Darlington is one of my most favourite places for a shopping trip. I spent many a Saturday there…read moreuntil I moved away fromhome, but visit regularly still when I go 'home' to visit my parents. On Saturday, we went to Boyes. I've always been a fan of Boyes - as a child it was the sweets and the pocket-money toys that attracted me there, as a teenager it was the clothes, shoes and make-up, when I first left home it was the DIY products, the curtains and the general bric-a-brac for the home, and now it's the craft pieces (and still the sweets). So we always spend a good half hour in here. Boyes has remained exactly the same for the last 20 years - the items are similar and they're even located in the same place as they always were. As you enter the store, there's the baby clothes and other items, the sweets, then the toys, homeware such as towels, and the knitting patterns and materials. Upstairs is the DIY stuff, the make-up and the clothes and shoes. Sadly, despite Boyes being a firm favourite, they lose a star for having part of their store inaccessible to wheelchair users. There's a small raised section devoted to materials, and although it has Stanna-type stairlifts, there is no access for people that are unable to walk. They have lifts between the ground floor and the first floor, but these are very small. Apart from that, the store offers a fantastic range of products and their prices are competitive.

Went into here looking for latch hook materials but unfortunately they only do the kit boxes. As…read morealways ended up getting some other stuff, always a bargin to be had in any Boyes store no matter where u go.

This is one of Marks and Spencer's more modern shops and has recently had a bit of refurbish. It's…read morea large one with a huge women's wear section and food hall on the ground floor and up stairs there's the cafe, children's wear, underwear and mens. Some of the staff I find are lovely women but others I have been disgusted at the way they look down their nose at you, especially some managers! Not very encouraging for the company! The queues move quickly here and I like the fact this shop has some toilets for everyone, not just customers of the cafe!

Very large department store having had a recent refurbishment. Spread over two floors linked via a…read morecentral escalator. You can access this shop either by the doors which lead outside to Linthorpe road which is the main shopping area in Middlesbrough or via The Hill street shopping centre. The food hall stocks a wide range of food, from Sandwiches to more substantial food for bigger meals. There is a park and collect service which is fab when you buy a large amount of food. There are plenty of fashions available for all ages both male and female as well as a good home department which sells furniture. You can finish you shopping experience with a visit to the Cafe which as well as drinks serves small snacks.A bureau de change is sited upstairs A very nice shop, well lit and presented and as you would exoect with Marks and spencers good customer service.

Bins or House of Fraser which it is linked to is very easy to find in Middlesbrough. On the main…read moreshopping street opposite Debenhams. The basement is the men's floor with expensive brands such as French Connection and Scot and Lyle, ground floor is mainly handbags and premium beauty products where once again those on the counters of brands such as YSL, Dior, and other big names think they are too good to talk to you. The 1st floor is my favourite having Warehouse, Oasis, All Saints, Bench and Coast on it. There is also a big underwear range including Wonderbra where the women are nice and chatty. Bins is quieter and cooler than the other department stores. It's quite an original building with no escalators (lifts of course) and quite simple but effective decor. There is also a café and a home and children's wear section.

I love the stairs in this place! They're towards the back and spiral, I remember when I was little…read moreI used to go to the top and look down. But for those not fond of walking there are lifts! It's easily accessible from the high street, and it's right near Captain Cooks Square. The basement has a cafe and mens wear. The ground is makeup, accessories, shoes and bags (essential for us girls!). I would definitely recommend the shoe department here especially at sale time, there are some really nice shoes and heels often more than half price, I got some coast heels for about £70, a bargain I thought! The first floor is younger womens fashion with oasis, coast and warehouse, it's quite pricy usually but hit it at sale time for really good reductions, especially in the coast and warehouse sections. Childrens section is also on this floor. The second floor is older womens fashion but for the younger don't be put off as there are often some good bargains lurking about. The third floor is china, the fourth homeware and the fifth beds. It's a really nice organised shop with generally helpful staff. It's a very posh awe inspiring place but it's good to shop at, just make sure you look out for sale dates!

I'm so thankful that Billingham has this Boyes store! It's so handy and so convenient! The stock is…read moreextensive DIY, Electrical, Kitchen/Homewares, Haberdashery, Cleaning, Toiletries and whole host of other things are stocked in this 3 storey department store. The Basement even features a wide range of home furnishings, unfortunately the prices of these are often shockingly high! But for day to day purchases of household goods, Boyes is perfect.

Boyes is one of my favourite stores in Billingham town centre. It has a huge range of stock. There…read moreis a clothes section with a great choice of clothes for men, women, children and babies. They have a section for sweets which the kids love. A range of toys, stationary, household goods, kitchen items and beauty products. All of this is just downstairs. The store also has a basement with carpets, rugs and furniture on offer and upstairs there is a huge range of DIY products and craft items including fabric, wool, buttons, lace, ribbon, cross stitch items and stamps and paper crafts. The store staff are always really cheerful and helpful and the products are all very reasonably priced.

