The area around the Abbey Centre has grown over the last few years to become as much of a draw as…read morethe shopping centre itself. My first stop is always the huge branch of TK Maxx. How I love that shop, with its shoes and home wares and clothes and jewellery and stuff, stuff, stuff. Always a bargain to be had - I even lugged a huge chest of drawers out of there once. After paying for it of course. Curse those efficient security guards. There is a branch of every high street shop you can think of - Mothercare, Pets at Home, M&S, Tesco, JJB Sports, Matalan to name a few. I always like a look around Matalan where there are some bargains in ladies and children's clothes and a selection of birthday cards and invitations which has to be seen to be believed. Make a quick pit stop in McDs and you'll be ready for round 2 in the shopping centre itself. The Abbey Centre is pretty big, with several different 'wings' coming off the central point. Highlights for me are River Island, the bargain emporium that is Primark, Top Shop and Wallis. Apart from clothes, I also like going to the Abbey Centre for books - Stewart Miller and Easons always have offers on new releases. Chick lit I'm afraid to admit but someone has to read them.

Ah, my good old friend, the Abbeycentre. How I love it…read more Just a short trip up the road from me, I have been shopping here for as long as I can remember, and take a browse around its' many shops at least once a month. There is a large amount of on site parking, so you can usually get parked with ease (unless you go stright after Christmas when the January Sales are in full swing) then its an absolute free for all! There are many shops here to suit all pockets, from sport shops, to fashion clothing, from banks to mobile phone and gaming shops, from card and gift shops to butchers, you will get pretty much anything you want at the Abbeycentre, without the headache travelling into the city centre can bring. There is even a new Poundland store for some of the old bargain hunting. And long may it continue!

This family run men's and boys wear, as well as all local school wear, shop has been growing from…read morestrength to strength. The newly extended store has added lots more room for its school wear section. All local schools in the Glengormley area are stocked here. I got my two girls uniforms from here!! There are also many branded ranges in the high class, dressy and casual ranges, with many well known brands. As well as clothing there is also a super range of footwear and accessories all at keen prices. So pop in and see for yourselves.

This shop is an absolute pleasure to go into. My two boys are very different sizes and go to a…read morelocal grammar school. Nothing is ever too much bother for the guys who own the shop - sorting out different sizes and styles for the boys. The wool blazers sold her are of a different make than Cartmills and are of a far superior standard and wear much better. I brought one of the blazers back just before school last year to change as my son had a growth and there was not a peep about changing it. I cannot recommend this shop highly enough!

Northcott shopping centre is where joy comes to die, and that's not an exaggeration…read more It used to have some life about it, but not anymore. I suppose, to be fair to the place, it is in the process of some kind of redevelopment, although what exactly is happening, I'm not sure. I know that the Tescos that's there is expanding, but whether that means the end for the shops in there remains to be seen. For now, anyway, there really is only Tesco in there. There's also a pharmacy, which is handy, but on the whole, there isn't any way you would decide to kill a bit of time wandering around the shops at Northcott!

