The second Sunday of every month is one of my favourite days of each particular month. That's one…read moreSunday when I'm happy to set my alarm, get my caboose out of bed and fly on further south in Manchester to Stockport's historic Victorian Market Halls, because that's where I can find epic 70s flowery maxi dresses, Smash Hits 'Best of the 80s' annuals and trinkets galore. Welcome to the Vintage Village! I've been to a lot of vintage markets and shops in my time. Once, I even travelled all the way up to Edinburgh for a coat, I brought back over £40 worth of vinyl and a 56 year old fur from Glasgow and I've been known to scour our little Manchester boutiques for hours at a time. But what Stockport offered last month just blew me away, knocked me sideways and had me gazing around open-mouthed like I did when I was taken to Disney World at six years old. This was epic. The quality was remarkable, the prices were insanely affordable and the sheer variety on offer was stunning. I defy you not to walk from stall to stall and see at least three things per section you covet. If you were to slap something not only like this, but of this calibre (exceptional quality, eclectic variety) bang in the middle of Manchester City Centre it would be completely overrun with fifteen-year-old Noel Fielding stalkers in knee socks and oversized Urban Outfitters jumpers (not that there's anything wrong with them - I've been known to rock a woolly from UO regularly and have frequent NSFW dreams about Mr Vince Noir myself), but as it's tucked away in a sleepy town centre in the South Manc 'burbs, it attracts a much calmer, quieter, more discerning clientele. Families bring along their children and have soup and bacon butties at Zip's Grill. Couples with dogs mooch around for gifts. It's incredibly relaxed and wonderfully friendly. I lost count of the amount of conversations I struck up with stall purveyors. This is worth getting out of bed on the day of rest for. Seriously, do it! You won't regret it. And if you do, come and have a go at me. I'll probably whup you upside the head. (P.S. Zip's Grill serves some of the finest coffee I've ever had the good fortune to taste, and the food looks all kinds of fabulous. I'll definitely have a soup this Sunday.)

Vintage Village is on every second Sunday of the month in Stockport's totally brilliant market hall…read moreplace. If the truth be known, It was more my wife and sister in law who were the instigators in us going but I wanted to stretch my legs and go out for the afternoon so thought I would give it a shot! Gotta say, it was really really good and there were all sorts of stalls selling vintage clothes, records, antiques, furniture - pretty much anything from yesteryear. Nice touches were a skiffle band playing live, with a DJ playing hits from the likes of Elvis throughout and a load of vintage cars and motorbikes on display outside. Great street food was provided from the (both) excellent Lord of the Pies and Honest Crust Pizza. I'll definitely be heading there again in the coming months as it's a great day out and only a £1 entry - bargain!

One of the most "retro" "vintage" charity shops I have ever been in. They have really made the…read moreeffort to make this charity shop stand out from the rest, and there are about 8 charity shops along this road in which we visited all of them yesterday but this is the only one worth reviewing! They have wedding dresses for £24.99. And not tatty old wedding dresses with things spilt down them, but proper heavy well designed fancy pants dresses in perfect condition. Almost made me want to get married just so I could buy them, not quite enough though. Seen all these new vintage shops selling old clothes for a small fortune? Well visit this Barnardo's and get the same stuff for less money with the knowledge a charity gets the money! Also a nice change - not walls filled with books, dvds and cds - only really old old stuff! Well worth a visit x

Everybody, look how pretty!…read more I'm writing this not as an actual market customer - more an aesthetic appreciator. I promise I'll be back to Yelp the markets properly. You know Em loves her updates, peoples. I recently attended Stockport's Vintage Village which took place in these impressive Victorian Markets, and boy, are they attractive. Handsome. Like if they were a guy, I'd be giggling like a stupid schoolgirl while they spoke to me. And I'd probably accidentally snort or something. They lent themselves incredibly well to the whole retro vibe, especially those types at the markets who were selling and crafting cute little trinkets. First of all they're covered, which is great for our inclement Manchester weather (ooh, quick warning: do not refer to Stockport as part of Manchester to a Stockportian. Ever. Even 'Greater Manchester'. They'll practically beat you about the face with a handbag and give you the evils for the rest of the day), and they have underfloor heating. Er, bonus! Food was provided by the lovely Zip's Grill, an Australian affair that offers all kinds of tasty treats from their meaty bacon and egg butties and steak wraps to mezzes, soups and salads reflective of the proprietor's Aussie Greek-Cypriot background. Oh, and they have loads of different kinds of bread too. Double bonus. The stalls I saw marked out, closed obviously at the time due to the Vintage Fair, I was very intrigued by. Books! Triple bonus! And many others to boot. Anyway, thus ends my Scrabble-esque chat about Stockport's Market Halls. Now, if I could just find a cab driver who takes me right to the door instead of abandoning me on a drizzle-ridden pedestrian road with armfuls of Yelp goodies, that'd be just dandy.

