Model Zone is a geek's heaven, situated within St. Johns market this is the kind of place where…read moreyour typical nerd can go and spend the day marvelling at the products within. There is nothing at all wrong with this but it just so happens that I am more of a games console man and as such I didn't really understand the fervour surrounding these types of products. This place as the name suggests sells models for war craft games and other related activities and to be fair the range of produce is quite astonishing. As well as this the quality of the products is fantastic and there is much attention to detail here. I was also very impressed with the staff who worked hard to help out each and every customer so they get much kudos for customer service. On the whole a well run establishment which does its best to draw you in to its slightly nerdy world and if we are honest there is a bit of a geek within all of us.

I've never made a model of anything before I don't think, but we used to come here a fair bit when…read moremy brother was a toddler because they had loads of cool trains and cars and he was interested in collecting them. Then, as he grew up and became interested in the RAF, the family would generally call in here if at a loss for presents at Christmas or birthdays, and get him a model aeroplane set. This is quite a fascinating shop if you like geeky things (or at least appreciate them, like me). You can get all the Thomas the Tank Engine trains from here, you can get Meccano sets and Scalextric and even Star Wars, Star Trek and Dr Who collectibles. If you're at a real loss for inspiration for presents, it may be worth while looking round here for ideas, as more often than not you'll see something that you know someone will love. The staff are eager to help and even if you ask them random ambiguous questions they eventually find out what you're talking about and sort you out. It's on the same avenue as the 99p shop so you know you're going for guilty pleasures (ie stocking up on £5 worth of sweets) if your feet take you in that direction.

Kit Stop is a long-established model shop which I've just re-discovered after moving back to the…read morearea. The service is very good/helpful, prices are reasonable and the range of stock is excellent given the size of the shop. Hobbies catered for include model railways, cars and planes. There is a very good selection of second hand stuff. Thank goodness for shops like this which continue to survive despite the on line competition. Even Liverpool does not boast a shop of this calibre, so bravo Kit Stop may you carry on for a very long time!

Kit Shop is a small, independent model shop on Oxten Road in Birkenhead. If you love building…read morethings, and you like airplanes and cars, you'll probably find a fun project to work on here. Shops like this always remind me of my older brother because he used to love model airplanes, and his bedroom was littered with them over the years. My dad even built a sort of wood mobile thing across the room for him to hang them on so it looked like they were flying. Such boy toys. And, sorry, but in my opinion kind of a waste of time and money. But if you like this kind of thing, than this is the kind of shop you will like. It's small, but there is still a good variety and prices are fairly reasonable.

For the feel good factor step through the doorway and enter the magical realm of ye olde worlde toy…read moreshop. The whole place is crammed full of scaled down replicas of just about everything imaginable. Theres a huge selection of dolls houses ranging from kits to build your own to pre-built 4 room houses right the way up to a 4 storey mansions with a conservatory. The sheer talent required to recreate the detail present in some of the models is breath taking. Its truly every little girls dream come true. Theres an array of scale model cars, trains and motor bikes as well as a whole host of limited edition collectors items.

We stayed the night outside the city of Chester on our way to London from the Glasgow area. We were…read moreglad we did! The City Walls are old walls left over from when the Romans originally founded the city as a fortress. They go around most of the city and you get to walk along them! Walking around the city on the walls made for an enjoyable late-afternoon/early-evening walk with my wife. We were able to take nice pictures all around the city, especially at some of the highlights of the bridge, which include a giant clock and multiple archways. You can easily get up and down from the walls using stairs that are located at numerous points going around the city. I don't recall if there are ramps to get onto the walls. We noticed a few joggers/walkers making their rounds on the walls, which I think would be quite the nice run/jog.

We had come to Visit Chester for the day from Manchester, What a lovely place Chester is, The Walls…read moreof Chester is a must do when youre there, you get to see the History of what Chester was, Get to see some lovely sights including the River Dee, The Castle,The Clock, The City and the Racecourse, There are signs to point out what Chester use to look like, and gives you a brief history about where you are, i think there are guided walks at some parts of the day. Make sure to get a visitors map from the Town Hall. You can walk as little or as much as you want around the walls but its a great attraction to do in this great City of Chester.

You can't go wrong with Blythes. A Manchester art student staple, this store has saved me countless…read moretimes. The staff in here are extremely knowledegable and will even order in special materials and papers if they're out of stock. They've got just about type of paint from Winsor to Newton and Rembrandt paints, brushes, chalks, gouaches, water colours and graphic supplies and a large range of papers and canvases. I've bought specialist 300gsm paper in here for a menu project and special mounting glue. I had help with the measuring and cutting free of charge and advice of mounting my images. I highly recommend this store.

Blyth Art Shop…read more Blyth's Art Shop seems like a serious sort of art shop for serious sort of artists. Everything is very ordered, neat and clinical. They've got great ranges of paints, pencils and pens, as well as a downstairs section with artist accessories like folders, paper and even natural light bulbs so you can paint in natural light late into the night. There's two or three staff around to help you with any queries you might have in my experience they've usually got the time and patience to help you out properly. I can't help feeling that Fred Aldous across Stevenson square isn't just lots more fun, more well stocked and generally more exciting though.