What a gem. On a high street of hit-or-miss stores and a lot of charity shops, it was wonderful to…read morefind Browsers. Their recent nomination in the Welsh Independent Retail Awards is well deserved and I hope they win. Be sure to stop in for a book or a map (great selection of regional maps) when you're in Porthmadog.

Top place. I love Browsers! They have a great range of books and are always willing to help you…read morefind what you are looking for. Even if you want a book about. and don't have a title or author they will search the computers for something suitable, order it in for you and phone to let you know it has arrived. The art department at th back is similarly helpful, with a huge range of paints, paper, card making, face painting and other art supplies. They have a loyalty card, where you get a stamp every time you spend £10, and once you ahve 6 stamps you get £5 (or possibly £10 I don't remember) off your next purchase.

An excellent indie book shop which is always worth a visit while in town, especially as it's hard…read moreto say 'no' thanks to the vey inviting window display, which always look superb. Shop itself is well stocked with both Welsh and English books and a small selection of audio CD's and cards. If a book is not instock, it can be ordered in for the very next day. Staff are bilingual and are true experts at helping you and suggesting new books and authors. There wasn't any indictaion of this from the outside, but at the back of the shop there was a small coffee bar, with a few tables and chair and a very large comfortable sofa, where you could loose hours reading books. Also, there were toilets, computers for surfing the internet and a childrens play area. Very modern, yet the shop still had that vintage feel. You don't get that from WHSmith and Waterstones, that's for sure!

Good book shop.read more

The Muse is an excellent and cheap source of textbooks and reference books. Their prices are…read morereasonable, in some cases they are cheaper than Amazon and other online stores, and they have a wider range of stock, too. I'm studying languages and The Muse has a wide range of ordinary texts in the languages I'm studying as well as several other languages such as Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Russian, Italian, Polish and of course, Welsh. They have, I believe, every single textbook that's required reading or recommended reading on courses at Bangor University and local schools and colleges, and the staff are friendly and very knowledgable. If books are not in stock, they'll order them for you and they'll be there for you to collect within a few days.

An excellent, friendly and traditional second-hand bookshop, across the road from the railway…read morestation. As well as used books, they have a good selection of old prints (perfect gifts for difficult-to-buy-for people). Well worth a look if you're passing.

This is a great book shop, prices are the best, my favourite being the 3 for £5 paperback offer,…read moresomething for everyones taste in fiction. They also have a good selection of history, (planes, trains, cars etc) cooking, crafts, dvds,well the list just goes on. I definitely recommend anyone to go browse in store, very relaxed and no one 'pesters' you.

This has to be one of my favourite little shops in Llandudno, hidden away as it is at the bottom of…read moretown. I am a bit of a paperback thriller addict and have regularly taken advantage of the 3 for a fiver selection. Always lots of top authors - Tom Clancy, John Connolly, Mark Billingham etc etc - at the cheapest prices I've seen. The only problem is that I've now just about bought and read everything they've got to offer!

This weekend has seen one of those free toy offers that crop up in the papers from time to time. On…read morethis occasion the toys needed to be collected from branches of Toys'R'Us or W.H. Smith. Yesterday (Saturday) I happened to be in Llandudno and had no problem claiming the toy from W.H. Smith there. Today (Sunday) I happened to be in Bangor. Now Bangor is officially a city, this shop is on the high street (which is even called High Street) so you'd think that a renowned national newsagent would open the doors of a city centre, High Street branch in order to sell the Sunday papers. Well clearly WHS don't think that way because when I got there, after eleven o'clock, I found it closed and with no signs of life inside. Rubbish. I eventually bought my paper in Tesco so the end result was one happy dad and two disappointed and toyless children.

WH Smith is an institution. No, not a place of respite for mentally unstable folk an institution…read morein the sense that it is indelibly marked into the public consciousness. Probably with a fairly priced marker pen from their own supply. Smiths is a great stop off point if you need to buy anything from a daily paper, to stationary, to celebrity biographies, to celebrity stationary. I have found that the staff on the tills are very fast and even during busy times you do not have to wait long to get your purchase processed. A legacy that will continue until the end of retailing no doubt.

Celtica has moved. It's in the same area, but it's now located between Fu's and The Harbour,…read moreinstead of being between Premier Inn and Travelodge. Celtica stocks high quality gifts, crafts, jewellery, art and clothing. Items can be expensive but they often have seasonal sales too. The move has improved the cafe. It's now smaller, but you have a beautiful view of Victoria Docks, all it's yachts and the people passing by. The cafe doesn't offer any main meals, but it's the perfect place for a reasonably priced snack. They offer sandwiches, paninis, jackets, cakes and the like, and often have special offers such as a toasted tea cake with a drink for £1.50.