The second Sunday of every month is one of my favourite days of each particular month. That's one…read moreSunday when I'm happy to set my alarm, get my caboose out of bed and fly on further south in Manchester to Stockport's historic Victorian Market Halls, because that's where I can find epic 70s flowery maxi dresses, Smash Hits 'Best of the 80s' annuals and trinkets galore. Welcome to the Vintage Village! I've been to a lot of vintage markets and shops in my time. Once, I even travelled all the way up to Edinburgh for a coat, I brought back over £40 worth of vinyl and a 56 year old fur from Glasgow and I've been known to scour our little Manchester boutiques for hours at a time. But what Stockport offered last month just blew me away, knocked me sideways and had me gazing around open-mouthed like I did when I was taken to Disney World at six years old. This was epic. The quality was remarkable, the prices were insanely affordable and the sheer variety on offer was stunning. I defy you not to walk from stall to stall and see at least three things per section you covet. If you were to slap something not only like this, but of this calibre (exceptional quality, eclectic variety) bang in the middle of Manchester City Centre it would be completely overrun with fifteen-year-old Noel Fielding stalkers in knee socks and oversized Urban Outfitters jumpers (not that there's anything wrong with them - I've been known to rock a woolly from UO regularly and have frequent NSFW dreams about Mr Vince Noir myself), but as it's tucked away in a sleepy town centre in the South Manc 'burbs, it attracts a much calmer, quieter, more discerning clientele. Families bring along their children and have soup and bacon butties at Zip's Grill. Couples with dogs mooch around for gifts. It's incredibly relaxed and wonderfully friendly. I lost count of the amount of conversations I struck up with stall purveyors. This is worth getting out of bed on the day of rest for. Seriously, do it! You won't regret it. And if you do, come and have a go at me. I'll probably whup you upside the head. (P.S. Zip's Grill serves some of the finest coffee I've ever had the good fortune to taste, and the food looks all kinds of fabulous. I'll definitely have a soup this Sunday.)

Vintage Village is on every second Sunday of the month in Stockport's totally brilliant market hall…read moreplace. If the truth be known, It was more my wife and sister in law who were the instigators in us going but I wanted to stretch my legs and go out for the afternoon so thought I would give it a shot! Gotta say, it was really really good and there were all sorts of stalls selling vintage clothes, records, antiques, furniture - pretty much anything from yesteryear. Nice touches were a skiffle band playing live, with a DJ playing hits from the likes of Elvis throughout and a load of vintage cars and motorbikes on display outside. Great street food was provided from the (both) excellent Lord of the Pies and Honest Crust Pizza. I'll definitely be heading there again in the coming months as it's a great day out and only a £1 entry - bargain!

A good selection of shops in a good, central location within Stockport Town Centre, Merseyway is…read moreOK, although the selection of shops is much smaller than Manchester, which is only a couple of minutes away via train some stores here include Waterstones, Vision Express, Clarks, WHSmith, Superdrug, Primark as well as most major banks and UK mobile phone providers. Many of the shops are in the outside area, and due to the nature of the shopping centre, it is pretty open so it might not be the best place to go on a chilly day. Most of the shops do close slightly early, with 5:30 to 6 being common (when they are allowed to open of course...) The interior is pretty modern and OK. It can be useful to cut through here if you're heading from the Railway/Bus Stations into other parts of the town centre, including ASDA and Tesco. 3*

I come to Merseyway every Saturday. I you want something, I gurantee you'll find it here. The area…read moreis kept clean and has a great environment. Buses and Taxis are available at any time or within minutes. Food/Cafes: - Greggs - Marks and Spencers - Thorntons - Simon Dunn Chocolatiers - Debenhams - Sandwich Shops - Gabbots farm - Love Coffee Shopping/Clothes/Make Up: - Primark - BHS - Solewish - Blue Inc - Kiwi Fashions - The Fragrance Shop - The Body Shop - Marks and Spencers - Debenhams - Glance - New Look - Boots - Superdrug - Next - Topman - Topshop - River Island - Republic - Candy - Monsoon - Accessorize - Ann Summers - Clarks Eletronic/Games/Phones: - Vodafone - Game - Orange - HMV - T-Mobile Other: - Argos - Waterstones - The Works - WHSmith - Mothercare - Disney - Firstchoice - Sports Direct - The Card Factory - Clintons AND LOADS MORE

Everybody, look how pretty!…read more I'm writing this not as an actual market customer - more an aesthetic appreciator. I promise I'll be back to Yelp the markets properly. You know Em loves her updates, peoples. I recently attended Stockport's Vintage Village which took place in these impressive Victorian Markets, and boy, are they attractive. Handsome. Like if they were a guy, I'd be giggling like a stupid schoolgirl while they spoke to me. And I'd probably accidentally snort or something. They lent themselves incredibly well to the whole retro vibe, especially those types at the markets who were selling and crafting cute little trinkets. First of all they're covered, which is great for our inclement Manchester weather (ooh, quick warning: do not refer to Stockport as part of Manchester to a Stockportian. Ever. Even 'Greater Manchester'. They'll practically beat you about the face with a handbag and give you the evils for the rest of the day), and they have underfloor heating. Er, bonus! Food was provided by the lovely Zip's Grill, an Australian affair that offers all kinds of tasty treats from their meaty bacon and egg butties and steak wraps to mezzes, soups and salads reflective of the proprietor's Aussie Greek-Cypriot background. Oh, and they have loads of different kinds of bread too. Double bonus. The stalls I saw marked out, closed obviously at the time due to the Vintage Fair, I was very intrigued by. Books! Triple bonus! And many others to boot. Anyway, thus ends my Scrabble-esque chat about Stockport's Market Halls. Now, if I could just find a cab driver who takes me right to the door instead of abandoning me on a drizzle-ridden pedestrian road with armfuls of Yelp goodies, that'd be just dandy.

