What a delightful establishment this is! I might even go as far as to say delectable!…read more Nook & Cranny stocks a veritable cornucopia of gorgeous gifts, stationery and homewares, all utterly charming. The first thing that caught my eye (and drew me in from my journey up Bold Street) were the beautiful Cable & Cotton fairy lights displayed in the window - these stunning textured, multi coloured, orb fairy lights are just magical and certainly set the scene for the rest of the shop. There is so much to gaze or chuckle at and drool over in Nook & Cranny that I just wouldn't know where to start telling you all about it but other highlights include the bear paw oven mitts, the 'My Cuppa Tea' colour matching guide mug and the Knit Your Own Zoo kit. I was in seventh heaven. Imagine my delight when I discovered that the back of the shop (which used to be storage space) has now been turned into a cosy little cafe called Quills & Coffee. Sadly I couldn't stay to sample any of the beautiful looking cakes but I vowed there and then to visit again as soon as possible. Yet more delight...Nook & Cranny and Quills & Coffee put on occasional film screenings at the back of the store!! The next one is American Beauty on Saturday 28th March at 7pm - tickets are £10 and include free drinks and pizza and available from www.nookandcrannyshop.co.uk. Magic

This is a fantastic independent biz that I ventured into when in Liverpool a couple of weeks back…read more We actually held an event in the back part of the business and I didn't realise it existed until Liverpool CA Gemma A introduced me to it - but the space is really cavernous and it was great to temporarily see Quills coffee set up in the back. Very very cool cards and gifts throughout, I was especially impressed with the awesome range of band music posters in the back - everything from Queens of the stone age to classic hiphop ones - really worth a look if you're nearby and fancy some colourful artwork to brighten up your walls. Very friendly staff, they hopefully will do well in this prime location in Liverpool.

The gift shop now, and this is one of my favourite places to browse-not-buy. You know what I mean -…read moreall this stuff looks great but you can't really justify buying it. Can you...? This shop is a favourite of mine because it has fantastic baby clothes and accessories, which comes in handy when you don't know what to get your mate who's just had another baby. My favourites are the t shirts with cute logos on. Almost makes me wanna have kids... But anyway, I digress. I will stick to my guns on this one and say that Utility is one luxury I know I can't afford, but would never object to having!!

This just has to be, one of my favourite shops. I would just love to run a shop like this. I must…read moresay that I like Utility - Gift Boutique better than Utility - Home Store, just a few doors up from the gift boutique at 60 Bold Street. Maybe it is because I like gifts more than home stuff. Anyway, great great place if you are wanting to buy unique presents for friends and family. They sell the cutest shoes for babies and have products for pregnancy and after pregnancy including Neal's Yard, Mother's Massage Oil. For the children as they grow older, they sell the Face Food Plate, which is meant to encourage kids to eat up their food by making faces with their food...why didn't they have these 20+ years ago! Peas for the hair and tomato ketchup in the ears.

After a failed attempt to get breakfast/brunch at The Bagelry in Chinatown, we decided to give The…read moreCow&Co Cafe a try instead. At the 'other end' of the street, it felt like a long walk to get there (especially with a growing hunger after a few drinks the night before) but as soon as we found it we knew we'd made the right choice. The location almost feels like a cul-de-sac, with a dog grooming salon next door and plenty of prams being pushed past. This meant it was a more relaxed vibe than elsewhere, and we easily got a table for two in the sunny window. There is a mezzanine level also, but no table service, which is worth considering if you or someone in your party struggles with stairs. The menu is on a blackboard, with changing specials, and plenty of proper coffee and tea on offer. Orders are taken at the small bar and processed in the same spot, meaning service isn't the quickest, but we were in no rush and everything was done with a smile. I went simple with a cheese and ham croissant, served warm, and a cup of tea. Josh's sandwich was much more substantial and it's fair to say I had food envy; mixed beans, peppers and aubergine on fresh wholemeal bread. Needless to say, with this delicious food and sunny window spot, we didn't really want to move! In no rush, we also shared a chocolate chip shortbread as we finished our drinks. A lovely start to our Saturday.

This place is very small, but the coffee is excellent, pastries and bagel sandwiches are tasty, and…read moreall the details of the decor are exceptionally charming. Very cozy! I liked it a lot.