Sadly no longer with us…read more Northcott was where you went if the hustle and bustle of Abbeycentre wasn't your cup of tea. Originally anchored with a big (for the time) Stewarts supermarket (and the then-seperate due to legalities Wine Barrel off licence) for the weekly shop (including the environmentally friendly options of re-using boxes or the big car boot sized trolley liner). Big Primark a couple of doors down was Glengormley's answer to the Abbeycentre's Dunnes Stores. In between these were a toy shop that seemed to stock every single Britains die-cast farm toy, and had a good stock of lego. You then had Lifestyle and the NPO (pre-Easons), for flicking through the magazines. The bakery beside this used to be fairly busy, was like a little cafe, and opposite those were Ratner (pre-'crap' speech, later an H Samuel) and a Chemist and ornament shop which clinged on til the bitter end, their period fixtures, fans and signage viewable. A few doors down was Tandy, which was then *the* Commodore 64 game stockist. It was the Maplins of it's era. Other than that, in the main mall, was Superdrug and several shoe shops (including Tylers?). A cafe was present beside the main entrance, and at Christmas time a Santa's grotto was set up. Outside was a beauty salon, the only external premises. On the other side of the mall was the 'In Shops', a collection of independent traders (similar to the one on Belfast High Street). These included a hardware shop that sold vacuum bags for seemingly every single vacuum in the world! Externally, it was a typical 70s period modernist centre. Brick and metal on top, glassy entrance hall. The car park was huge, and even in it's heyday was rarely busier than 1/3 full! It included a few anomolies for road geeks, because of the one way system. Mainly the fact that to continue past the main entrance, you had to go the wrong way on the piece of dual carraigeway because the left hand side was a drop off zone. Also, before the Antrim Road link was built, the return from the main car park was one way (ending abruptly with no entry signs) but was still marked as the two way road. In later years the number of shops dwindled, the bigger stores moved to the competitor Abbeycentre, and the centre became a curiousity akin to experiencing a shopping centre in a Fallout / 28 Days Later setting. The Tesco was still handy if you needed a couple of items and didn't want to brave the ridiculously busy one beside the Abbeycentre.

It's hard not to love this massive semi-outdoor shopping center. Steel and glass and lifts and…read moreescalators with so much fresh air moving through. It's clean and well patrolled by security and there are retail outlets for everyone and restaurants, too. I think what most people are missing is the rooftop atrium, called The Dome. The lift goes to the top and from there, a tremendous view over the city of Belfast. It's free and should not be missed. [Review 1885 of 2024 - 867 in United Kingdom - 22907 overall]

It is a massive shopping center, beautiful and made of mirrors. Lots of shops and restaurants to…read morenosh and spend your cash. I stopped at a few stores here, and partook of great hospitality and service. The spaces were immaculate and there were lots of places to sit, eat and meet. Great name eh.... Victoria Square.

Twice is Nice is my favourite newest discovery. I happened to stumble upon here on a lazy afternoon…read moreshopping with a friend. Now, to be fair, if I even so much sniff a second hand book I have sensors that flare and light up the room. I'm lassoed by an invisible rope that drags me toward it. I can't help but nosey around for a bargain. I was pleasantly surprised that there were actually some good books in here (note: some, most of them were rubbish) but this was juxtaposed alongside a funky range of second hand clothes, that were dirt cheap, probably the best prices I've seen in a shop. There's an array of teddies, ornaments, toys, shoes, a bike helmet (hopefully for a collector or decoration, but if anyone ever buys this I really hope they get a severe safety warning!) but just nosying round the memoirs of the past gives me a real sense of history and the charm of all these products being recycled makes me happy (I'm a tree hugging hippy, what else can I say?)

I'm a real book worm. I love a good book and can get through them like nobody's business. The only…read moreproblem now is that my house is coming down with them! Unless a book was particularly fantastic, I will only read it once, so for that reason, I don't like to spend an awful lot of money on them. I popped into Twice is Nice on the off chance, just to see if they had any books, as a lot of charity shops don't have a great range, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that they had lots! I found two books I hadn't got from a series of books I had been reading, and also picked up three good well known cookery books. Best of all, when I took them to the till, the whole lot only came to £6.75. I could easily have paid that for one of the books if I had bought it brand new!

I have driven past City Side Mall thousands of times over the last year but I never feel the need…read moreto pay it a visit. Yesterday this all changed when I went in to pick up a few bits for Friday nights dinner. City Side Mall is always busy and the parking spaces are at a premium! It's a deceptively large mall with a cinema, Burger King, New Look, Sport shop, Bargain stores, Tescos and many others. As the name suggest it is just outside the city but still walkable. It really is a jack of all trades and I'll definitely be paying it another visit. Nothing too special and nothing awful, so that makes it okay in my book.

City Side Mall (previously known as Yorkgate shopping centre) is conveniently located on York…read moreStreet. This shopping centre has a variety of different shops - Tesco, Tescos Petrol Station, Poundland, Home Bargains, Burger King, Pound Stretcher, a Movie House Cinema and much more. Parking is free at City Side Mall however the car park is managed by UKPC so make sure you not illegally parked as you will end up with a fine.

