Quite unexpectedly, in an area dominated by large out-of-town style shops and car parks, Merton…read moreAbbey Mills is a craft and artisan food market, with cafes, a restaurants, pubs and a small theatre, all located in the historic buildings of the Liberty textile mill, alongside the River Wandle. The name reflects the location of Merton Priory, once one of the largest and wealthiest monastic foundations in England: Henry VI was crowned in the Church and Thomas a Becket was educated at the Priory. Following its almost complete destruction at the dissolution of the monasteries in 1538, only the Chapter House foundations survive, under Merantun Way. The area has been the location for textile mills since the 18th Century, with the river providing both pure water for the dyeing process, and power for the water mills used for printing and textile processing. William Morris had a factory here, but the Abbey Mills occupy the buildings of the former Liberty textile mills. They include a working water mill, one of only four mills left on the Wandle, and the only actually in working order. It now houses a pottery, but can visited to view the water wheel. Other businesses include a mineral and fossil shop, hairdressers, picture galleries and art/craft shops. At weekends there are more stalls selling crafts and artisan food stalls. The Office accommodation houses a range of creative and service companies. It is becoming quite a foodie stop, with two pubs, a bakers, artisan cakes, a delicatessen, two pubs, and several cafes and restaurants covering a range of cuisines. There isn't a lot of parking in the Mill complex, but it's only a short walk from Collier's Wood underground station, and Sainsbury's and the Tandem shopping centre have large car parks.

I've been to Merton Abbey Mills a few times now, and have always had a nice time. It is a pretty…read moreand somewhat bohemian retreat from South West London, a quiet oasis of calm and friendliness. There are a good selection of shops especially for gifts (great now in the run up to Christimas!) and as well as that there is a regular Farmers Market. I went there last Sunday and was a little late - by 1:30pm many of the stalls had clearly packed up and gone home. However I had an interesting discussion with a leather goods vendor and got to sample some cheeses and check out the pottery. Apparently you can sign up for pottery classes there. There are also a range of restaurants -- which I am rating separately in their own right. And in the evenings there are a range of live music and theatre going on, check out their website for their events calendar. One thing I would recommend doing, is to travel to Morden Hall Park and do the the Wandle riverside walk from there to Merton Abbey. Its scenic and about a mile and a half, passing by Deen City Farm on the way. A hit for the kids!

Dreadful shopping centre full of the usual high street stores…read more Something has happened to the attitude of the centre staff here and they are no longer the friendly bunch of old. As we left we saw the security harassing 2 NHS workers that were simply sitting on the bench outside. They were told they could not sit there as it was Shopping Centre property....???! Very nasty will not be visiting here again, not even to visit the cinema even though it is our nearest 'mall'.

baddest shopping center ever all the shops there are horrible the toilets stink and the employese…read moreare so rude especialy linda i asked her if they have any school bags there and where i can find it she said idk look for it yourself im not ur servant and then i got lost.there is nothing to chose from .also the price is despaceble there is not a selection of style e.g shirts just one type of style. baddest shopping experience!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Centre Court is a gorgeous little shopping centre in Wimbledon. It's literally right by the tube /…read moretrain station and the first thing you notice when exiting the station. This is a pretty bog standard shopping centre, there are a lot of shops but I've never been bowled-over by this place. There's the usual H&M, Marks and Spencer, Body Shop etc and a nice wee food court but unless you are local there is not point in visiting this shopping centre. Handy for Wimbledon locals, not worth it if you are just visiting, best go to the boutiques unique to Wimbledon just up the road instead.

Conveniently situated slap-bang in the middle of Wimbledon's High Street, and right next-door to…read morethe tube and train station, this is a spacious place to shop to your heart's content, stop for a coffee or light lunch or indulge in a pampering treat or two. There is indoor parking on two levels and cash machines also available, for added convenience. Shops include Debenhams (on both levels), Boots, Ann Summers, Accessorize, a mini M&S Food Store and a Tesco Express, plus a host of fashion outlets including Gap, H&M, La Senza and Oasis. There is also a food court on the upper floor and a terrace restaurant. Basically just about everything you could need, all under one roof!

How did I not notice this place existed until recently?? Huh…read more Putney Exchange is a rather nicely laid out little shopping centre on Putney High Street. The shops in it range from rather nice, standard mall fare (Gap, etc.) to the weird one-off local oddity. The Waitrose in it has flagship signage, but the strangest corner location I've ever seen in a grocery store. I've been in on a Sunday afternoon, so not everything was open, but it seems like a nice little spot to shop.

This is just your average shopping centre with many high street shops! My little find was the urban…read morediner, which is decorated like a American diner with bright red padded booth seats and bright lighting! We popped in for breakfast and I had the most amazing Nutella chocolate French toast which was two toast and cut strawberries on top! It was a lovely chocolate morning hit!

For a tiny little shopping centre situated inside / at Clapham Junction (one of London's busiest…read moretrain stations), this place sure does know how to please the commuters that pass through it's doors daily, morning, noon and night... It really doesn't feel like a shopping centre since it's so tiny but when I used to come through Clapham Junction on a daily basis I almost always stopped by either Sainsbury's, Marks & Spencer or Joy to browse or pick up some food on the way home. This place has it all for the busy worked on the way home with little time on their hands to do their shopping elsewhere. Shopstop really serves a necessity rather than a leisurely, recreational shopping experience and what it does, it does well.

Every time I go shopping in Croydon I park in Central car park! It's not the cheapest car park but…read moreI feel safe leaving my car here for long hours and it's central to Croydon shops. So the two main shops I visit here is house of fraiser and debenhams, they are multi floor stores and I tend to buy my luxury items here like underwear makeup perfume and dresses. The other Beaty of these stores is that they have a personal shopper if you have limited time, though book in advance they can get busy!

Lots of shops which we all know along side some smaller "tat" selling ones. Don't get me wrong some…read moreof the tat selling ones actually have some useful stuff in. Since the demise of Alders there have been a few more empty shops within the area. With the development of the Croydon "Westfield" soon to begin I guess there will be lots of new shops coming to town. The variety of shops is still good and you can get almost everything you want. Prices vary but that is to be expected, the price of parking is something of an issue as you have to pay £2:50 for anything under two hours parking. So if you only want to go to one shop thing about where you will park to get best value.

This is a really big branch of Next. They have quite a lot of maternity clothes, which many of the…read morestores don't carry, as well as the usual mens, womens, petite and childrens sections. The prices of next stores is standard, and I generally find it best to go when the sale is on. However the store does open very early at the start of the sale and the queues can be horrendous. There is plenty of parking outside the store but the car park can get busy at the weekends. As with all Next stores that I have been to, it can be a bit difficult with a pushchair.

ice staff and good things to buyread more

Independent Trading Centre Warehouse Indoor Market has loads of various stalls where you can find…read moreunique wares produced and sold by local businesses. I found books, butchers, jewellery, bags and even a photographer's studio in here. Bartering is the name of the game. If you find something awesome but you think it's too pricey then, if you have the gift of gab, most likely you can talk your way into getting a serious discount.