This is quite an exciting bubblegum-coloured shop that sells a massive variety of traditional…read moresweets. You know, the classics that join you and your grandparents in soaring memories of childhood. I won't wax too lyrical about the types of sweets available, because I expect you all know really... but then there might be some people who don't: Rhubard & custard, aniseed balls, barley sugar, hard gums, butterscotch, truffles, jelly beans, giant gobstoppers, sherbert lemons, pear drops, treacle toffee, candy canes, toasted teacakes, bon bons, humbugs and white mice, to name a few. The staff here are lovely and prices are very reasonable for the quality of product. Worth a visit if you're passing by that way. Just don't tell you dentist.

I was somewhat surprised to find Clare'e sweet shop in Birchgrove as it's not the sort of shop one…read morewould associate with this shopping area. However why not, the owner explained that it had been open since February and was very popular with people wanting a return to more traditional shops.The shelves were stocked with jars of every conceivable sweet including my favourite of sweet and sours. They also had a small selection of hand made nougat and speciality choclates very tempting!! I liked their novely range of choclate bars with labels to cover every type of occasion/person, daughter, son, teacher, thank you, cheer up etc. The shop also stocked helium balloons which I have always loved.

This shop has me written all over it. Anyone close to me knows my sweet obsession, which makes it…read moredamn near impossible to pass by a sugar sanctuary without going in. Sweet Tooth is a fairly new sweet shop (so new, actually, that the proper sign isn't up yet) on Cowbridge Road East that sits across the road from Victoria Park. A lovely older couple sat smiling behind the counter, poised for a bit of chit chat about the weather (Cardiff was experiencing rare sunshine that day so it was worth mentioning). Sweet Tooth sells your usual array of chocolates like Cadbury et al, but also carries massive plastic containers of pick and mix sweets at a reasonable rate of 80p per 100g. Also on offer are a selection of drinks, crisps, games and toys, making it a delightful detour on your way back from nearby Victoria Park. Of course, I couldn't walk out of there empty-handed, so I traded my 17p for a Cadbury Freddo, one of the diet staples in my marathon-training program.

The Pink Shop does exactly what it says on the marquee; it's a shop and...well, it's pink. So pink…read morein fact that it has become almost a local landmark over time. But inside this distinctly feminine coloured shop, you will find a haven for anyone with a sweet tooth. The Pink Shop is an old fashioned sweet shop that sells everything from sherbet lemons to chocolate raisins and is an instant nostalgia trip for anyone who ever spent their lunch money in the local sweet shop during school lunchtime. Also, this shop strangely doubles up as a tobacconists which, given its primary selling feature of kiddies sweets, seems a bit weird. "A Curly Wurly and 40 Lambert please, shopkeep!" Nevertheless, this is a unique shop that is both visibly and internally different to anything in the surrounding area and a great place to go to indulge your sweet tooth...or a nicotine craving.

The pink shop is located opposite the train station in treforest. It sells everything from news…read morepapers, sweets, magazines to cigarettes. It is bright pink in colour hence the name so you wont miss it!

Now, I certainly won't say that this shop alone is worth the trip to Cowbridge, but I will…read morecertainly imply it heavily. This is a charming little shop tucked away off the main road passing through the town, so you might not immediately see it. It's easy to find though, and is very near the main parking zone. The staff in Cocoa & Co are very lovely, and clearly take a pride in their products. They have a good range of handmade chocolates and gifts, but the thing that really makes this shop something special, are the sugar-covered almonds. In all different colours, jars of them fill a wall. These are my favourite of sweets, so I was very, very excited when I first found them. But they're great for wedding favours, and Cocoa & Co specialise in making these up, if you're so inclined.

You will find Cocoa & Co down a quaint little mews off the High Street at the top end of Cowbridge…read more You can get there by turning right after Arthur John Hardware. (I had lived in Cowbridge for six months before I discovered this beautiful little mews!) Being a chocoholic this is my kind of shop, and although expensive, the treats that they have on offer are our of this world... so, essentially well worth the extra dollar! Although i have never indulged in anything but the handmade chocs, they also sell a pretty broad assortment of other sweets, that are bought in from other cottage industries and small manufacturers. The interior of the shop is like something you would expect to find in a period film about the Victorian era... it has that other-worldly charm going on about it! A real delight!

Card Centre is a cheap and cheerful shop that is located practically next door to Clinton's on…read moreAlbany Road... surely there is some logic in this, but I have to admit that it escapes me! Both shops sell almost identical product ranges and share the same commercial emphasis, clearly concentrating most of their effort on the sale of greetings cards. There's not much to distinguish one from the other in my opinion, as the majority of the stock is either of the 'humorous' variety, or of the schmaltzy candy-coated kind, (flowers, kittens, stylised teddy bears, and utopian rustic scenes that don't exist in hardly anyone's reality... you know the type!?... all replete with cringe-inducing idylls, and sentimental verse that are the poetic equivalent of the two times table... yeah, that sophisticated!) Card Centre probably wins the price war on the whole, but has sacrificed quality, (and several thousand trees), to achieve a pretty shallow victory! The only thing that I can say in their favour is that a lot of their cards are so flimsy that, at least, they probably use less trees than Clinton's. Hardly a heartfelt vote of commendation! My vote, on Albany Road, is actually with the Vision 21 Gift Shop. Not only can you buy more interesting cards here, but you can probably pick up a half decent present to go with it... and the cause is 100% more worthy!

Filled with everything you'd find at a similar "Clinton Cards" store. Everything that would be…read morerequired to give a showy celebration. I find that most women buy cards, where as men only buy cards for their girlfriends, because most men would rather have a pint and don't really care for cards. But when you have to buy a card the Card Centre has everything you would expect, cards. Ballons of varying shape and colour, mugs, novelty toys and teddy bears and random tat with classic catch phrases like "i cannot think of anything original and because this is a batch product, every one will be the same" or "I love you" because a statement on a bear is more meaningful that actually saying it etc. As you might of guessed I'm not a fan, I'd rather buy a magazine that might be interesting to the receiver of the gift than a card.