Some shopping centres just have a nice vibe about them and I find this to be the case with…read moreSprucefield. It just feels spacious, clean, bright and pleasant to walk around. Home to some of the big, high-quality, shopping giants including M&S, Next, Mothercare and Pets at Home. However, being an out of town centre, it'll not be easy for everyone to get to, plus it can be EXTREMELY busy, especially at weekends...

Sprucefield shopping centre is a sprawling shopping centre on the outskirts of Belfast. If you are…read moretraveling up to Belfast on the M1 it's a great place to stop and recoup as my parents, sister and I did when we travelled from Dundalk to Belfast last week. The shopping centre has many parking spaces and the centre boasts: Marks & Spencer, JJB, Boots and a rather swish looking McDonald's. The Marks & Spencer is full of lovely things. It has a food hall and a pretty decent sit down restaurant and M&S cafe if you just want something small. The homewares section is vast and is full of lovely things you probably don't need, but look great anyway and there's also a vast clothes section, electrical equipment section, make-up and toiletries and a stationary section. The M&S also has two atms. The Boot's next door is pretty well stocked and carry the trendy Urban Decay and Benefit make-up lines. JJB and Mc'Donalds are also located in the complex. Worth popping into for the Marks & Spencers store.

What a frigging waste of good real estate, prime baby prime! Sitting on the corner of the Main…read morestreet in Banbridge, this place should be HOT HOT HOT! But guess what...its NOT NOT NOT. Badly stocked and staff that have that unique blank stare that takes years of practise to perfect, I happened to be passing one day and went in looking for soft top socks for an elderly relative, having slight experience in shopping for older folk I realise that its useless asking a sales assistant under the age of 50 for any help, unless you want a pair of ill fitting jeans or thong underpants. Anyway, this morsel of a sales woman approached me and I told her what I wanted...'soft top socks please' ...eh? Bed socks? she asked? No I replied, soft top socks, for diabetics etc ..ohhhh she said, men's socks? At this stage I knew I was flogging a dead horse and I said no, SOFT TOP SOCKS!!! look around you I said, the average age of shopper was 60, chances are some of them might have use for such an item someday. I left her staring blankly at the £9.95 umbrellas and went on my way. I got them in Newry the following day, in any colour I wanted. Houstons is a bit like a cross between Grace Brothers and Step-toes yard. All a mish mash of things stuck here and there. not well designed or indeed stocked, they should be more informed of the undergarment requirements of elderly ladies, God knows Banbridge is packed full of them!

Just been for the first time to get a present - very impressed. Helpful, friendly staff who helped…read moreme pick something and were chatty and polite. Great selection and a nice warm homely feel. Will certainly be back.

I la la la laaaave this gorgeous, enchanting little gift shop. It leaves you bedazzled and…read moreenthralled, and wishing you had a slightly bigger limit on your credit card (seriously, £300 is *nothing*...). The Lavender Box combines beautiful jewellery (the likes of Pom, Coeur de Lion, Pilgrim), with stunning gifts (I spotted the cutest wooden Noah's Ark, and the animals all had their own places), and exquisite clothing / shoes. It truly has it all. The front section of the shop is home to the gifts, filled with fancy knick-knacks such as candles, ornaments, figurines, stationery etc., as well as the jewellery. Cabinet after cabinet bursting with the most dazzling jewellery (there was 20% off some items the day we were in, but I managed to behave myself). The back section of the shop is home to a beautiful range of very unique clothes. Not really my style, but very classy and elegant, with a bit of a retro feel to them. Alongside these lie a good range of Irregular Choice shoes, which, as most of you will know, are a gorgeously kitsch, and somewhat pricey shoe label (and to die for). Oooooh shoe lust... The owner / sales assistant was very friendly, though her attention was diverted to a customer who was trying on a pair of Irregular Choice boots, and couldn't make up her mind which colour to choose. Nevertheless, she spoke to us, and was very amiable, and I commended her for dealing with the Irregular Choice boot lady (jealous...), who obviously needed her help much more than I or my sister. La la la laaaave it even more now. Absence makes the heart grow fonder 'n' all that...

This place is a bit of a tardis of a store, as it has more space than what you would imagine from…read moremerely looking into the store as it goes back rather far. The store is a lot better now that it is on the main street rather than when it was before, as It was rather dilapidated and somewhat isolated. The store has all the latest releases on DVD and has now become more modern with a bluray range. The store also rents out games for a range of platforms and is a goo place to go for going to get yourself equipped for a quiet nights in. They also serve Maud's ice cream which is a boon for this place, as the pooh bear Maud's ice cream is fairly irresistible to most people I know. Hopefully this new place will bring it more success so it doesn't need to move again!

