The prices are high, but it's a student town - and this place stocks a lot of useful books for…read morestudents. The staff range from remarkably polite, helpful and knowledgable to incoherent, grunting goths who sit there reading Lovecraft. However, if there's a book you want, there's a good chance they'll have it at a reasonable price, and it's a nice, roomy shop in a good location.

The usual Oxfam mixture of the very best of their donations (what happens to the rest?) and several…read moreshelves of overpriced gifty tat. Ok, it's for charity, but it does feel more and more like Oxfam are making less use of their donated items and more time competing with other high street businesses. Not my favourite place to shop.

I decided to take a spontaneous trip to Aberystwyth for the first time ever last summer and whilst…read morewandering around I spotted Andys Records there on Northgate Street. I found it very appealing from the outside as it has that classic record store look that you don't see so much these days, I was drawn inside to have a browse. I was surprised to find that there were some really cool records in there that I wouldn't expect to see if this store was located somewhere like Cardiff. And I was further surprised at their prices. Usually when I find a record that I've never seen anywhere else to buy before, the price reflects this and then I find myself battling my conscience as to whether I should spend that much money or not. At Andy's this was not the case. They price their records very fairly depending on their condition, rarity and age. Andy clearly knows the market and it very approachable if you want to talk about a potential purchase. To top it off, you don't even have to make the journey all the way up to north Wales as they have an online store. You can even make your own offer on items!

My favourite kiosk in Aberystwyth somehow. I liked the old owners but the new people who work here…read moreare friendly, too. The shop is painted in yellow now. So you should not miss it. I love just getting the Sunday Times EVERY Sunday. This contributes to my perfect Sunday morning. Fresh and very good coffee, a nicely scented candle, Radio 2 (Tradition - Sunday Love Songs on Radio 2) or Internet Radio and the ST or the Independent. Here, I buy Y Cymro, the Welsh weekly paper and also milk and sometimes a chocolate bar; and / or Elle and VOGUE.

This was my friendly local newsagent for my first two years Aber and I still make the effort to…read morecall in sometimes. While the 24 hour Spa is convenient there's a lovely 'old-fashioned' feel to a little corner shop like this. It also sells local postcards and photo magnets (which I've never seen anywhere else in the town, despite a long search one day!) Worth a visit.

A small W.H Smiths which I find too small. Very little room to move and not much on offer. they…read morehave a average priced stationary section and a average priced entertainment section. The only good thing about it is its large magazine seciton which has alot to offer. Most of the specialist magazines in aber can be only bought from smiths.

This is an ideal sized WH Smith to have in Aber, as it stocks all the essential stationary and it…read morehas a lot of dvds with some cds and dvds to boot. Everyone knows by now what to expect with stationary so I won't go into that but the dvd stock is exceptional. There is always a large amount of boxsets, both TV shows and film combinations that are cheap and popular. There is a full top 40 chart for dvds as well as cds and books, so this Smiths is a great place to start your shopping trip around Aber.

This craft centre used to be a brilliant must visit place but now it looks very run down…read more Time the site owners gave it a makeover and tidied up the footpaths, borders etc. Must be heartbreaking for the unit holders who have some lovely items for sale.

