Junk Again is another fantastic furniture place that doesn't require you be to snobby and rich to…read morepurchase their goods. I like Habitat, don't get me wrong, but really, why bother when you can get good quality furniture for much less. Especially if you are a student! Which is perfect for this area. Flocks of students come and go through Leeds, moving every year and needing to get rid of or attain furniture every time they do. Junk Again are aware of this and have cleverly positioned themselves not far from the postcodes that are predominantly student populated. If you are looking for a cabinet, a table, or arm chair, or are looking to get rid of, a fridge, a freezer, or chimney pot, Junk Again is a great place to go. They are slightly chaotic but that just adds to that old fashioned feel of shops of this type. Plus no-one will look down their polished nose at you as they so often do in Habitat.

When my friends and I moved house last year we opted for a grand four bedroom house that was…read moreunfurnished as it wold cost us a little less. That, sadly, was not the case in the end but that's more to do with the Estate Agent and building than anything else. However, pretty much the only thing that we required for our move was a sofa and some arm chairs. Enter: Junk Again! My old housemate had spotted Junk Again on her way through Woodhouse and suggested that we tried here for a cheap second hand suite. I was game for any bargain and so when she called me, all a fluster, to tell me about this awesome sofa, two arm chairs and a pouffe for a mere £40, I came immediately to the scene. Yes. That's right. All that for forty flippin' pounds. The friendly chap explained that he had planned to have them cleaned but hadn't yet, so was willing to let them go for that much - all we needed to do was clean them. No probs, Handy Hire in Headingley solved that one for us dirt cheap too! We couldn't have been more chuffed. Inside you'll find an array of lovely old furniture and the odd antique, for seriously cheap prices. My advice is: if you're moving look here first. I've a few more things I need myself so I'm planning a re-visit very soon...

I know nothing about antiques or the value of old stuff but I know a nice set of teacups when I see…read moreone (visually, not valuable). At the door laid out on a long cabinet was a set of 6 beautifully flowery teacups and saucers, only one with a crack in. I was expecting them to be expensive since they were displayed in a prominent position so I didn't ask how much they were. The shop itself is massive, spread out over two floors, there is everything you could ever imagine and more. I found two what I know now to be called "Tennis Sets" which is a teacup on a plate big enough for a piece of cake! YES! What an idea. So upon paying for my two tennis sets I asked how much the beautiful teacup set at the door was. And within two minutes it was packed up and in my van!

TL;DR - A truly unique venue combining art, food and shopping…read more One of Sparky's colleagues tipped us off about this place, and I'm amazed we'd never heard of it before. In case you don't know (I didn't!), Saltaire was built by industrialist Titus Salt (amazing name!) alongside the river Aire to bring all aspects of his textiles business onto one enormous site. He also built a town for the workers, and the whole area is now a world heritage site. The mill has now been converted into an amazing and huge venue spanning several floors. There's so much here it's hard to take in, but I'll try and summarise. The ground floor is a mixture of books on art, stationery and arts supplies, postcards and the like but interspersed with huge art displays. At first I wasn't sure if I was in an art gallery or a shop, but the answer is both. As with the rest of the mill, David Hockney features strongly throughout. There's a basement level which we didn't explore in detail, but it sells rugs and wallpapers and is just as big as the ground floor. The first floor houses the most. One end is a gorgeous bookshop, where the focus seems to be on unusual titles rather than breadth - I saw many, many books in the recipe section which I'd never seen or heard of anywhere else. The other end of the building is devoted to homewares - kitchen supplies, furniture, clocks and more. A lot of it is very expensive, but it's a beautifully curated selection of objects for sale. Between these two wings is Salt's Diner. It's a separate venue on Yelp but suffice it to say we had lunch here and it was great.Through the restaurant you can access a further wing of the building which is split into an outdoor clothing shop, a jewellers, an art exhibit, a treasure trove of an antique store and a small coffee shop. Finally, the top floor is split into three: an exhibit on the history of the mill, a major exhibition of work by David Hockney, and a further cafe/restaurant. On top of all these, parking is free on site and it's right next to the Saltaire train station, so there's really no excuse for not visiting.

