Grange Shopping Centre in Birkenhead offers a wide variety of small and larger shops, coffee shops…read moreand cafes, electronic stores, bakeries and much more. What I like most about this shopping centre is that there even some independent small businesses here. It's not ALL Sayers, the O2 Shop, Home Bargains, et al. Another neat thing about this particular shopping centre is the exceptionally large amount of charity shops you will find here. If you love bargain hunting, second hand book browsing, and vintage/rescued clothing, you'll have a blast perusing the wares in the many different charity shops here. I find it difficult to drag myself away. Of course if you do prefer the chain stores, and the big names, you will find some of them here, as well as in the Pyramid Shopping Centre just next door.

An extension of Cheshire Oaks, but without the discounted prices…read more However it is a good choice of shops,however it is a good selection of shops, and the M&S food hall does seem a little cheaper than town centre stores. It also has a lot of parking spaces and generally is a lot quieter thean cheshire oaks itself, so if you're happy to walk it can mean getting a decent parking space to go over the cheshire oaks. Its also right next to the food section with the cinema so is perfectly placed between the two for a good afternoon out.

This is a good alternative if you can't stand the thought of battling around cheshire oaks but want…read moreto have a shopping spree. There is a good variety of main stream shops. Borders bookstore is a must. It also has a huge boots which is much better than any of the other boots in the neighbourhood. The boots have a lancome and a clinque counter a great alternative to having to go into Chester to get these products. Argos is here too again without having to go into Chester

Until earlier this week, the last time I was in Birkenhead was a good decade ago and I was…read moresurprised to see how much the image of Birkenhead has improved, certainly in terms of the main shopping areas. It was so long ago that I'd actually forgotten my way around, so I needed to refresh my bearings once I set myself on the opposite side of the Mersey! One place which stood out from the rest had to be the Pyramids Shopping mall. I was impressed by the design of the mall with its high ceilings, letting in sheds of natural daylight for a pleasant shopping experience. In particular, the food court was attractive offering a wide range of restaurants to suit a variety of tastes. Although not the largest of malls, Pyramids does host a spectrum of trendy shops and not just branded clothes stores (like most these days), thus there is that striking balance which I feel a successful mall should have.

That's right, The Pyramids,, In Birkenhead! No, not the 8th wonder of the World, The infinite…read morewonder of Grange Road! Well Birkenhead High Street sure is becoming more smack head ridden and derelict, but I must say, the Pyramids is looking cleaner and busier than ever. I hadn't been back to Birkenhead for a good five years but was pleased to see that the Pyramids has all its outlets filled and seems a lot more secure and clean than I remember it. It has a food court, hairdressers, Marks and Spencers, Bodyshop, Dorothy Perkins, and a host of other retail outlets within minutes of each other. I guess it's one of the nicest places to shop in Birkenhead as you don't feel as though you're about to get asked for spare change or mugged at any given moment. Given that, it's still Birkenhead, so do yourself a favour and get the train over to Liverpool! It's much nicer!

weaver square in northwich, is the town centre and comprises of lots of shops with rows of shops…read moregoing of the square its self. There are several cafes and bars in northwich. It is clean and tidy with plenty of seats to sit down. Not too far is the local market which is open tuesday ,friday and ,sat. in the square its self there is a cafe and outdoor seating for the bay tree cafe. Northwich itself has lots of big shops, m&s , boots,superdrug,currys and WHS. northwich is all free parking at the moment.

There are in fact two M&S buildings on the main highstreet in Chester. One is sells womens-wear,…read morechildren's wear, food etc and the one across the road sells men's wear. I only need to visit the main one so I will review that. It's a really big shop with a couple of floors, the food court and women's section being on the ground floor at the back and children's wear, gift shop, lingerie etc on the first floor. The staff are always helpful and curteous and their food needs not further reviews since it's renowned for its quality already. The children's section is quite big and they now sell branded High School Musical clothes and the like too which appeals to the pre-teen and early teenage market and their school uniforms are excellent quality and they usually have decent 3-for-2 type offers on for those during the summer holidays etc. The chocolates are just gorgeous, their own brand remind me of Thorntons chocolate but cheaper, so if you're on a budget for a Christmas gift try those. They also have a Christmas gift shop which is really sweet, on the first floor, and offer products from anyone between 0-99 so you're bound to find something suitable for your loved one there. It's along the main high street so it's easy to find, but Chester in general is VERY busy everywhere at weekends so if you don't like the crowds then I would avoid weekends in general.

