Never had walked into a the works before, I quickly realised it was like a cheaper alternative to…read moreWH Smiths. There was however a very long queue which ended in me returning the stationary I had picked up and going to another shop.

Recently we were looking out for the latest craze fidget spinners, and found some amazing designs…read moreand patterns at affordable prices only on The works. They have a wide variety of fidget spinners; glow In The Dark Finger Fidget Spinner, Metal Ninja Spin Fidget Spinner, Light Up Finger Fidget Spinner, Metallic Finger Fidget Spinner Gadgets,Camouflage Koachi Finger Fidget Spinner and a lot more to look for. They have everything suitable for kids and adults as well. Great work The works!

This is a really nice WH Smiths, located over two floors at the shopping centre - downstairs they…read morehave an amazing magazine selection, as well books. They have quite a lot of good deals, with books on offer very regularly. They sell stationary, DVD and CDs as well. The queues are served quickly, and they are very rarely large. The staff are very polite and helpful.

I called in this branch of Waterstones before my train home from London Euston station nearby, this…read morebranch is on Tottenham Court Road, in a rather central London location, albeit it isn't as big as their flagship store as Piccadilly it is still a pretty decent branch, it's a new store, it feels new and as I recall it only opened in around 2016. They had a pretty decent selection, including multiple cafes (I don't really see the point of having two in a bookshop? surely having one cafe and more space for books would be a better idea or even space for toilets etc?) There wasn't a great deal of staff around the shop floor, I only noticed one person working at the tills which was a shame, and when it did get a little busy it would be hard to ask for assistance or where something is for example. The store did have slightly too many stands in the way, which meant pass through the store was slightly difficult, but this wasn't as bad as other stores. Overall a decent Waterstones store, it feels quite modern and does stand out compared to other branches I've visited, space could be utilised better with perhaps more staff to satisfy demand and offer assistance from locating to recommending a book. 3*

This branch of Waterstones - along with all of its other branches - is now closed temporarily, due…read moreto the coronavirus situation.

Paperchase is a fairly unusual brand, one which surprised me to find in a railway station, it is…read morelocated in "The Arcade" and is pretty much your average Paperchase, it is fairly close to other retailers in the station such as WHSmith and John Lewis, the latter provided more of a shock to be in the train station than this. So, the second time I've visited a Paperchase "Travel" branch, this store does stand out a little more appearing to be more modern than Leeds, albeit it appears to be smaller. The selection is really basic and limited due to the size of the store and mainly consists of fancy and overpriced pens and mediocre high-end gift-cards. I came in to buy a bag, which the staff member did charge me for, normally they avoid the long card transactions and don't mind giving me a bag at other stores, but they charged me for it - I thought okay as it was only 5p. Just as I left the store, a member of staff followed me and was looking around me and my friend, I think she was accusing us of stealing and trying to catch something with our other bags or suitcases as she circled us, standing outside the store and left straight away. Do they not trust me? I thought that was just really bad service, why would I want to steal their tacky shit anyway, which would probably be a minor insult to receive, and perhaps worse to buy because of the overpriced nature. Bad selection and the worst service I've received in a Paperchase with obnoxious, rude staff. 1*

This is a lovely little shop situated in St. Pancras station. As the redevelopment of St.Pancras…read morestation is fairly new - so is the shop. It's all very modern, light and airy. The main focus of this shop is things like cards, gift bags and small gifty items - you know, the sort of things you forget and have to buy on the spur of the moment! There has always been 2 members of staff in the shop when I have been in, always talking to each other but as soon as anyone requires help or to pay for something they stop talking which I find quite nice as most sales assistants would try and carry on their conversation! As for Paperchase itself, it is all lovely quality and all their designs are unique, fashionable and bright.

This is a large WHSmith store, a travel location serving London Victoria Station. They have a great…read moreselection of travel essentials such as a drinks fridge, including a small selection of alcohol, that covers almost the whole wall on the right side of the store. Prices are high here, ultimately you're paying for convenience, if you have more time, you can pick up 90% of the items here at a fraction of the cost, even just a couple of minutes down the road. This is the case at pretty much every WHSmith Travel location. There is a Nescafe Azera coffee machine here, obviously, you have the usual suspects inside the station, but this coffee machine is especially useful if you're in a hurry ahead of getting a train, and don't have time to wait at Starbucks/Costa etc. The checkout area seemed a little too compact for my liking, it became a little messy rather quickly, given the size of the store, it's almost unacceptable as they could easily improve the area. 4*

A larger than average station branch of W H Smiths, located right in the heart of the station, and…read moreset over two floors. The ground floor has a huge (and unsurprisingly busy) magazine and newspaper section, as well as a smaller book section, selling fiction, travel and business books. It's usually packed with commuters browsing the magazines while waiting for their train. There's also a food cabinet selling a limited range of drinks and pre-packed sandwiches. Upstairs is the cards and stationery section, with a large choice of greeting cards.

A large tidy branch, that holds a lot of stock; they have quite a big selection of CDs and DVDs as…read morewell as stationary, diaries etc, although these don't seem to vary very much year to year. They have a large section devoted to greeting cards and another for books and then an entire wall for magazines, I think you'd find most unusual/specialist titles in there. There are not many tills, but I've not ever have to queued for too long in there. They tend to have soem good things in the bargain bins around the shop as well.

This branch may be good for Ealing, but it does not compare particularly favourably to other…read moreSmiths's in the region and I simply cannot allow it to show with 5 stars! Having re-arranged the tills, the queueing system does work well but I have had to wait several minutes at peak times. Certain parts of the store can be a little cluttered, although this may be generic to the brand. Book prices are often not as aggressive as Waterstones, and always much more than the supermarkets.

The best bookstore in London. They have such a great collection - I can find books I can't find…read moreother places (and I've looked hard!!) Also great cafe, restrooms, and staff!

Best bookstore in London for language books (Celtic, German, English, Italian, Spanish, French,…read moreHebrew, Arabic, Ukrainian, Polish, Russian, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Greek, Dutch, etc.!!) and it has a cafe upstairs as well as a huge kids books area.

One of the Paperchase branches to survive the recent cull, this faces the main concourse of the…read morestation and is on two levels. The ground floor focuses on a wide selection of greetings cards, providing a good choice of designs. They also have a small number of gift items. Upstairs (up a fairly steep staircase) they sell a wide range of upscale stationery.