store, but only made better through being one of two stores within the mall, and even then it falls short compared to their larger flagship store nearby. 3*

Although not truely here just for the clothing I popped in for a quick coffee and the ability to do…read morepaperwork. The venue is clean and has Wi-Fi although is busy. The shop itself is also busy too. The staff were working as hard and fast as they could to get the drinks and food out but struggling slightly with the sheer volume of customers. Easy to find a seat though. All in all not a bad venue. The clothing side is clean and has a wide variety of clothing to suit your needs.

This used to be a really good outdoor shopping village but seems to have gone downhill over the…read morelast few years. This used to have a nice mix of ethnic and engish stores and you had a realy good choice of things to buy, but, now it focuses more on ethnic goods and thus there isnt really much for me to buy there anymore as i dont go in for all the spices and curry food that it sells. The village has many market type stalls set out in the grounds and there is also a few stalls inside too - there is a second hand flea market type of stall inside with all sorts of second hand furniture and books, ornaments, bric a brac, etc. There is also a small pet shop inside which doesnt do many live animals but does cater for pet care and treatment with a good stock. There are loads of ethnic clothing stalls and ethnic food stalls so if that is your taste there are some good bargains to be had as this is a really cheap market. There is also a butcher who sells out of refrigerated wagon who haggles people with his prices which gives it an auction type of feel. I love listening to him say 'ill give you 2 pieces for a fiver or even 3 pieces for a fiver - any takers' and everyone waves their fivers about thinking they are getting a bargain - i wouldnt dare buy meat like that. Ok for bargains but hard to walk round as gets very muddy and the ground isnt even and is very hilly in places so it isnt appropriate for wheelchair users and prams.

What a place, came up to Bradford and heard of Cannon Mills as being the go to market…read more Having been to the market Town of Skipton this was surely different. WOW.. They had a massive collection of stalls focusing on everything from textiles to cookware and the prices are all negotiable.. It was like being in morocco again !! ... It's worth mentioning the fellas outside market 2 who run a bedding and pots and pan store where I seemed to spend at least 30 mins... The prices where very good and the customer service brilliant... Any size and colour fitted bed sheets 2 for £5.. Bargain . To mention further the street food on offer was equally as good.. Will definitely be back

I love a good rummage around in Wilkinson…read more The love affair started when I was working in Salford and there was a Wilko's in the Precinct but has since extended into the city centre. I admit, I am a bit of a snob when it comes to places like this; I scurry in and out of Poundland hoping not to be noticed and it's a similar thing with Wilko's. However, the more I shop here, the prouder I am. Anyone who is as much of a Pinterest addict as I am can feel a tinge of sadness when browsing through DIY&Crafts, realising there are no equivilants to Walmart (trust me, our supermarkets just aren't the same) to pick up the basic vases/spray paint/endless balls of twine the crafters suggest. Poundland doesn't even cut the mustard when it comes to this. Wilko's to the metaphorical rescue. The home section here becomes a haven for anyone who has a desire to spray paint everything gold and stick small plastic animals onto screw top jars. The home section, by coincidence, is the only part of the shop I tend to frequent. The homeware department has recently had a bit of a revamp - according to the signs anyway - and the array of cushions had my head spinning. I love a good cushion. Why then do I only give 3 stars when the shop fulfills all my cheap crafty needs? The service. The service is slow. There also seems to be no limit on how much perfume one man can buy - surely this is just going to end up on a market stall somewhere? That or perfume giving has become compulsary at Easter? Maybe a quick stop at Wilko's was what Jesus rose for.* *Sorry** **I'm not really sorry

Built between 1914 and 1921 this is one of the most prominent older buildings in Manchester city…read morecentre, at the end of Market Street on Cross Street going into St Ann's Square. Despite being damaged in two separate bombings, the Manchester Blitz during the Second World War and 1996 IRA bombings of the city, it still stands strong and looks good today. The Arcade is a small walkway with mainly independent shops, cafes and jewellery stores and as I recall there is a barber too, many of the shops seem to change frequently especially the cafes and are closer to high-end. The building its-self does look great as it links St Ann's Square to Cross Street, however the range of shops and everything else isn't too impressive, and it is more of a place to go "Oh, look at that stunning building" than "Oh, let's shop in that stunning building". The building as a whole (which isn't the shopping centre) includes a Theatre, which is on the St Ann's Square side and looks pretty modern and impressive. Perhaps it could benefit from more light and better shops, but still it's a nice historic building in the city centre so that has to earn an extra star but other than that it isn't really impressive. 2*

I love the Royal Exchange Arcade. Ok, it's not the biggest arcade you'll ever see, but it's full of…read morecharm and if you work nearby it has everything you need uncover if you're on a quick break (and it's raining). There's a card shop, gift shop, jewellers, framing store, barbers/salon, coffee shop and last but not least, a pawn shop should you need to flog something for a quick buck. I love this time of year when the arcade dresses itself up for Christmas. In fact it's fair to say that I'd love to work in one of these quaint little shops, I'm sure there's a real sense of community here and it takes you back to times gone by when independent owners went that extra mile to make their customers feel welcome. Now it's all high street homogeny.