Absolutely brilliant wee old school village hardware store - always has what I need and is a joy…read morejust to browse in too - you never know what you might find that you never knew you needed!

They have a massive selection of home ware from electrical, leisure, tools to laundry products here…read morea bit like crockets in glasgow but more selection and more organised you can easly walk in for one thing and come out with ten items.

Nestled in a corner is this lovely holdover from a bygone age…read more This is an Ironmongers. They don't sell garden furinture or kitchen ware. They sell locks and hinges - all things iron. If you live in a tenement - look around. A lot of the stuff you see holding the windows up or attached to your doors, you will not find in a B&Q or a Homebase. Try and describe and they will look at you like a person who needs locking up. To obtain these things and loads of other useful stuff - you need to get to Oswalds. I love this place. Ask for a screw and the guy brings out a board with screws attached to it. You don't need to know the industrial nomenclature. No need to learn builders jargon. Bring a sample of what you need or a picture of it. They will haul out a board and see if its brother is nestled amongst the variety of things available. What a great system! These guys are helpful and very into what they do - which is stuff made out of iron. Be tolerant and they will tolerate you (and your silly questions)

Far back in the mists of time when I were a lad, bread were tuppence a loaf and everythin' were…read moremade o' wood (and how many more clichés can I cram into this opening sentence), you could go down t' street t' 'ardware store and buy a penn'orth o' nails and still have change for a bag o' crisps and a bottle o' pop. Now, thanks to the giant orange monster that is B&Q (Home Depot to transatlantic chums), I have to get in my car and drive several miles to a humongous warehouse, where I am forced to buy a box of 100 that will, having used 5 or 6 of them, forever after sit on a shelf gathering dust and slowly rusting until either the sun goes nova or I suddenly develop a need for that particular size and type of fastening once again. That's assuming they have the particular item in stock of course; it wouldn't be the first time that I've had to drive to one of the other B&Q stores to find what I'm after (my record is three). I'm being a little unfair on them for comic effect here - there's no denying that B&Q and their main competition Homebase are filling a niche in the market by providing practically all your DIY and hardware needs under one roof; but at the price of forcing smaller ironmongers out of business. If you're a tradesman with a trade account, or if you're just embarking on a major domestic refurbishment, this should be your first port of call. But years later, in the back of a kitchen drawer, I guarantee that you'll come across a little plastic box full of some miscellaneous widgets whose purpose and reason for buying you have long forgotten.

B&Q are the last refuge of the desperate…read more Men and women carrying small rubber parts or lengths of pipes that only a couple hours a go were pouring water into their kitchens. I have been one of these lost souls. Trying to save a Hogmanay party as I drove at breakneck speed to this B&Q with portions of my kitchen sink plumbing my hand. Furiously looking for the right size of "o" ring to match the parts. Until I found out that my kitchen pipes were National Hungarian sizes and B&Q only stocked Euro sized rings. Such is the world of pain and disappointment that the B&& can unleashed on you. The ads make this place look all happy and full of people bettering themselves. In truth, most B&Q's are where you find folks literally trying to keep their heads above water. The staff are the recipients of the most asinine questions. Can I paint my car with this? How long a pipe do I need? Will this be bright enough for my patio? I understand why they have a look of pain whenever approached by a member of the public. They make these stores big. Vast repositories of tools and materials. When unearthed centuries from now, our descendants will think we worshipped copper piping and hand tools, as we flocked here on weekends to tithe and toil. Do I really need to tell you what to expect at a B&Q? Enough stuff to really screw up your weekend. That is what you will get. If you think you can just buy a bathroom suite and one will magically appear in your home. I want to live in your world. Don't get me started on the Gardening section. Dismemberment "R" Us. Why four stars - cause it is a great improvement over the old inronmongers. Where pensioners disguised as store staff would hurl abuse and questions at you simultaneously. While they make fake attempts to find things that they know they do not have, since your broken item was made after 1940 and they only have parts for things made before that. So just remember, it could be worse.