A useful location within Chester city centre, although it isn't as modern/new as other stores, the…read moreMarks and Spencer branch on Foregate Street in the city centre is satisfactory offering a decent selection of food, clothing and also having much-needed toilets which can be hard to find within the city centre. I would have liked to see more fresh produce including meats and juices and a better layout of the checkouts in the Food Hall however as an immediate improvement. In terms of clothing, I would say the nearby branches in Manchester and Liverpool are obviously better but the selection is fairly decent if you don't want to commute into one of those cities. The staff seemed OK, although I've experienced better in probably half a dozen other branches of Marks and Spencer, yet this branch is certainly much better than some dire stores within their network including the London borough of Islington and Rochdale in Greater Manchester. A nice brand within Chester, it looks good from the outside, it isn't the best Marks and Spencer store by any means, but it has good cleanliness and location going for it. 3*

Debenhams Browns of Chester is the only Debenhams store to retain its' original branding, Browns of…read moreChester. It has been owned by Debenhams since 1976, yet the store is fairly old being founded in 1780, while it doesn't seem to compare to the older department stores in London, it still is a fairly nice branch, you can enter the store through street-level or through the Grosvenor Shopping Centre. The store is pretty old and you can tell that through shopping inside, they have random sets of steps and ramps all over, so it isn't just one straight/flat level, so do be careful where you're walking to avoid tripping. They had a huge clearance sale on my visit, due to Debenhams' facing difficulties and having to close many of their stores, including this one, I still found many of their prices to be high even after the discount, I found the promotional offers to be inconsistent and it was hard to tell what item costs what as each part of the store/product range would have a different % off. The store did seem a little messy, but it did have some good products overall and it is nice to see they haven't ignored the history, it's a shame to see this store earmarked for closure as although it isn't perfect, it is and remains a nice addition to the town centre. 3*

This is a large department store where you can find really gorgeous bags, shoes, make up and…read moreperfume on the first floor and loads and loads of clothes on the second floor. This place really is fantastic for womens clothes - like debenhams it has all the usual brands such as Jane Norman and Oasis, and it has a great underwear section with huge variety of pretty knickers. It also has a wedding section with loads of higher quality dresses. Of course these come with a higher price tag that the high street stuff that can be found there but this is where I would come to look for something to wear for a special occasion.

Similar to the other clothing shops in the precinct, this only stands out because of the lovely…read morestaff, who are always helpful and polite. Same sorts of clothes as everywhere else, and a small shoe and bag section, with some additional accessories near the till. For some reason there always seems to be a lot of mums with pushchairs in here, though I can't quite figure out why. Prices are competitive, quality occasionally questionable, but generally a pretty decent clothes shop.

It is difficult to speak passionately about these ubiquitous stores adjacent, opposite, and above a…read morevery similar store selling very similar merchandise in a vey similar way. However STorm is probably the more famous, more popular store of the bunch. I must say, I preferred the old store near Lewis's, while the stock was similar, the shop was larger and brighter, there was more stuff and more space to look; it was a little decrepit, but it wasn't in St John's which I tend to find dark and claustrophobic Now there is no alternative I shop here. The stock is variable with some obligatory tat but an occassional bargain (as with most of these style stores) and the staff are always on hand and very helpful.

Peacocks is situated in the busy Old Swan shopping area. This store is of a decent size and ample…read morestock for men, women and children. The women's clothes are pretty good. Items stocked include dresses, t-shirts, basics, jeans, lingerie, nightwear, cosmetics, accessories and much more. The items are all quite fashionable but do not have the cheap appearance of the stock from some of the other less expensive shops. The clothing is quite inexpensive and there are often multibuy offers on items such as vest tops and basic tshirt tops. There is usually a good range of sizes on the rails and stock up to a size 22-24 which is better than many high street stores. The staff are friendly and helpful and work hard to keep the store clean and tidy. Things can get a bit cluttered when a sale is on but this is to be expected. This is a great shop for buying something for work or clothes for a holiday.

Great shop for womens clothes on a budget. Loads of choice and they stock shoes, nightwear and bags…read moretoo. Also stock a few younger girls bits too. Usually a good couple of sale rails too with tops etc for as little as £2 - you can't go wrong with prices like that.