Aw man. You have to check out this shop - 'tis a thing of beauty! It's one of those places that any…read moreadult could not help but get a little giddy at the thought of entering. Truly, there are other shops that might claim to have that traditional vibe, but I've yet to discover a more traditional-willy-wonka-oliver-old-school kind of sweet shop. As you got in you are surrounded by shelves literally packed with sweets in jars - barley sugars, aniseed balls, chocolate pennies, sugar mice, licorice buttons - I could go on endlessly. I think it was the nostalgia that made it so exciting. There were two counters where both shop assistants had scales and aprons and measured out portions of delight to the happy waiting customers. Prices were pretty reasonable considering, I'd guess, they have the monopoly on the market - certainly in Otley at least! I left with a quarter of aniseed balls and a quarter of shrimps. One very happy camper.

This shop always reminds me of the story of Hansel and Gretel, it might as well be made out of…read moresweets. I am usually not much of a sweet toothed eater but this place always lures me in. It has very cleverly stocked a mammoth range of sweets that most people will remember from their childhood. It means that most end up purchasing a paper bag of treats, purely down to the nostalgic sugary buzz it brings with it. They have all the retro style sweets such as bon bons of all varieties, rainbow puffs, dib dabs, cola bottles, fizz whizz popping candy, flying saucers, drum sticks etc etc etc....and they also stock some classier goodies such as stem ginger (my grandma's absolute favorite). The staff are very friendly, with their wide eyed sugary stares and massive grins that you imagine to be sticky to the touch. Willy Wonka eat your heart out. They also have a website and the option to purchase from their wide selection online, although I wouldn't suggest that you make a habit of it!

What an amazing sweet shop this is! I spied the retro…read morecomics first then I noticed the retro sweets in the window too. On entering the shop it was like going back 30 years or more with a mixture of all my favourite smells and genuine comics from years gone by. If you area in the area i strongly recommend you pay a visit to this shop. I did and i left 20 mins later a happy chap. Or pay them a visit on http://www.maynards-sweets.co.uk

If you have a sweet tooth, as I do, and a taste for less generic candy that you find in the corner…read moreshop, you should check this place out. Spoke with two very sweet employees, who permitted me to taste a few candies before committing to purchase. This seemed fair, as they weren't busy and I am American, which meant I wasn't sure what things would taste like. In any case, the prices are reasonable. The staff helpful and kind.

this is a super gimmicky sweet shop, mainly for the tourists in york!…read more it does give a slight ye olde sweetie shoppe feel, as you walk in? but thats where it ends! saw plenty of york fudge, york toffee, boxes of sweets with pictures of various places/landmarks of york. not my kind of sweet shop! they did have a good range of sugar free sweets, and giant gob stoppers, the size of a tennis ball! and any parent buying that for there children, needs there heads looking at! its not a big space, inside the shop, and it has not been open long. but it will appeal to alot of people, mainly tourists!

I don't know how famous Brown's Famous Sweet Shop is...I may be well out of the loop but I'm afraid…read moreto say I hadn't heard the word on the street till I recently sauntered past and checked out their sugar-coated wares. YUM. For any sweetie fans Brown's should do the trick. They have many a large plastic jar of colourful scrumptious bits and bobs priced by weight, like in the good old days. Most are priced at 70p per 100g...not too bad...though hard to compare with the sweetie weighing of my childhood as I'm pretty sure the shops still used pounds and ounces or somesuch - we usually bought a quarter. Happy days...when chocolate bars were like 23p! Sigh. They also do 5 packets of crisps for £1 (including Doritos) which seems pretty bargainous considering 1 packet is probably nearing 50p at most shops these days. They also sell bars of chocolate of various sizes, a pre-packed sweetie selection of the kind you'd find in your average newsagent and boxes of chocolates for that quick and easy gift solution. So if that sweet tooth is demanding a feed and you fancy a bit of a trip down memory lane gazing wide-eyed at rows of plastic jars, Brown's Famous Sweet Shop could be just the ticket!

Spaced slightly away from the other competitiors by way of sweet shop in the Market Hall, Brown's…read moresweet shop stands, giving the other side of the market a bit of a sugar rush. With the obligitory jars and jars of old school favourites and newer sweets, there are great deals to be had here. With signs plastered all over the display, you get a rough idea of how much it is you are likely to be charged, which is something that sweet shops have sometimes neglected in the past, in my experience- prompting you to gasp when you realise you've spent over a fiver on sweets... A healthy mix between the old school sweet stall and something a little more up to date, Brown's may not be as 'famous' as it oddly claims to be in it's over ambitious self-proclaimed title, but it's worth the dosh if you have a sweet tooth, and gets a thumbs up from me.

This is a wonderful candy shop in York. The staff are very friendly. The candies are really…read moreincredible. I like to creative options that are made by this company. I tried many things and they were all delectable. The price is really fair.

Brand new this week. A chocolate shop making handmade chocolates. Specially conmmisioned items are…read moreavailale. Go along and have some samples and you will be back for more. The flavours are excellent and they are all made from the finest ingredients. A tiny shop but a real find.

This is a really good little card shop in the indoor Parkway Shopping Centre, just opposite…read moreSuperdrug. It sells cards (obviously) and little gift items, but where it really stands out is it sells Thorntons chocolates, too! They carry a pretty good range of chocolates, which means if you need to buy a present you can get the card and the chocolates all in one place without having to trail into town.

As a traditional sweet shop in its own right, Sweet Memories is a lovely little store. It sells at…read morethe usual suspects that you could ask for in a memory lane sort of shopping experience, after all, the name encourages one to look at it this way. Whether it's those flying saucers, the foam with the sour sherbert, lollipops, cola cubes, a quarter of barley sugars - all that lovely stuff is readily available. The store itself looks aged and timely, but not necessarily in a specific 40s fashion - I merely think the shop has aged. However, having been to the delights of other traditional sweet shops I couldn't pin this one down as my favourite. It depends, I suppose, how far you might be willing to travel for your trad sweeties, doesn't it? If it's merely convenience, and you live in Pudsey, then this is a fine option. If you are a die hard sugar fan I would suggest trying the likes of Otley on for size. Just an opinion, as they are all lovely sweet shops, but I can't get enough of Otley's Traditional Sweet Shop!

Now, as lovely as sweet shops are, because of the nostalgia and niche market they are a part of…read moretheses days many tend to be all spick and span, highly trussed up affairs and carry the price tag to go with it. So as much happiness as they bring it is more of a treat than regular visit, as was in the old days. Sweet memories is something different, more like a corner shop sweet shop with a few presentation jars of sweets the shelves are packed with tubs full of old-time sweets and children buzzing around on E-numbers deciding which ones they'll get today. Liquorice lays open on wax paper, giant lollies of all sizes glair down at you, cola cubes, angel dust, peanut shaped peanut sweets, humbugs, the little scales and some modern twaddle from chuba chub.