Offered me a deal at 20 Pounds for a selection of Die cast models for my son, It was Agreed cash…read morewas preferred so I went to the cash Machine and returned with £22, Then I was told It was now £40 and he had made a msitake, I was on the spot and already told my son of these purchases so I paid it, Only to Arrive home to find out that my original Purchase was missing Items from the deal that was agreed and I had a bag of old broken Hot Wheels I never selected, nor Asked for. Next time I returned the Owner was slamming boxes around the shop and refused to speak to me, so Obviously I Left never to return again, The owner will also Attack you for not wearing a Face mask, which is no longer a legal Requirement, nor does he have any signage requesting the wearing of masks. A very expensive, Frustrating, pointless experience and I would genuinely advise against shopping at this establishment. Thank You Jack

Due to the rarity of seeing hobby shops these days, particularly in town centres, Hobby Scene does…read morelook somewhat odd in its location, especially next door to an electrics shop that sells the latest HD plasma TVs and iPods. However despite its somewhat dated appearance, Hobby Scene is a very pleasant and charming shop that offers its customers a decent selection of different hobby products that are more traditional past-times than the latest next-gen gaming consoles or an iPad. They sell a decent selection of remote control cars, helicopters and boats as well as a large selection of models and scalextric, all of which are available at pretty cheap prices. The staff there are friendly and able to offer a very personal service due to it being a small, family-run business. All in all, Hobby Scene is a lovely shop that whilst might not be for everyone (particularly youngsters in today's society) is a very useful source for many different hobbies.

I was dragged into this little shop recently by my girlfriend. Lucky me. You might be able to tell…read morefrom my previous yelps, that I am not a 'vintage home' kind of guy. This shop, on the bottom floor of the Wayfarer's Arcade, selling home furnishings and gifts, seems to be one of those newly- popular, anti-Ikea type stores. Everything in here seemed to be covered in flowers or hearts or cupcakes. My girlfriend ooh'd and ahh'd over the Cath Kidson range in store, but the prices are far too expensive. This shop would be perfect for someone looking to make their place seem a bit more homely, or a desperate gift for those hard-to-buy-for women, however, I am not convinced by these pseudo-vintage/kitsch/1950's shops. Playing into people's nostalgic tendencies, does anybody really need a retro style telephone? Maybe I'm just being cynical. And a man. Who would not pay £8 for a baby duck soap.

This department store reminds me of just what quintessential department stores should be. Ornate,…read moreold, on a main street, looking pretty as can be, even more enticing at Christmas. And that's just what Broads and Booths is. Plus it holds great nostalgia for me, a pair of my friends used to busk outside it when I was working as a chambermaid at Squire's. We'd spend the morning making moolah and count our cash in hand earnings to spend at Aqua in the afternoon after lunch. Ah, those weekends. The irresponsibility of youth. Part of the Beales group, Broads has survived for eons in its convenient location and sells everything you could need, from fashion accessories for men and women to clothes, soft furnishings to gifts, fine fragrances and cosmetics, there's a cookshop and a bed and bathshop and a restaurant and café for when your legs refuse to carry you any longer. You can even order all your lovely things online too. It's kind of like the Southport equivalent of Harrods or Lewis's, obviously on a much smaller and simpler scale but that's how much it's shaped the Southport landscape. Definitely worth a browse.

This is actually called Bealls now but Je refuse to write a Bealls review. Broadbents and…read moreBoothroyds has so much more panache. I remember as a little girl being amazed at all the luxury items and then being herded off to Woolys. Upscale, the old staircases are still intact but alas alack a little too crowded for me. The spell is broken.

Fantastic shop. May not carry as much stock as larger stores but lacks nothing in character an…read moreambience. I've never had any problem with returning any item, be it via the internet or from their Liverpool shop. Staff are prompt, polite, helpful an great customer service. The cafe is a lovely venue, clean welcoming an prompt service. It's my favourite store in Southport.

It is not the largest Debenhams store but for the size of the town it fulfills its role. On the…read moreground floor are the beauty/frangrance department, jewellery and accessories and menswear. There are also shoes, Red Herring, Casual Club and Maine for women. Upstairs is underwear, designers at debenhams and childrens wear. top floor is homewear .. probably the smallest department but still sells bedding, cookwear etc

There aren't many places in Southport (if any) where a collection of shops can vary in products so…read moremuch as in the Royal Arcade on Lord Street. I would review each shop individually, but many of them don't have separate names and I feel it's better to review them all together under the Royal Arcade name to get a sense of the eclectic nature of the shops there. The items on sale in the different shops in there (about 3 or 4 altogether but they pretty much blend in to each other) vary wildly, such as the shop as you enter the arcade that sells a rather impressive range of cowboy boots that my girlfriend and I picked several pairs we would 'buy' from. Opposite from there is a shop that sells various types of watches and jewellery which whilst not expensive, are of a decent quality for the money you're paying. Then there's the shop at the back which sells various antiques and collectibles, such as a reasonably-sized sword at the front which fascinated me, as well as a selection of vinyl near the back of the shop (including a copy of the original Band Aid single). If that's not enough, there's also an upstairs section which is FIVE TIMES bigger (something they're happy to point out to you). Odd, but fascinating nonetheless.

This branch of Primark is a fairly small branch compared to Primark standards, and it also isn't as…read moremodern as other branches of Primark too, with most Primark branches I've seen before being in larger cities such as Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield. I mainly came into this store to have a quick look around and to try and find a bag, with my bag falling apart on my way over here from Gourmet Burger Kitchen, with this being at the bottom of Chapel Street, it is in a fairly good location in Southport town centre and was the first shop I come across, it is also worth noting this branch is close to the Southport Railway Station which is just a few footsteps to the left of this branch, also on Chapel Street. The staff seemed nice enough and helped me make sure my bag was right, however, I was told they only have really large bags, which were far too big and not a mixture of sizes other than paper ones which were a shame, the price of £1 for a bag of that size was reasonable, but still a tad expensive. Decent service yet issues with the overall feel of the store and slightly cluttered at times yet a decent branch for a small town like Southport to have warrants a two-star rating.

I like to go to Oxfam - I really do. I think they do the most worthy charity work of all the…read morecharity shops in Formby village, which incidentally all do very worthy work too. Oxfam has branded itself well everywhere, making you feel genuinely good about spending your money in their shops. And it's not all second-hand stock now with their range of ethical gifts and fair-trade chocolates and stuff. All very good. The selection of clothing on offer here isn't really up to much but the really impressive finds are amongst the books where I have recently found copies of Solzhenitsyn's The Gulag Archipelago in lovely hardcover and an almost pristene copy the late John Updike's 2006 novel Terrorist. They often have great framed prints and chess and backgammon sets available here too but as is usual in charity shopping you have to do a fair amount of sifting to get to the good stuff, but hey - isn't that half the fun.