Its easy to spend the best part of a day wandering round the amazing Salts Mill with its extensive…read morecollection of David Hockney's work and its eclectic selection of "shops" which include an excellent book shop, the wonderful home section with its stunning array of furnishings and kitchen porn, and the antique/collectables area. At some point you are going to need to get some fuel on board and Salts Diner is not a bad option. Its situated on the 1st floor of this wonderful labyrinthine industrial building in a large area between the book shop and the home shop. It was very busy on our visit between Christmas and New Year but we managed to get a table for 6 without much difficulty. The young waiting girls were all very helpful and attentive and we soon settled down with a reasonably priced bottle of Merlot to have a look at the menu. There is fairly wide choice of available, and while there is no real theme to the menu, there is enough to satisfy all the generations of family visitors that Salts Mill attracts. There are lots of ankle biters about so be careful in your choice of seating if you want a peaceful lunch. I had the roast butternut squash and lentil soup from the daily specials board which was tasty and wholesome, obviously a popular selection as it was soon rubbed off the board. B and I both went down the pizza route for our main and shared a bowl of nicely cooked crispy fries; nothing to complain about but pretty bog standard. The most successful main seemed to be Danny's beef meatballs and pasta in a rich tomato sauce, again from daily specials board, although the other boys were quite complimentary about their beef and ale pies which came in a nice white dish topped with puff pastry. All in all while this was nothing to write home about it was a pretty decent lunch in a great building. Salts Diner itself its not somewhere I would go out of my way to visit but works well a part of a visit to the Mill (I would particularly recommended a visit at the moment to see the amazing "Flowers" show on the top floor of work created by Mr Hockney on his iPad - just stunning). 3 for Salts Diner and 5 for the Mill.

I attended one of their valuation days and accidentally left a necklace which I did not want to…read moresell. I notified them straight away and sent photos. It has to have been scooped up and put with all the other items they took back but they say they cannot find it ! Very upset !

Gerrards will rip you off on postage, they obviously see a good profit to be made on postage over…read moreand above their commission, I buy from around 3 auctions across the UK every week and a small number of auction houses overcharge on postage, Gerrards are among the worst, £27 to post 2 cased pens, actual cost was small parcel £6.19

Visited Holmfirth this summer and found this great little antique/ vintage shop. Packed with some…read morereally interesting and unusual things, I bought a lovely 1930's mirror and a fantastic leather satchel.....miles cheaper than London prices !

I am still looking for a couple bits and bobs for my homemade bridal bouquet... particularly some…read morepretty buttons/brooches. However, I don't want something brand new, not to mention brooches aren't really popular trend these days, so selection would be slim anyway. I thought I would check out some of the charity shops on my way to Asda for my weekly shop. What I didn't realize is that Granny's Attic is not a charity shop, it is an antique shop. It is small, nothing like those antique emporiums with endless rooms of random items that have probably been there for some time. From the window I spotted some brooches, particularly some blue ones (my something blue is the only piece missing) so I decided to pop in. Just an FYI, it is a small shop and it is full of beautiful, very breakable items. Of course I had my backpack on with my reusable grocery bags so I didn't want to actually move around for fear that I would end up buying a bunch of shattered teacups and plates. Sure some of the items are... well they would probably continue collecting dust, but some of the items, for example some of the tea sets are wonderful and would make for great gifts. I think the prices are reasonable for antiques... you would be able to find some inexpensive items if you are on a tight budget. While I think the cheapest item in the store, I have spotted, is £5.00, I have also seen a tea set for £12.00. Even though I have seen far too many episodes of Flog It, Bargain Hunt, and Antiques Roadshow, I still cannot identify really valuable items from your average old item so I cannot vouch for whether it is a treasure trove, but you never know if you don't stop in. The staff member there was very welcoming and offered to show me the brooches in the window. I didn't buy any on this trip, I am currently waiting on a couple that my mom has posted to me, but the lady did tell me that they do have new items coming in on a regular basis so there is always nice selection to choose from. There is very limited parking one store down from Granny's Attic, but if you have stopped at Asda for a shop, you could pop down as parking is free and right behind (and slightly above) the store.

One of things I love about living in Levenshulme is looking round the Antiques Village on a Sunday…read moreafternoon. There are three floors of pre-war furniture, household objects, chandeliers, toys, medals, vintage jewellery and other collectibles. Over the years I've noticed the prices going up a little but it's still great value for money. The last time I went I came away with a beautiful vintage sewing box that I found amongst various ornaments and bric-á-brac. In the basement you'll find a café which does a mean weekend breakfast and serves good food throughout the day. The building itself is also noteworthy. Built in 1898, it was originally the Town Hall. The original mouldings and green tiles are still existence. The Antiques Village is a five minute walk from Levenshulme Station and a ten minute drive from Manchester City Centre.

Hmm this is the third year i am giving the center a visit. For me it gets less and less…read moreinteresting. It is a mostly furniture place. Miss the little nicknacks. The old guy in the courtyard with his treasure cave is unfortunately gone .....

I want to tell you all this place is awful, and that should shouldn't come here so I can keep all…read moreof the bits for me, but, Damn! This place is amazing! This is just down the road from a friends, and I can't thank her enough for introducing me to it! It's an absolute maze of wonder, floors and floors of rooms, filled with cabinets, pieces for auction, and an adorable cafe too. You can find all manner of trinkets, niknaks, some clothes, furniture, homewares, bits for your garden- basically, if you wanted, you could kit your whole life out here. Obviously, being so varied, not everything is to everyone's taste, but it is most certainly worth a look around, or just a cream tea!!