Located just from the waterfront of Duke's Dock lies this little souvenir shop that is embedded in…read morea small clump of businesses mainly catered to tourists. It's such a gorgeous area, full of great views and clean streets. People coming here are sure to snap away photos during the day, one might as well make something out of it and bring a little piece of Liverpool home with them. Besides, what touristy experience isn't complete with some souvenirs? The shop seems nice and is full of moderately priced items that range from glasses to wall decor to cheesy t-shirts. I managed to find a mini collection of fun coasters and some interesting hats to bring back to the states. Service was splendid. The staff here was nice enough to help us search out various items based on the preferences of our group. The only problem was that none of the stuff really appealed to me, but then again I'm not much of a souvenir shopper.

When you spot a big cardboard cut out of The Yellow Submarine in the window you pretty much know…read morewhat to expect! In fairness this place is not meant for the likes of me, a scouser who has had The Beatles rammed down his throat since birth but for those visiting the city there is plenty of memorabilia and souvenirs to remind you of the trip in scouseland. There are plenty of novelty t shirts, LFC gear - even babygrows and bibs for those eager to ensure their offspring grow up admiring the wrong side of Stanley Park! - and all the usual gubbins such as key rings and fridge magnets. There are also some fairly interesting books about the city and some of its famous sons - not just The Beatles but the clubs of that era, the history of the city as a port, etc - and even a 'How to speak Scouse' handbook. It was very up to date too with words like jarg, bizzie and...shirtlifter? Oh well done, nothing like the scouse 'wit' to really sell the city.

Paperchase is a brand which I have become quite familiar with in the past few months, visiting…read moremultiple branches including those in Manchester, Cardiff and Leeds but one thing I have noticed is how their non-flagship stores located in Manchester, Glasgow and London have been let down, with all the focus going to them stores and this store shows that This branch is only quite small, and doesn't follow the flagship store approach of being over multiple floors with a cafe, where members can get a free coffee if they spend over £5 in store, which is quite a good offer and even rolling it out here with a coffee machine could be a good idea, but with it being in a city centre this might not be used as much with fresher rivals being located nearby including a Thorntons Cafe, Costa, Caffe Nero and Starbucks all being nearby. Due to the size of the store, the store has a basic selection which is a shame. It is also worth nothing about loyalty schemes here, such as My Unidays where students and teachers can get 10% off anything they buy, however this is beaten by rival store Ryman who offer 15% and a loyalty card, where you get £5 back for every £50 spend and a birthday gift. The staff didn't seem too friendly in general, they didn't seem to be promoting the loyalty scheme. The overall feel of this store also was quite poor and it just felt like this store had been forgotten, to conclude I do feel this branch is okay but nothing more than that and it has done nothing to warrant anything over 2 stars, which I'm sorry to report.

We visited this store today and it has a *superb* selection of cards, beautifully-illustrated…read morenotebooks and many other lovely items. Also, the two women working at the registers were very pleasant.

What a gorgeous little place! I popped in here to buy a birthday card and could have stayed for…read moreHOURS and bought EVERYTHING!!! The downstairs of this fabulous establishment is full of the most adorable trinkets, gifts, jewellery, stationery, homewares and toiletries - almost too much to take in and very dangerous if one is feeling in a spending mood. I actually ended up buying *myself* a gift instead of the person I was buying the card for! Upstairs there is an interesting collection of vintage furniture and bric-a-brac but it is the cornucopia of delectable gifts and bibelots downstairs that has captured my heart. The gorgeous broaches, scarves and handbags, knitted baby clothing, mugs, keyrings, dinner mats and coasters (I bought myself a rather fabulous 'Liverpool's Most Iconic Sights' coaster set - photo below!), fridge magnets and ornaments. I was extremely tempted by the 'retro bunny with a baby's face' lamp but managed to restrain myself. The best thing about Larks is that you don't actually NEED stuff from there...you just WANT it. Because having a cubic zirconia broach shaped like the Eiffel Tower makes you feel happy doesn't it? And that's near enough to needing for me.