Hazel's is your average newsagents / corner shop with that little added extra, which so many of…read morethese types of stores neglect to include these days. And no, I'm not referring to the decent staff (which some *do* fail downright miserably in), nor indeed to the range of magazines (though some do indeed have an incredibly narrow selection). No, I'm talking about the large number of sweetie jars. The key to any decent newsagents / corner shop. My sister took full advantage of this little bonus, and decided that while I was about to pay for my magazine and chewing gum that she would like a bag of sweets. "Fair enough", says I, "What would you like?" Ha, well her face offered the glaringly obvious answer of "em, I dunno", which was soon followed by a verbal response of "em, I dunno". I know her so well... Apologies were swiftly left with the shop assistant, who didn't mind in the slightest (bless him), and waited patiently whilst my sister took a good look at all the sweets on offer. "Oooh, how about those sour raspberries?!", pointing to a jar filled with these horrendously bright blue numbers. When she saw my face (for I was going to be delving into the bag at a later stage, and wanted someone at least remotely edible), she decided to go for the more agreeable option of cinnamon lozenges. Thank goodness. I paid (it's my duty apparently), we left, and and all was well with the world again. As well as it could be anyway...

I used to love this place when I was a youngster, as it was where I used to come and get the Beano…read moreand Dandy when it was still cool for kids to read and have an imagination. Unfortunately I have long since grown up since those days, but this place hasn't really gone with the times either. This is what you imagine as your stereotypical local corner shop newagent.There is a decent range of all the most popular papers and magazines, as well as the usually confectionary, crisps and drinks. The most useful services provided by here are the ability to get the Belfast Telegraph delivered to your home, and for the older generation for the paper/ magazine you want to be kept aside. I hope this place stays open and grows due to my childhood fondness, but with the sweet online world crushing everything in the way of published media, I fear for the long term health of small newsagents like this that don't offer much else.

I really like this branch in the Gordon's chain. I will go on record as saying that this is…read morepossibly the most immaculate pharmacy style shop that there is around: the shop always seems to be dazzlingly clean and the stock is always fronted well so the shop always looks in great condition. The store has the usual blend of hygiene and health and beauty products that you would expect, with a good range of special offers in all product ranges. There is a pharmacy inside which is very handy, being a 2 minute walk from the health centre just up the hill. There is a good perfume section and some home electric items, and has all the things you would want from a store like this. If only the staff were more cheery, but I know someone who worked here and the owners are apparently v very strict and banter is kept at a minimum!

Isn't it just typical that when you break your sunglasses, the sun decides to come out? When I…read moreaccidentally snapped the arm off my £1 Primark specs, I figured I'd be ok until next summer. But oh no, the very next just *had* to be on of the sunniest days of the summer. And I was stuck in Saintfield, blinded by the light, so to speak. Oooh, fun times. Gordons is one of my favourite chemists anyway, but it's gone up a whole lot more in my estimation now. Not only do they stock excellent makeup wipes for a mere 99p, or indeed stock a whole lot of other things for 99p, but they do a rather nice selection of sunglasses. Bingo! A pair were spotted, tried on, complimented (by my sister) and purchased alongside half the shop...I needed to purchase some 'necessities' too you see. I had initially thought the sunnies were going to be £5, which was decent enough for a category three pair of shades. When I got to the till, however, they came up at £2.50 - half price! Ooooh, I wasn't half a happy bunny. Never did I even consider Gordons for a pair of glasses, but it seems these places do everything these days, and ridiculously cheap prices too. Oh Gordons, how I love you...

The lady who ran this store used to come into the place I used to work, and I really wanted to…read morepromote her place because she produces wonderfully decorative and ornate bridal wear. Let me start off by saying as a 21 year old male, the only way I want to see anything bridal coming my way is my girlfriend dressed in a slinky garter-y number, not because of any actual desire to get married! This is definitely not the kind of place I would ever go into normally, but once I knew her I called in one day to chat and was able to see her work: she does excellent bridal wear. Everything is customised and made on site, and she will endeavour to do anything she can to make the woman and their little marriage slaves (or bridesmaids as they are more commonly known) look as glamorous as possible. Advice though: book appointments ahead of time, she is a very busy lady indeed!

There are a lot of charity shoes out there, but I really like this one, and there is a really good…read morecause behind this place. We all love a bit of donating to charity as it makes us feel warm and fuzzy inside, and we all know people who have been afflicted by the big C. There is a good range of products in here. There are a lot of books, CDs, DVDs and other bits and bobs in here. There are also a good range of clothes on offer as well as bard games and all the other paraphernalia that you would expect from a charity shop in here. A lot of people who work in here are volunteers and do this job just to help out and do their bit which is truly admirable. There are numerous bargains to be had here. They are welcome and grateful for any donations too, so get yourself down and get involved, everyone will be a winner.