We popped here while nipping to the regular Foodie Friday in Stockport (last Friday of the month -…read more6-9pm) and the old market does seem to be having a bit of a renaissance period. Ok so I may have had slightly rose tinted specs on due to me enjoying the fine fine food on offer outside but it really is a nice spot. In the week, it's open with a good mix of shops - all sorts of market grocers, butchers and a little cafe - plus some totally random shops and some real gems like High Peak brewing Co (go here for amazing beer from all around the world - amazing x464648!) On this occasion with it being FF, you could sit inside and take a load off, buy from some of the traders and even buy beer from High Peak to drink! A winner for me and great architecture to boot! Some great pubs like the Bakers are in the Market square too if you fancy getting your whistle wet!

The Childrens Society is a cool charity shop on Stockport road, going through Levy. There's a few…read moreof these around across Greater Manchester and this one is pretty compact. They sell clothes, books, games and bric a brac. Basically if you're after a bargain it's worth popping into as there can be some real finds. I personally like to have a scan for decent board games as yes I am a bit of a nerd and am always looking for fresh games to play at home - especially if only a few quid. Levy has some great food options like Trove/POD so come and check these places out if you're in town.

This is a pleasant, quiet charity shop in Longsight. As a charity, Scope works on behalf of…read moredisabled people to gain better rights, liberties and opportunities within our society. It's there in a sentence how great this charity is, so it's always worth popping in to see if they've got someone else's hand-me-down that is actually exactly what you want or need. I immediately liked Scope in Longsight because they had Marc Bolan on the stereo. It was a blast from the past but added a good bit of character. Some charity shops can seem a bit like a jumble sale at times. Scope is neat and tidy, warm and welcoming. They also have some awesome old jazz cds.

If you like vintage clothes, homeware and antiques, you'll love this place! Located in an old mill,…read morejust off Oldham Road, it's a real treasure trove that's packed with old signs, antique wooden furniture and old knick knacks! When you walk in, you'll find the bottom floor is devoted to leather Chesterfields, wooden sideboards and oversized paintings. There are loads of little gems hiding beneath them, too: I found a few collectable glass bottles for just £1 each! And once you've had your fill of furniture, you can head upstairs where there's stalls by over 20 traders, selling vintage fabrics, homeware and collectables. There's also the Empire Tea Rooms - a bargain cafe, which sells a huge range of herbal tea, as well as bargain fry ups, jackets potatoes and lots of other lovely stuff. The men who work here are lovely and it's so cheap! Just 60p for a cup of tea! Finally, up in the attic, there's a vintage clothes shop, which has some ace retro frocks at around £10 each. The menswear is even more competitive; they had a beautiful suit for £15! Empire House is open every day except Saturday - I'm definitely going back!

Our great local charity shop! Just round the corner from…read moreLevenshulme, nestled in Fallowfield retail park, it is a hidden gem! Always packed with new stuff nearly every other day and especially Saturdays! You can buy 5 books for 99p here- that is ridicously cheap AND goes to a good cause! I bought all of the twilight saga, with some in hardbacks for only 99p with one book to spare! They're also great for greetings cards, weddings, birthdays, Christmas etc with lots of new stuff, never been used, like school book bags and gift bags, You can also bring all your unwanted books and clothes etc here, obviously providing its in good condition. You can also sign up to gift aid each item they sell, so they get more for each purchase. After signing up you also get an email to tell you how much they sold each of your items for. Love this shop- guilt free shopping whilst helping others and also a great way to clear out your cupboards!