The staff here are mostly nice people; what angers me about this store is its' extortionate prices…read more The odd time you'll get a good deal via a special offer, but this is rare. The prices must be inflated as most of their products cost twice what they would in a local supermarket or corner shop. The only reason most customers frequent this store is because it is convenient; the majority of its' business seems to come from the surrounding Cliftonville/Oldpark area and passers-by. I'll put it like this; no one goes out of their way to shop here.

Yo bitches & niggas, its officer liz macaulay here saying suck my decourcy cock!…read moreIll be spending most of my time at the rugby club taking the lovely white stuff with my husband and his shaved fanny, I've had to resign and hand over business proceedings to the big cock swinger they call Chris sweeney! I also know who robbed the vending machines as I got myself in a bit of bother with the local paramilitarys and had to hand the alarm code over, i sure do hate those kids! If only their mother didn't come pick them up and they actually knew their fathers! Anyway, smell my cheesy fuck box. P.s I hate David Cooper!

The DeCourcy Centre is Carrick's answer to the shopping of the likes of Oxford Street in London…read more No, not really... It used to be busy enough before the big Tesco superstore opened, due to Tesco previously being located within the centre, however now, apart from visitors to New Look, it is generally just used as a 'through area' - people wanting a shortcut to the town centre. The DeCourcy centre never realised the potential that was intended for it. Even when it first opened, it was never filled to full capacity. Over the last couple of years, the centre has been looking increasingly tired and dilapidated, and it is now generally used as a meeting place for the elderly. Even a pound shop which only opened recently has just closed down, and as someone else mentioned, the gift shop Etc are also having their 'closing down sale' Sad times for the DeCourcy Centre.

Cartmills (synonymous with school wear) always reminds me of late August, the end of summer (cue…read morethe tears) and a blind panic to choose, fit and purchase those extortionately priced school uniforms we all had to wear. Cartmills made this job decidedly easy, minus the price bit. Not their fault I suppose, but why are uniforms so expensive? It just doesn't seem fair. To make it that little easier, the staff in this shop are old hands at this business. They could practically measure you up just by looking at you. This weirded me out a bit sometimes. Who knows what else they knew about if they could tell that much! But I can't really fault this place. They're good, no, sorry, great at what they do. It wasn't my favourite place to ever visit, but who could blame me, it meant going back to school, boo! They always know exactly which pieces of uniform you needed for what year and the sports kits and the rules and regulations regarding them. OK, it's not some where I'd want to go tomorrow, but it certainly is somewhere I know I'll always be able to trust.

My experience with Cartmills is pretty much the same as the other reviewers here. It reminds me of…read moreschool, a blazer that was two sizes too big ("you'll grow into it") and the colour brown for some reason. Cartmills used to be a full clothes shop, but propbably because of retirement and the crappy state of the economy, the only part that still trades is the school uniform. IT's expensive enough, but most uniforms are, so youcan't really fault them for that. The service is great,. I can see that now. As a child it was just annoying when they made you try on 13 different shirts to find the exact size you needed!

Locally known as 'Pari's' (after the owner Pari Bavalia M.P.S.) this is my local chemist (situated…read morein Merville Garden Village) It's a one stop shop for all my medical /pharmaceutical needs (E.G. Clarityn, Veet, Antihistamines, antibiotics, plasters, creams, talc etc.) It's not the biggest shop in the world, but I think this adds to the cosy, family feel of the shop. Every time I go in Pari or one of his lovely staff are always chatting away to the locals, everyone seems to be known by name, and I know for a fact that Pari never forgets a name or face (and knows someone you know, or a member of your family) It's a lovely little shop that was recently renovated to provide customers with a wider, more open space to browse their products. Speaking of which, this is one of the very few stockists where you can find Fenjal body talc (one of my Mum's Must Haves) so it's handy for getting little presents like that. The also offer a pretty good price on most of their products and are eager to help you find whatever it is you're looking for. I enjoy coming here are customers are always greated with a smile and some chit chat then provided with the quality service they require.