I have to speak about this place from an observers point of view. I took a client here regularly…read morefor quite some time in the course of my work and was continually impressed by the work and care that went into everything they did. My client had suffered a brain injury and was trying to reorganise his life, with our help, back to some sort of normality. One of the things he took a fancy to was riding. Over the course of a few months, the staff here had him quite knowledgeable about horses and their care, and riding as though he'd been doing it for years. There are a lot of animals on site, so the trainers can always pick a suitable horse for any individual. Being in Croft, there are plenty of quiet roads and paths around and they also have a training area very close to the main buildings. The rates are very reasonable - I even thought of trying it myself, but the thought of 14 stones of lumpy motorbiker sitting on a horse didn't conjure up a very nice picture! While there, I did see an enormous variety of people coming and going - it's not all young and teenaged girls, you know!

I took my 4 year old daughter here when they were having an open day, she thorougfhly enjoyed…read moreehrself and has not stopped talking about it since. The staff were vey freindly and helpful and the horses were kept in excellent conditions.

A great place if you like something a bit unique. The selection of trainers is fantastic, they…read morealways have really funky limited edition trainers. One of the few places in Manchester to stock Ugg boots too! Clothing is really cool, LNG make some really nice t-shirts and they sell other american brands like Zoo York and affliction(for those who love UFC you'll know this). They have a good selection of sizes unlike other fashion fit outlets too!!

Foot Asylum is a brilliant store, my experience with the Manchester branch has always been pleasant…read morewith their informative and overly helpful staff always there to help. Once a gift for a friend was not available but they ensured it was ordered in from another branch. More stores should be like this! The girls that work there are hot too!!

I'm shocked that there are shops in Manchester that know about Nudie jeans, let alone a single shop…read morethat carries them. Are there Mancunians with that large a wad of cash burning a whole through their purses? Impressive! A chill, hipster-y gent sold the boy a super cute pair of Vans (casual shoes that aren't a shade of brown: success!) and explained the origins of the noteworthy bicycle saddles hanging up behind the till. Luxury skinny jeans and posh gear for your fixie... I mean, what else could a Williamsburg-wannabe desire, right?

Good style never comes cheap. This is especially true if you're a man. Most clothing boutiques and…read morehigh street stores cater for women and it's rare you find a store like this that offers so many unique quality items for the discerning young gentleman. This is the only store my boyfriend comes to for his trousers (in particular he Edwin brand of jeans) simply because you can't find them anywhere else. From Barbour to Oliver Spencer, Levis to YMC, they have such a well selected collection of labels that convey the best in British understated style.

Sitting in one of the railway arches on Whitworth Street, Harry Hall's Cycles is a cycle shop for…read moreserious cyclists. It's well set out and sells mountain and road bikes as well as loads of accessories. I'm a bit of a cycling novice, but I recently acquired quite a good road bike and my old pump didn't seem to fit the valves on the new bike's tyres. I popped into the shop and feeling like a complete idiot, explained that I had no idea how to pump up the tyres on my new bike. The chap serving me was really polite despite my clear cycling ignorance, and explained the technicalities of the valves and what pump I needed to buy. He presented me with a few options of what I should get and I've now got something perfect for the job that's also really light and fits snugly on my bike. The pump was quite expensive, and this typifies the cost of most of the cycling gear in the shop, which includes a good range of pumps, tyres, helmets and accessories as well as lots of different cycle clothing. However, it's all quality stuff and the staff know exactly what they're talking about. Though you would probably find cheaper gear at somewhere like Halfords, its worth going to Harry Hall's to know that you'll walk away with some kit that will be right for you, work properly and last a long time.

The railway arches of Whitworth Street West serve as a magnet for cool stuff, housing Green Room…read morealt: performance space, an achingly cool interior design showroom, Cocotoo Italian restaurant (?) and the cool effect spreads across the road to froyo café Frurt and round the corner to The Engine Room Café in Cambridge Street and even the front of restaurants in Chester Street. Plus, access the canal via any of a number of entry points on the same side as Frurt to view a timeline of the late Haçienda Club. (The canal path is a fantastic traffic-free route to Castlefield, Piccadilly and Stockport). Harry Hall Cycles is a good general purpose cycle shop, but I also commend them for showcasing some niche bikes. The current window display is mainly given over to the current trend for stripped down fixed gear or single speed bikes - fewer moving parts means less to go wrong and also lighter. I was also amused to read a poster publicising a Brompton bike race to be staged by that leading manufacturer of folding bikes - I've not seen that poster elsewhere in Manchester, so well done HH for showcasing that. (One cool thing about Brompton bikes for a cycle shop is how small they fold up, allowing many more Bromptons to be stored per sq. metre than regular bikes!) Downstairs is also home to road bikes, cyclo-cross bikes and the usual bike accessories. Upstairs features mountain bikes, style/girly bikes and some retro stuff including a modern take on a butchers bike. I think you have to pay them a visit and test ride a bike or two to decide if Harry Hall is the bike shop for you, but I enjoy the laid-back atmosphere and friendly staff who are generally happy to talk. I'll end by sharing a tip given to me by one of the guys here, which is to dismount and push your bike up over kerbs and such - apparently mounting kerbs wrecks the wheel bearings, and was something he would never do with any of his bikes. He had me at 'bikes' :-) I find something precious about city centre cycle shops - they are there in the midst of the polluting traffic offering a highly-effective, low-tech transport solution. The young and able-bodied car drivers amongst us, let's get on our bikes! And if you are an apartment dweller unsure how you would store your bike, all the more reason to get along to Harry Hall as they have a variety of storage solutions from wall hooks to floor-to-ceiling bike stands to store your speed machine up out of the way.

Clarks can always be relied upon for making brilliant sturdy long lasting shoes, and this branch in…read moreWarrington does not fail to disappoint! I have found that Clarks have recently become more fashion conscious and the store has lots of shoes on display particularly in the doorway with the current on trend heel for the season. I have always taken my children to Clarks to be fitted for their shoes, and the staff here are patient, knowledgable and very good with children. An excellent shoe shop with a great reputation.

Just been in for an on the spot repair. Absolutely brilliant service. The staff go out of their way…read moreto help you and save you money. I can not recommend highly enough.

Fantastic bike shop, friendly and helpful staff. ALSO - if you happen to have a problem with a pram…read moresuch as I did when a front wheel fell off, also head here for emergency repairs! They were only too happy to help so I could get my child and shopping home easily. Thank you to the staff for this which was a major headache quickly solved. I'll be straight back in when our next little one needs s bike seat if not before.

I find this shoe shop to be very cheap but the quality of the shoes are poor, they won't last you…read morevery long but are cheap enough to replace. They do have a big range of men's, woman and children's shoes but they are not very up to date and seem to be very dull in colour. The staff are always happy and talkative and likes to help you in every way possible. The store in Halton Lea is also new so you may experience some problems when going into store as the staff are just getting use to where everything is.

Helpful staff, very wide range of designer clothes ranging from baby to men. Also sells shoes,…read moretrainers and bags all for men. Staff always smile as you go in.