Boyes sells a bit of everything but I go there mainly to buy material and craft bits 'n' bobs. Some…read moreof their items are bargain prices but others can be found cheaper elsewhere so it depends if you're in the mood to shop around. This particular Boyes is ok but the staff always seem a bit moody and not very willing to help (they expected me to reach up and take down a huge roll of material by myself!)

Boyes Boyes who could live without a boyes!!! Set on 2 two floors this store has the usualy…read morefantastic priced items for your home, beauty and clothing needs. Because of the amount of items the shop stocks it can be quite tight to get around the shelves but you wont be dissapointed!!! There is a great section upstairs with lots of material just perfect for dressing up needs and lots of buttons and braiding you can imagine. The health and beauty items available are such good prices and lots are well known makes! The sweets are often of offer , the children toy section is good although you never know what is going to be in. Go here and you will usually find you will not leave without opening your purse!

This branch of Marks and Spencer is located on Teesside Retail Park. It's on the right hand side as…read moreyou enter the main square, near Zavvi. This is quite a large branch, set out over two floors. Downstairs they have a dedicated food section, then moving left you come to the women's clothing. They have shoes, lingerie, and lots of lovely fashion. The only one I actually notice is Per Una, so truth be told, I don't know if they stock other brands, as I've only noticed the Per Una. They have some really nice items. Most of it is out of my price range, but I have been lucky there when they've had end of season sales one. The service is excellent. The fitting rooms are really quite spacious and luxurious, compared to what I'm used to in Asda, for example! The staff are friendly and helpful. Upstairs, they have men's clothing, and a gift section, and homewares. Last time I was in, I noticed they also had a television section upstairs! This was new to me, but it was a smart little section, not a lot of choice, but the service, again, was excellent. The lady took time out to talk me through some of the products, and was really helpful. About twenty years ago I thought Marks and Spencer was really posh, and the epitome of quality and good service. Then it sort of went downhill, but I think they're climbing back up now.

This is a handy, decent sized Marks and Spencers store which is is part of Teesside Retail Park…read more Because of this there is plenty of car parking outside and it is open later than your average store. I am not sure of the exact hours but I think around 8pm on an average night. As well as the usual ranges of fashion, homeware, food etc there is a cafe on the first floor and a currency exchange which is handy as M&S often have good rates. Personally I think that M&S have become more competitive in recent years and I am now shopping her more and more.

This is a reasonably large branch of Wilkinson located in the Castlegate Centre in Stockton Town…read moreCentre, which stocks homewares, DIY and car accessories, toiletries, cleaning products, seasonal stock (gardening, Christmas goods etc), toys, stationary, partyware, household goods and a host of other everyday essentials. It can get very busy, especially on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons but they always attempt to open extra tills when queues form, or let customers pay for their shopping at the Customer Service Desk/Help Desk. Wilkinson's sell many bargains and is well worth checking out if you're planning to undertake any decorating tasks, looking for a cheap Xmas tree or just looking for washing powder bargains!

I'm not really sure why but there's something about this store that I just love! It is situated in…read morethe Castlegate shopping centre in Stockton, and is set over two floors, with a huge range of products, from cosmetics to homewares, at bargain prices. I was in there a few days ago and they had 25% off on all of the toys in store, most of which were already cheaper than other stores such as Tesco and Argos. I bought my son a lovely toy for his birthday and some bits and pieces for my daughter's Christmas stocking. We've also had some great bargains on DVDs in the store; a couple of years back we got a Spiderman 2 DVD for about 3 pounds, and it had'nt even been out that long. I have always found the staff to be friendly and helpful, and the store very clean. I would really recommend this store if you love a bargain, and I personally could spend hours browsing this shop and their huge variety of good quality brand name products.

Everything from my previous review is still accurate - Wilko sell a very wide range of products…read more(including a lot of their own brand stuff now, which is a lot cheaper than the big name brands), all at great prices. Whatever you need, from fuses to cat food, you'll find it here! And if you want something specific and don't want to have a wasted trip then you can order online and have it delivered to or reserved at the store. It's a brilliant shop but unfortunately this particular one loses a star due to lack of local parking and due to the occasionally flooding on the street outside the store, which can make it difficult to get in or out.

Wilkinson is a great shop in Redcar. It's quite far up the high street so definitely a bit of a…read morewalk but it's worth it for the bargains it has. It sells a selection of things here from kitchen equipment to pets accessories. The prices are usually quite good. Everything is well priced but their 10p sales are legendary. It's quite a large shop and nicely lit. The staff are always really friendly too. One thing to note is although it sells a mixture of own brand things and other big brands the big brands such as L'oreal, Patntane etc can often be found else where cheaper. My son loves the childrens section and these are always really well priced. Queues can sometimes be quite long though