Bolton Market Place is the main shopping centre in Bolton town centre, it isn't too bad for a small…read moretown and they have spent time/money on improving the centre and making it nice. Retailers located here include Boots, Clarks, JD Sports, Next and Vision Express. There is a much larger selection of shops on the high street, outside of the shopping centre, but I always prefer indoor centres especially on the cold, rainy days which we get more of our fair share of in England! My favourite area of the shopping centre is "The Vaults", which is the basement of the shopping centre. They've made it look very nice, with the exposed brickwork and it is also home to restaurants including Nando's and Prezzo. There is also a cinema within the mall from, Light Cinema. More recently, the mall is being used by the Bolton GP Federation and the NHS to provide COVID-19 vaccinations, I love this idea as it is helping the local community have easy access to vaccinations in the town centre. Many empty units sadly... it is such a shame to see as this mall really does have potential. Despite being rather empty, it still has a nice feel to it and the mall security to feel safe. 3*

A few months on and more improvement, they deserve another star!…read more Things are looking up for the market place and they are slowly transforming it into a place you'd want to spend your time. Football season is over for me which means Saturday's are now free again - the missus loves that - that also means I am open to be dragged around shopping centres each weekend now.. It was FA Cup final day however and luckily she does like Football so we decided instead of a trip to Manchester, we'd venture into Bolton and see what the developments were looking like. Definitely an improvement on my last visit a few month ago, and we spent just under 2 hours here on Saturday, which 5 years ago you just simply couldn't do! The 'Vaults' are open and starting to have more and more going on there, so far: Prezzo, Nandos and Great Ale are in there but Chef's Quarter and couple more offerings are in the works. The best thing about this visit was seeing the weekend markets! The market place has not had individual market stall since I was a wee kipper - so a good 15 years and it's great see them bringing back the old school approach even with the new modern building!

I only visit this store for the children shoes although I've been assured by a relative that the…read morewoman's shoes and accessories on the second floor are very good, but for the purposes of the review I will be focusing on the children department. The store appears to be quite compact and there is a small step to enter it. There's not a lot of room downstairs to fit many customers let alone buggies so i'd avoid entering if it looks busy and maybe go back later. However the good think about this being an independent shoe shop is that you get the benefit of choice between Clarks and Start Rite (as well as other popular brands such as lelli kelly etc) It's worthwhile to note that they do have a loyalty scheme in the kids department where you buy x amount of shoes and get one pair free, which is an obvious incentive for you to shop there and a very welcome one at that due to how fast kids feet grow! However, apart from the size my main gripe with this shop is the staff. Whilst shopping in there they'd left piles of boxes right near the shoe display and on the already narrow floor in front of it a very obvious hazard. My son tripped on it and grazed the skin off of his forehead head resulting in tears and a very shocked little boy. The staff did not apologise for the hazard THEY left there and nor did they show any concern for his well being. I had to ask, twice, for an antiseptic wipe. They were well aware of what had happened, they witnessed it and yet they made no effort to do anything about it and there was no mention of an accident report book which would have been whipped out pretty quickly by one of the better known competitor chains. This in my eyes in sheer unacceptable and is the main reason I would NOT shop here again. Customer service is vital to any retail outlet and here it is painfully lacking.

From the owner: Maintaining a high level of quality in getting Shoes fitted correctly.read more

A wide selection of shoes at bargain prices. Shoes for everyone including men, woman and children…read moreof all ages both formal and casual. The prices are very affordable yet many are manmade materials so quality is not top of the list. however, for the prices they charge it's worth a look as they hold a lot of stock and variety to choose from. Although packed full of stock the shop isn't too over crowded and the staff are approachable.

Clarks has a wide selection of shoes for men and women. There are plenty of styles and colours to…read morechoose from, and the prices are affodable. This store is reasonable organised and the staff are very effcient and willing to help their customers.