Definitely not a shop which was set up to appeal to boys, with a cute selection of all things…read moregirlie, this is a little dolls house style affair with lots of little knick-knacks on sale, from kitsch household items, to some really dainty, bright jewellery and a lot of Alice in Wonderland-esque tea party set porcelain cups and saucers. It's very pink in here and slightly overwhelming but you can't help but have a bit of a root around the little dressing-tables which are crammed with goodies. The kind of stuff you wouldn't buy for yourself but might appreciate as a gift, even if it is slightly tacky. They also have vintage stuff available upstairs and fun cards, it's slightly overpriced for what it is really but worth a look if you have a bit of time on your hands.

If your budget can't stretch to the stunning designs at the Display Centre, Shared Earth sells cute…read morehand-made jewellery, accessories and home furnishings that are easier on the wallet. A fair trade company with a loyal customer base, they specialise in distinctive, hand-made designs by artisan producers in India, Africa, Asia, South America and beyond. A lot of the products are made from recycled timber, plastic or tin and ranges from colourful cushions and picture frames to coffee tables. There's also a big jewellery and accessories section in this branch though I have to admit most of it is too bead-based for my taste.

Deep breaths. And relax. Clear your head of all thought. Let your hand take your wallet from…read moreyour inside pocket, that's it, 20 should do it. Exhale you've done a good deed. On your way. Ok, Ok, a little cynical but come on a shop's a shop and any talk of ethical living and saving the planet is pretty much just there angle so let's concentrate on what they do. Well there's certainly a lot of natural materials here - err I thought somehow this was an ethical shop so I do hope that these lovely, calm people behind the counter only found the necessary branches for their wooden goods lying on the ground - hand crafted into jewellery boxes - handy for my collection of blood diamonds - trinket boxes and box boxes. There is also a selection of jewellery and bags and little items for children.

If your'e into visiting Catholic churches, then you cannot miss visiting this, if in Liverpool…read more The plan was to build the biggest Cathedral in the world during Liverpool's heyday as a transnational center of British trade. Of course, life has a way of happening, and by the time it was finished it was just a big church. That said this cathedral is a wonderful break from the traditional floor plan for churches. It's round, and has the altar at the center. Has plenty of modern art inside, and beautiful renditions of the Stations of the Cross. We skipped the 5GBP cost to visit the Luyden Crypt and basement, but really enjoyed the rare sun piercing through the stained glass around the cathedral and the solemnity and peace that you find when entering and enjoying a holy space. It was recommended to me and now I recommend it to you.

The Cathedral Gift Shop, located within the visitor centre at the foot of the cathedral steps, has…read morea superb selection of inspirational gifts, books, cards, souvenirs and postcards. Seasonal gifts are stocked to reflect the church calendar. In addition to traditional Christmas decorations and Easter cards, you will find gifts for every occasion including Holy Communion, Confirmation and notable days including St. Patrick's Day and Mothering Sunday. The official full colour cathedral guide book is also available from the gift shop. If you're looking to spend a few pounds on a couple of souvenirs from your visit or to enjoy a warm drink after your service, then the shop is an ideal pre- or post-visit.

Royal Albert Dock is one of the nicer parts of Liverpool city centre, with the old dock buildings…read morealong the river, consisting of many bars and restaurants including Miller and Carter, Lunyalita and Revolution. It is one of the most visited multi-use attractions in the country outside of London, and the collection of buildings (docks, warehouses) is the largest single collection of Grade I listed buildings anywhere in the UK. It can be a nice, relaxing place to have a walk around, getting away from the busy main parts of the city. I do think it could be laid out better with some signage and notes to the historic past, but I do understand there are some limitations in making changes due to the listed building status. 4* - A pretty cool and historic part of Liverpool city centre

The Albert docks are historical and have now been modernised and preserved to offer a plethora of…read morenice restaurants, shops and some museums, one of which is the tate, and the Maritime Museum and also the International Slave Museum. Here is some history about the docks - "Liverpool's docks dominated global trade by the early 19th century. When it opened in 1846, Albert Dock changed the way the docks worked here forever. Its warehouses were fireproof and secure; traders could do deals before their import taxes were due; hydraulic cranes hauled heavy cargoes across the flagstones. The speed with which ships unloaded and turned around was cut in half." Definitely a worthy and must see stop when you visit Liverpool.