claude london just been through tunnel furniture didnt think…read moreshop was so big from the outside 9 rooms packed with fabulous things the best antique shop ive ever been in prices were cheap staff very freindly

At first glance Tunnel Furniture and Antiques appears to be like something straight out of an…read moreepisode of steptoe and son, however it is so much more than old tat or bric a brac. The shop is found via a darkened doorway on Tunnel Road and there appears to be nothing special about the place, however this could not be further from the truth. There are some genuinely great finds within the shop at a great price also and although they may fall short of the antique marker they are still great quality. I came accross a solid oak table of vast size for a price of eighty pounds which was extraordinary value for a brilliant product. If you are a member of the public scouring Liverpool for some good quality furniture to brighten your humble abode then I suggest you take a peek inside the treasure trove that is Tunnel Furniture.

Yes, I'm a little bit odd and like owning stuff nobody else has, and usually this means either…read moremaking it myself, having it made by somebody else, or finding really old stuff that doesn't get made anymore. As far as the latter goes, it seems this is a catching on trend, and is known as 'vintage'. Everyone wants something vintage. Which makes me want it less. However, 69A manages to keep me grounded. It's just off-the-cuff enough to stay out of mainstream, and has a feeling that you've clambered into the boot of a Lada at a car boot sale (those not as old fashioned as me may want to google Lada cars...) It is packed with goodies from all eras, and has enough variety to keep you sifting through for a whole afternoon, should the feeling take you. Hopefully not about to be hijacked by the kids who view it as a fad, 69A has been around long enough to hold its own in the vintage stakes and outlast the craze. And then I can go back to liking vintage again.

I always come here for a browse, just because I'm never really sure what I'm going to find!…read more Dust-covered hardback poetry and prose share shelving happily with Dance and Acid House records and 18th century chinese dynasty clocks share cabinet space with tatty looking curios. It is all seemingly a jumbled explosion of antiques with an Art Deco style figure, worth £450 rubbing shoulders with a disused chimney pot. However, clearly although there are second hand clothes, earrings, ties galore, records and brooches, knick-knacks and badges there are also some pretty good buys if you fancy yourself as a bit of a collector (or at least have seen enough episodes of Antiques Roadshow to think you can spot a bargain). Mainly you need to look up to see these, the expensive stuff tends to be locked away or like the vases which line the walls, a little out of reach. In the glass cases at the front I noticed 69A has a great selection of pottery from Poole's to a really cool 1960s Wedgewood blown glass art vase. The wierdest thing that sticks out in my mind which I've seen in one of the back cabinets is an unused pair of 1965 pajamas Age 2-3 still in its cellophane. Odd. So come here if you want an interesting and strange trip back in time!

Just because you can see everything that's on display here does not necessarily mean that it is a…read morelesser antique and collectibles store than your usual dusty and cluttered affair in which clambering around things and digging underneath piles is the usual course of events. I was, however, prevented from doing any sort of digging whatsoever as the shop was still closed and left under the care of the hippies from a nearby store. Apparently the woman who owned the shop was running a bit late today and would not be in til 14.00. The shop normally opens at 12 as well. However the store had an impressive display of cameras, old toys, art and a bright turquiose typewriter I was bit taken with - if only I could get to it.

Ah, Collage! I love you! :) After two years of living in Merseyside I finally found Gostins and…read morediscovered the delights of the many adorable shops and all they afford. Collage is by far one of my favourite shops in Gostins. They are an antiques and collectables shop and as the name suggests, they offer a fair variety of items all arranged artfully and happily on shelves, glass display cabinets, and baskets and boxes. Here you will find antique buttons, china, toys, books, collectables, decorations, jewellery, tableware and other kitchen items, and so much more. My favorite items were the old buttons (I need to go back for some!) and the little collectable animals from Rose Red tea boxes--I used to collect those back home in America when I was a kid. I bought a fox one four £4. I'm very pleased with my little critter. :) The shop also sells a small number of crafty items like packs of new buttons and charms. Everything is reasonably priced and the lady is very friendly and chatty. :) I highly recommend this shop!

From the outside, it's a ramshackle dilapidated church with peeling painted wooden chairs tacked to…read morethe front and a garden full of bits of bric a brac and tat. As you walk through the front doors you're confronted with a wall of mirrors, it's a little 'creepy fairground' style with old dusty teddies adorning dressers and sitting on chairs. There seems to be lots of rubbish here, but if you look closely there are some realy bargains hidden away behind looming chests of drawers and quite a few cheap items around. They deliver locally; 1 item of furniture £10, 2; £15 and a three piece suite can be brought to your door for £20. The seemingly floating chairs which hang all over the inside of the church make me feel like I'm at a ceiling tea party. Also there are stacks of books and old videos to laugh through if the surroundings don't weird you out too much.