Corris craft centre is one of those places that I think I have always taken for granted. You see I…read morefirst went there when I was seven years old ad loved it there because it had this massive park that you could go and play on as a kid while the parents went around the boring shops. As I have got older I now appreciate all of the shops there as they are lovely but I do think I forget just what a nice place it is because I have been there so many times. This came to my attention when I took some friends there and they had an excellent time and to be honest I think that if you are in Mid Wales then it is well worth a visit. - What is Corris? Well Corris is essentially a craft centre and is quite well known within mid Wales as the little shops look like little bee hives and people travel from miles around to visit as you can truly spend a day there. It has quite a lot of shops which sell things ranging from children's toys to candles to wood furniture. The craft shops are small and prices do range from being quite cheap to being very expensive depending on what you are after. Corris craft centre is more than just the shops though as it has a nice café and is surrounded by several walks which are all simply stunning. There is also a labyrinth here which tells the story of King Arthur which is brilliant so as you can imagine you can easily spend a full day here. -- Where is Corris? Corris is situated in the Dulas Valley in Mid Wales and the address is as follows; Corris Craft Centre. Corris, Machynlleth, Powys, SY20 9RF. It is easy to find as there is a road running right by it and as in most of Wales it is just one main road to get through to places so you should not get lost really. It is well sign posted too and if you get into Machynlleth then you cant really go wrong and Machynlleth is signposted from by Shrewsbury and Welshpool. -- Parking: There is plenty of parking which is located at the back of the centre but you can always find a space. It is literally a minute walk to get to the entrance from the car park and even if there are no spaces then Corris village centre has car parking spaces too. - Location: The location is lovely as it is right in the middle of Dulas Valley so when you get there the scenery is simply stunning with hills and mountain all around you. It is situated on a relatively main road which has major links to other towns and villages and more importantly walks so even if you get bored at Corris there is so much to do everywhere that you will have a great time. The drive there is also lovely as the roads are main but the scenery will take your breath away. -- The Shops: The craft shops there are great and they have expanded recently and made some lovely new ones. I will give you a quick description of them all now and the type of things you can by and the prices to expect. The toy shop The toy shop is full of wonderful things some for children to have fun with and others are educational. It is sweet here as because they make everything on site you can often have children's names printed on the toys at a small cost. Prices in this shop are quite reasonable and my favourite item are the painted stools you can buy which are £15 each. The tourist shop If you want to buy fudge or key-rings or picture frames then there is a shop for it. The prices are very cheap and some items are great. I particularly like the books they have there which detail Welsh legends and there are brochures on all the walks in the area if you want to get some details on where to go. King Arthur shop As you can guess this is where you buy your tickets to get to the labyrinth which are priced at around £3 for children and £6 for adults. The clay shop I love it here as you can paint your own plates and bowls and you can also buy clay to make things when you are back at home. They sell cute little mushroom houses is what I call them and also these great Welsh dragons that breathe out incense smoke which are very cool. The dragons are from about £10 and are my favourite item in the shop. The jewellery shop As you can probably guess this is one of my favourites. They specialise in silver and white gold in here and have some gorgeous things including special engagement rings. The prices range from some cheaper necklaces at about £4 each and then you can go up to about £500 on some things. They are in nice display cabinets and the staffs in there are always happy to chat to you. The candle shop I love it in here as they make some really exotic candles that at times you can see them making in the shop. They also sell lots of things for the garden including small ornaments and it is a very decorative shop and the prices are very cheap. Wood shops There are actually two shops that I think are quite similar to each other and they are both very expensive but they do do some lovely things. They even will do things to order as once our friend wrote

The idea of the Quarry Shop is great. Buy local and shop locally and green…read more Unfortunately, there are many local people who are too poor to shop here. I like the veggie spreads they do, tofu, jams and marmelades, the herbal tea, the local milk. The bread tastes very nice, also the rolls. It is a shop along the high street. They sell Weleda and Ecover products here.

3 miles from the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) itself in the small town of Machynlleth,…read moreand just along the main street from the Quarry Café, is the Quarry Shop. A great wholefood store with vast amounts of jam, vegetarian and vegan goodness, friendly staff and a rack of homeopathic remedies for those niggling ills you pick up every now and then. Worth a visit to stock up on some staples. Don't miss the brown quarry rolls mega sandwiches can be made from this lovely homebaked bread delivered from the café.

This is a good-sized bookshop with 2 floors, the bottom of which is devoted to student textbooks,…read moreboth new and second-hand. This all sounds very reasonable and to be honest it is, although textbooks are incredibly expensive. The problems really start when you are not looking for textbooks but a fiction book or, god forbid, a bestseller. There is no display of any sort for bestsellers and trying to find a specific book is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. It is all badly layed out and disorganised. Avoid unless looking for textbooks.

I live in Newtown so tend to go into this branch more than the bigger one in Mach. I love it! The…read moregirl in thee is lovely and orders me in Portmeirion tableware!! The stuff is top quality, unusual, affordable and you know it's been fairly traded -where applicable- It's one shop whereI'd love to work if ever there was a job vacancy..or have them stock my handcrafted baby comforters!!! They've come a long way in the 15yrs I've lived in Newtown. Well worth a visit if your passing any of the shops.

When I first lived in Machynlleth I used to go here all the time. There is nothing comparable there…read morelocally! I like the cups and mugs they sell, the serviettes are too pricey (4 pounds for paper napkins), 6 Euros. They sell toys, a great selection of cards for all occasions such as birthdays and Valentine's, Easter, Get Well. They have figures from wood, vases, many African and Aftrican-style gifts. I like some of the clothes they sell, e.g. from Jackpot. I have a black dress from here. In the summer, I like the Ian Snow wind chimes. Nice!