Another bank holiday another day in Homebase. It never seems to have just what you need for the job…read morebut has plenty of fripperis to denude your pocket. Not worse than any other homebase but less DIY equiptment than B&Q. The prepacking of screws and other items racks up the price as always

This is a large homebase but it has an odd shaped car park which can get full on busy weekends…read moreespecially the 10% days. This homebase is like all others stocking a range of plants for the garden, wallpapers, paints, lighting, storage boxes, screws, wood etc The staff were helpful as this is not my local they new were the stock I was looking for was and they offered advise and guidance. The prices are a bit higher in some respects to others but they do have sales and sometimes they have 10% days which is also taken off the sale price making it even better value.

I've used Stamperland Hardware it more than once and never been disappointed. The owner is very…read moreknowledgeable and helpful. He has a great selection of hardware, and the prices are very reasonable too.

This is a great little independent hardware store and it is full with everything, and I mean…read moreeverything. Need some lightbulbs, check. Clothes pegs? Check. Nuts and bolts? Check. Garden gnomes? Yup. Like I said, they have everything here and it is an exciting place to browse, as there are buckets upon buckets filled to the brim with knick knacks and hardware goods. So if you're feeling inspired and want to do some DIY around the house but have forgotten to buy that tiny screw driver for fiddly nails then this store is a good shout. When the weather permits many of the goods are displayed on the pavement just outside the shop. I came here a few months ago looking for some batteries and they had plenty of them and they weren't too pricey either. The shop owner was very friendly and asked if I needed any help. After that he got me my batteries quick smart and I was on my way satisfied that I could now put some juice in my camera and take some nice new pictures. A great little shop.

Gibb Stuart is a reverse tardis. You could not believe that anyone could put this much stuff in…read morethis space. Unlike B&Q this caters across all of the categories that used to be called hardware (unlike DIY). So you will find corners stuffed with pots and cooking tools, fireplaces, handtools towels etc. I would not be able to list them all. Most of the goods are decent quality and will get the job done. More importantly the scurrying employess will be able to tell you where to find what you need. If you are local and need something in the hardware category - get your butt in here.

Gibb Stuart (or Gibbs as its known locally) is very pretty for a hardware store in much the same…read moreway that Zac Efron is very pretty for a boy. The window displays are always more gift shoppy than hardwarey and they have a delightful Mothers Day display at the moment. I have noticed that women tend to use the nice, lovely front entrance to this store which leads them past the ornaments and candles and the men tend to prefer the manly back entrance which takes them straight to the manly goods such as hammers and saws and such like. Gibbs sells all manner of things and I don't know what most of them are supposed to be used for but they look very interesting! There are bizarre kitchen appliances and strange gardening implements and all sorts. I like to take a jaunt down to Gibbs for little things that I can't be bothered traipsing all the way to a supermarket for. Things like light bulbs and batteries. I also had my keys made different colours at Gibbs because I need 6 keys to get into my flat and trust me, after a few vinos it can be a struggle to remember which key goes with which lock. However if you are more adventurous with your hardware needs there are some strapping men kicking about who can help you pick the perfect chainsaw for that chainsaw related DIY project you are working on you manly mans man you, grrrrr!

As I approached this store, it seemed to me from the window display, that this was yet another…read morehardware shop which stocked everything you could want in a DIY shop and more on top of that! And when I entered Boyds, I was not wrong! The isles are quite narrow to allow the shop to stock so much. From Irons, to clocks, to DIY tools to garden equipment this shop had it all! Indeed, I could not count the amount of irons that this place stocked. Whilst I was pondering in side this shop I noticed that this shop seemed popular with the locals, with the door constantly swinging open and closing. A reason for that is that it is located in the centre of the town and does not mean that the locals have to travel to a big supermarket! The shop is slightly dated, but does have up-to-date products and the shop did have some good offers! A good local Hardware Shop!

This place hides it light under a bushel - it would be easy to miss it down the street. All the DIY…read moreneeds you might have can be catered for here

An excellent shop with limited space but completely stuffed from floor to ceiling with a wide range…read moreof things (from screws to clothes racks, tools and kitchenware). The staff are very helpful and it seems that, if you can't find what you're looking for, they probably have it out the back, so it's worth asking! One end of the shop is given over to the picture framing area. They are very experienced at this and can give professional advice on framing. There is a wide range of frames and mounts available. You might pay a bit more here than in the larger chain-stores (which is only to be expected) and sometimes the shop is extremely crowded (which does show how popular it is). You may have to wait a while in a queue and it's a bit of a squeeze moving about especially in the narrow space beside the counter.