Topshop is situated in the Market Place shopping centre in Bolton town centre…read more There are car parks which are pay and display around the town and the bus station is not too far away from the town centre. The store front of Topshop is modern, attractive and clean. The window display is eyecatching and up to date.great. The inside of the store is large, clean and spacious and there are lots of displays which are imaginative and inspiring. This branch of Topshop has the capacity to hold a good range of lines and also has room to accomodate a good sized sale without causing cramping. There are shoes, underwear, bags and accessories too. The products are reasonabley priced and high quality. There are changing rooms within the store and these are clean and spacious. The checkout is to the right of the store in the centre and is normally well staffed. Staff are very friendly and very helpful, knowledgeable and efficient. The atmosphere is good. This is one of my favourite Topshop stores and I would highly recommend it to others. The store is within easy access of the other stores within the Market Place.....including DB3, Zara, Jane Norman, Mark One and La Senza. The town centre shops are nearby and also Crompton Place shopping centre.Large New Look in town......

The Bolton Topshop store is quite small in comparison to other Topshop stores. They still have a…read morefairly good range of clothes but I am finding less and less clothes I could actually buy that would suit my body shape here. I think Topshop is now much more for the person who can pull of the current fashion trends and fads as most of the clothing they sell isn't really all that practical to wear.

This Hurley's location is next to VUE and opposite Starbucks in Middlebrook Retail Park in the…read moreHorwich area of Bolton, alongside a branch they have in Wigan, this is one of their two remaining stores. Hurley's describes itself as a "family-owned business since 1955, and "the original sportswear shop in Manchester city centre" The store is easy to navigate with clear areas of store for women's and men's fashion, the staff seemed very friendly and helpful, and they were able to answer basic questions. They had a nice selection of designer clothing from many brands including Hugo Boss and Barbour. 4* - A nice selection of fashion if you're lucky enough to find something in your size, this is mainly an "Outlet" store now, so they might not have each item in every size and you do have to root around to find the item you are looking for on the shelving, which can involve touching most items, I understand why many retailers do this but I much prefer being able to see items without having to pick it up to take a closer look.

Hurley's is situated at Middlebrook development in Horwich, Bolton…read more There is a large Free car park and a bus service to Middlebrook. The store is near to Next and the cinema and you go inside as if you are going to the cinema to get to it. It is next door to Abacus chinese restaraunt and opposite a coffee shop. The outside of Hurley's is very attractive, glitzy, modern, bright and the window displays are inspiring, trendy and up to date. Inside the store is a good size with an area dedicated to the ladies on the left hand side and a mens section to the right. The store is bright, clean, well layed out and the displays are well presented. The ladies section has numerous designer brands including Miss Sixty, Hooch, Bench and Henleys and there is a good shoe section and some bags and fragrances too. The mens section stocks numerous designer brands too and they include Henleys, Bench and Henri Lloyd. The store is large enough for a sales section without cramping the area and is normally well worth a visit. There are fitting rooms and these are a good size, clean and modern. The checkouts are in both sections and are normally well staffed. Staff are very friendly, helpful and efficient, the atmosphere is good. The store is handy for accessing other stores within the development which include.Next, Argos, Tog, Asda, Currys, JD Sports, JJB and a host of others and also eating places eg KFC, McDonalds, Subway and Gregs. A great shop and one of my favourites when someone is treating me to something special, highly recommended.

Evans is a great shop for the bigger sized women and is right opposite new look…read more There isn't a great range for young adults in store but i find that there is more choice online.They have a selection of nightwear and underwear but not a lot of choice, i feel that these items are over priced just because there aimed at bigger size woman id rather shop at Asda for them. I find the selection of wide fitted shoes good and the quality is ok, I find it hard to get shoes that fit you forget that just because your clothes size is expanding other sizes are too. The store is tiny and not great for pushchairs when it is busy. The staff have always been nice and polite.

Although the actual chain is great I do feel a bit let down by the Bolton branch especially in…read morecomparison to say the Bury branch. Although they seem to have decent enough stock the actual store is just too small for it's needs and you're assaulted by a mass of clothes racks and lack of space which doesn't seem inviting nor appeal to a browser. In fact, after browsing that store I went home and ordered online instead! The staff are friendly enough and plenty helpful and the actual size of the store is beyond their control, I just wish the space was better utilised to improve the shopping experience.