This is a well known family run furniture shop right in the heart of Bath city centre. Firstly, the…read morequality of items here is fantastic and they sell everything you might need for your home from mirrors and beds to dining tables and chairs all laid out over a couple of floor in an intimate showroom feel. The second most legendary thing about Silcox, Son and Wikes are the sales they have twice a year at Christmas and the Summer. People queue from the night before to grab a bargain such as a £1000 bed down to £100 which you can't beat! The service is excellent, always helpful and knowledgeable, and the furniture is timeless as well as contemporary and modern. Something for every household.

Rossiters in my opinion is what is good about England. This department store is a Bath institution…read moreand has been around for years. Twenty years ago I used to frequent here before I emigrated. I am pleased to see that it still exists.

I have bought a few things here in the past, including a lamp, bedside cabinet and a throw for the…read morecouch (which my girlfriend made me get, even though the infernal things always fall off and are more hassle than they're worth). However, it's not all that cheap here, as is the case with a lot of the Bath stores, I guess, but the quality is unquestionable. The staff are always on hand to show you where things are, but are pretty clueless about actually recommending anything. It's a good place to browse if you need some extra furnishing for a new place, but don't expect to be overwhelmed with desire.

This shop may have the world's most unimaginative name, but it tells you exactly what you're going…read moreto be getting when you walk through it's doors: kitchen stuff. Spread over three floors there's enough to turn any woman (or domesticated fella) into Nigella Lawson. There's pots, pans, baking trays and books on everything to do with turning your kitchen into a housewife's paradise. The shop assistants are so helpful, which is great if you're feeling a bit lost. The prices, and quality, of the goods vary from budget to high end so you're bound to find something to suit your salary.

Kitchens is a three-floor specialist cookware shop serving the general public and those in the…read morecatering trade they also have a shop in Bristol. You can get absolutely everything here, from a tea strainer to an icing piping nozzle, coffee machines and food mixers and an extensive range of pots and pans. Twice a year they give a discount on pots and pans if you trade in your old ones, which are then passed to Oxfam. The staff are all friendly and extremely knowledgeable, and all seem to be experts in one area of cooking or another, so you can ask them their opinion on products, or get advice on how to use something. There are sometimes product demonstrations in the shop, so if you are lucky there is something nice to sample whilst you are browsing.

If you want to know where the majority of Bath's middle-class housewives gather on a weekday lunch…read moretime, Vinegar Hill on Milsom Street is the answer. (Or at least seem to be!) This shop of largely overpriced kitchen equipment and accessories is aimed at people whose budget stretches to a cake stand. That's not to say that I don't love this shop to pieces - it's what Nigella Lawson wannabes like myself inspire to! The shop assistants here are a bit on the aloof side, so if you're looking for friendly service you're better off down the street at Jolly's. If you're looking for a present for a mother, grandmother or fancy friend this is a good start, then maybe nip along to Habitat for a slightly less pricey version.

This shop is right at the top of town on Milsom Street and it is worth the walk up the hill!! A…read moregorgeous little shop selling the most beautiful items great for gift ideas too. They sell some lovely pieces of jewellery, really original and pretty. I think one of the best things is the books that they have in there, lots of different titles covering everything from fashion and holidays to gardening and etiquette very coffee table. Great vintage items for the home as well, kitchenware and living room items including furniture. They also have a kids section at the back, and sell christening tokens and wedding tokens etc.

I visit Prior Park most weeks, it is a lovely garden centre, well stocked with a wide variety of…read morequality plants. It's not the cheapest place to buy, but then you get what you pay for sometimes, also it is well staffed with people who are usually able to assist with your queries. Prior Park is more than just a garden centre - there is a good pet section (including stocking more unusual items, such as foodstuffs for reptiles), a really nice food section with reasonably priced organic and local food, and all sorts of homewares, including plenty of unusual gift ideas. What I visit weekly for though, is its excellent cafe. There is an indoor seating area with air conditioning, or you can sit outside on a sunny terrace. Again, not the cheapest in town, but the quality of the food and drink is very good; they always have a range of scrumptious cakes, plus a standard snack menu of sandwiches, toasties and jacket potatoes. There is usually a home made soup of the day, plus a couple of main course options. I had pea and mint soup yesterday and it was delicious, so good that I passed my compliments to the chef. It's a good venue to meet people for coffee; a real bonus is that there is ample free parking for customers, which is a rare and precious thing in central Bath!

Organised chaos, a treasure trove of old tools and small implements, plants, garden furniture,…read moreornaments, trellises - hunt around in the undergrowth or behind the shed for weird items you never knew you needed until your visit. For instance, there are still some old cheese boxes knocking around at the back, real wooden ones that have now been superceded by plastic trays (for hygiene reasons - when was cheese hygienic??) - ideal for trendy storage or even stack a few of 'em and hey presto, instant book case for under 20 quid - put that in your Habitat pipe and try and smoke it. Excellent value for new metal garden benches - go further into Bath and find the same items at 20% more. Don't blink as you drive along the London Road A4 into Bath from the A46, or you'll miss it on the right, before you get to Morrisons, which is on the left. Excellent and worth stopping to browse or calling if you want any friendly advice about gardening or filling your garden up.

I bought some lovely bushes which were more than 5 tall, and the price I paid was amazing with free…read moredelivery! I had already looked online and been to another garden centre and the prices there were more than twice what I paid! Great place to go for unusual pots for the garden, it is a one off place and you could easily miss it on the London Road in Bath.