We popped here while nipping to the regular Foodie Friday in Stockport (last Friday of the month -…read more6-9pm) and the old market does seem to be having a bit of a renaissance period. Ok so I may have had slightly rose tinted specs on due to me enjoying the fine fine food on offer outside but it really is a nice spot. In the week, it's open with a good mix of shops - all sorts of market grocers, butchers and a little cafe - plus some totally random shops and some real gems like High Peak brewing Co (go here for amazing beer from all around the world - amazing x464648!) On this occasion with it being FF, you could sit inside and take a load off, buy from some of the traders and even buy beer from High Peak to drink! A winner for me and great architecture to boot! Some great pubs like the Bakers are in the Market square too if you fancy getting your whistle wet!

Next in the Merseyway shopping centre in stockport is a clearance store and so some great bargains…read morecan be had. However they do also stock some full priced items. Downstairs you will find womens clothing and shoes. They do some great styles and the clothes are really good quality that wear well. The shoes are also good quality. Upstairs is mens clothing and some home items. When it is sale time this next is always really really busy and it can be a bit messy inside but there are some good bargains to be had so its worth a visit!

Went into Stockport for the first time in ages last week. Found this great boutique, their own…read moredesign label as well as several other independants. Really friendly and the boutique looks fab as well as the outfits. can't wait to wear my dress for Bank holiday wedding coming soon.

Matalan in Stockport is hidden away behind the Peel Centre. You can get to it by either going down…read morethe side of Argos on the Peel Centre, or by walking down the side of Asda towards Newbridge Lane and turning left at the mini roundabout. It is a massive store with hundreds of lines of clothing for men, women and children. They also stock a good range of homewares and, bizzarely, a fancy dress/Birthdays section. The clothing is good quality and quite cheap, and they stock a good range of sizes. The staff are usually pleasant even thought they are always busy and there is always a queue at the checkout. The little coffee shop at the back is a nice place to stop for a quick hot drink, and the coffee is good.

Matalan is a great place to look for bargains, particularly is the homeware department. I've…read moreconstantly been impressed by the good prices for their bedding and home accessories, and their ranges are attractive and of a good quality. The clothing is of a relatively good quality and price. The Stockport store is well laid out, it just sometimes gets busy at the weekend and there are not always enough tills being manned. Apart from that it is well worth a visit.

I love River Island clothing. It's probably mid range prices for high street with their average…read morepair of jeans costing £45. They sell allsorts from going out/ clubbing gear to dress down t shirts and pjs. They have a good selection of jewellery and the shoes/ boots are to die for! I recently bought a pair of knee high leather boots with some birthday money as a treat and can't wait to show them off. Worth noting that River Island always have decent sales on in January and quite possibly the boots I have just bought will have a massive reduction. This particular shop is a decent size and staff are always helpful and knowledgable on their stock. They will also offer advice on what to mix and match.

This is a good sized River Island branch with womens clothing downstairs and mens upstairs…read more Downstairs the womens clothing section has quite a large collection of shoes and boots and some great bags. I really like River island clothes; they are fashionable, wash well and look really nice. They can be quite expensive though especially the bags.

This is a great little shop with various bits of costume jewellery & hair bobbles etc & is located…read moreinside the Merseyway shopping mall. My daughter loves it & it's a great place to go if you just want some little gifts for someone or even stuff for some girly party bags. They sell a large range of hair accessories to suit every style . Most of the prices are reasonable & they often have offers on such as buy 2 get 1 free. Great for party items as well such as hen parties. The shop itself is quite small & it can be difficult to navigate your way round especially if you have a buggy & I wouldn't imagine that anyone in a wheelchair would be able to access it. Everything is very crammed in & there are bits hanging off shelves. Overall a nice girly shop for some quirky little bits.

This Claires accsesories is located in the main shopping part of stockport town centre and is as…read moregood as all the other stores I have been in. No Matter what your taste you will find something here, from girly girly fashion to Funky fashion this is the place to go. All at really great VALUE prices. From Earrings, necklaces, rings, braclets, hair extentions, hair accessories galore you can always be sure to find something in here. Always worth a look if your after something and great in the sales where you can pick up some real bargins. Great friendly shop, and staff are really helpful. They also do ear piercing in this shop.

This shoe shop has a good choice of shoes from various brands including Clarks, Lelli Kelly &…read moreothers. They have adults shoes on the ground floor & children's shoes upstairs. On the one occasion I wanted to go upstairs I had a pram & I was told there was nowhere to leave it so I couldn't go upstairs. Very poor customer service & I find the staff not at all helpful. Despite having a good choice of shoes I wouldn't visit here again due to the staff. On another occasion I have been in the staff were stood talking to each other & didn't acknowledge any of the customers in the shop. So sadly, despite the good choice of shoes I can only award it 1 star as I wouldn't recommend it.