It seems odd to class this place as an antique shop as that is not quite true. Barry's…read moreCollectibles in fact trades in any sort of collectible item especially within a pop culture framework. This leads Barry's to house tons of different gear from comics, cartoon and superhero figures and loads of football memoribilia. There is a lot of footy collectibles ranging from scarves to kits, matchday programmes to sticker annuals. With many of the items including toys and merchandise even from very recent films such as Batman it is the type of place that makes you wish you had kept hold of some of those toys, or maybe slightly envious of those kids who kept hold of all their toys and boxes - mind you I had fun playing with my toys and getting them scuffed up was just a sign of how much, who kept these toys safely locked away in their boxes?!

Oooooh! So much to look at! Bright and colourful, filled with all sorts of vintage and antiques,…read moreBarry's is packed with collectables for the child at heart and the older generation who remember the way things used to be "back in the good old days." Probably my favourite part of Barry's is the display of old children's books along one wall. I love children's books anyway, but old ones have a certain charm, and they remind me of the books my parents had when they were kids and passed on to us. They also sell antique coins, figurines, war memorabilia, china, etc. There is something for nearly everyone here, even if you are only window shopping. :)

Ahh, the jingling jangling of the door bells as you enter, the ticking of the mass of clocks…read morehanging jauntily on the walls, the dust, the smell of old books and wood. I love antique shops, mainly because, well, they're full of crap, but amidst this cluttered mess of mirrors, stacked old chairs and tables, statuettes and wagon wheels (why?!), there are some cool, quirky items that would look great in a new apartment that you want to make your own. The owner looked particularly happy to see us and was more than willing to chat about some select pieces we had our eye on. It's a bit difficult to get around in there as seriously, stuff is just piled on top of each other pretty much up to the entrance, however, if you have the patience to pick through it you might just find a bargain.

Oh I get it, Remains...to be seen, as in antiquities to see here - and not festering body parts…read morelike I expected on my entrance to this strange shop of curios. Any hint of foul play was of course well hidden by the pungent aroma of a burning jostick which thoroughly smashed me in the face as I opened the door - is it in the contract to be an antique dealer to have the premises smell of josticks? Josticks, check. Layers of dust, check. Retired old hippy, check. It's all part of the fun of course, you don't enter these places looking for something you actually need, that's what John Lewis is for. Nor do you go in expecting to see something in particular and the fact that everything is covered in an inch of dust only adds to the Big Trouble In Little China situation you hope to find yourself in. Im not a collector and I have no idea if anything in there was of any value, however I like it because the owner was such a nice old chap with time on his hands to discuss the objects he had there - of course he too seemed to know if anything he had there was of any value. When I asked about some film posters I was sure were not worth much he said he just took them off a mate to fill the space on the wall - I've seen Lovejoy and I know he could have had me there if he really tried.

I hate being let down by antique shops. I want to see clutter! I want to see mysterious cardboard…read moreboxes in the shadows! I want to see knick-knacks and sheet music and silk scarves and embroidered handkerchiefs ... Alas, Libbie-Low offers only a selection of antique furniture, some tacky vintage wall art, and a very small selection of collectables which you will have to crawl behind furniture to find in a display case nearly covered over by other furniture--I assume you have to ask someone to move everything if you actually want one of those items. There are a few more interesting items on display in the front window, which I guess is how this lady draws in her customers--but trust me, there's not that much to see inside. Unless you like taxidermy, and then you will be enthralled by the stuffed fox munching on a stuffed pheasant. Because that's worth seeing ...

Rachel Zoe would have a field day in Somewhere in Time…read more Seriously. There's so much great stock in this vintage boutique, she'd probably have to buy a couple of crates and charter her own private plane to haul them back to L.A! Beautifully decorated like an old Hollywood actress's attic, Somewhere has wooden floorboards, old cabinets packed with jewellery and accessories and lots of old black and white photos that give it a genuine boho feel. There's racks of incredible vintage dresses, skirts, suits, blouses, knitwear and coats dotted everywhere you look and a few select dresses hanging from the ceiling. I can't claim to be be able to spot an Ossie Clark dress from a hundred feet but I can tell that the owner of SIT is clearly a dedicated fashion follower that has encylopediac knowledge of different styles and periods in fashion history.

I have a soft spot for shops named after movies (and movies named after shops for that matter!)…read moreSomewhere in Time is one of my all time favourite movies, so stumbling across this little treasure of a shop was quite a delight for me. Somewhere in time is a vintage clothing shop and antique shop in one. Here you will find vintage dresses in excellent condition, like the 1940's white tennis dress I spied, as well as vintage shoes with a lot of wear left in them, and all kinds of antiques from hardcover books to teacups. Some neat collectable items I spotted: antique dollhouse furniture, cute earrings and other costume jewellery, and a shelf of classic novels. So, if you like vintage clothing as much as I do, and if you love the movie Somewhere in Time, why not pop in here and see if you can find a dress worthy of Jane Seymour's character, Elise McKenna.