This is a truly gorgeous, unusual card and gift shop in Northampton, it's on the way out of town,…read morebut on one of main shopping roads. They often have lovely unique cards especially some very arty ones which I love and the type of unique gifts that are perfect for that hard to please person. The shop is named after the owner's dog, who as well as being a Crufts winner is a regular fixture in the shop!! The shop carries really unusual ranges such as miniature chess sets and candles. It is always worth checking it out regularly as their stock changes quite quickly.

Shocked this doesnt have 100 reviews. Lovely place, friendly staff, not a poundland but always a…read morebargain. It is so close we can run round when we need basics, why use the supermarket!

I don't care for TK Maxx one bit. Approaching the store it has dedicated car parking out front,…read moreunfortunately the experience gets progressively worse from here on in. The space inside is huge but the layout completely ridiculous and wasteful. The first thing you'll see is rails, rails and more rails of clothes. I'm sure if you visit early on Monday morning the clothes are in some kind of significant order, however by a Saturday afternoon there is no obvious solution to finding clothes in correct sizes or even the same style. The rest of the store is just like some Blue Peter bring & buy sale, really tacky awful items that, if original and highly priced, you'd see in an eccentrics mansion but from TK Maxx looks like the result of cleaning out a shut-in's house from the wrong side of the tracks. The staff all seem to have realised how awful this place is long before you arrive and therefore have no reason to help you in finding anything, or giving you correct prices for the hundreds of items without price tags, or doing anything at a speed quicker than an arthritic turtle. I know people who rave about this place but these are the same people who use the shop for fancy dress outfits so take that for what it's worth, whatever you do try and steer clear of TK Maxx.

I like TK Maxx, and usually pop in hoping to find what I need in there. It has a good little…read morechildrens clothes section including many designer brands that are cheap there are also toys, books and dvds. Then a great little Home section which is good for gifts or your own personal use photo albums/frames, books, condiments, teas/coffees, chocolates, toiletries, pots/pans, utensils, flasks, bathroom bits and bobs, bedroom bits and bobs, ornaments, mirrors, luggage....etc! Downstairs are designer discount trainers/shoes/boots for men, women and children and womenswear and menswear. BUT!!!....Although I do like it, there are a few golden rules..always try things on as sizes vary alot! Always check your item of clothing over for damage of any kind...and definately allow a while for searching, you really do lose time in here!!

Fot the weirdness of it, the girlyness of it, the fetishness of it, this gets a 5. (and they do…read moretouch on fetish in the exhibition). There are other things in this museum but you don't really notice. The largest collection of boots and shoes in the world. Includes Elton John's huge Doc Marten Boots from Pinball Wizard. Little Titch, Music hall artist, boots recently seen on QI. Exhibits at the gallery include shoes for animals - from horses, dogs and even elephants! Northampton was/is a shoe making town. Their Life and Sole (oh haha) galleries are the place for all dedicated followers of fashionoooer ark at me..burst into song there.

The shoe museum in Northampton provides a history of shoes in a town famous for its cobbling. There…read moreare a large collection of shoes though the ages, including some very scary looking shoes for bound feet. There are even some roman sandals as well as much more modern footware. The gift shop sells a number of suitably shoe related items along with the standard postcards, erasers and pencils. The exhibition is good for the serious shoe lover but is worth a few minutes of your time even if you only own two pairs of shoes yourself. The Shoe Museum - does exactly what it says on the tin!

The WH Smiths in Milton Keynes is quite big and stocks your usual books, magazines, papers,…read morestationary and music. They are also very helpful and will order in any books which you want which is great. With the Woolworths closing down this is the place for stationary in Milton Keynes and they often have offers on, especially around the beginning of school terms. I do find WH Smiths more expensive than other places, such as supermarkets and the gone Woolworths, but everything is of an excellent quality, so there is no false economy there. They do sometimes have books signings, but not that often. All the staff are nice and helpful, plus they stock chocolates bonus!

I have always loved W H Smiths since I was little, always wanting to but my school stationary from…read morethere. I am pretty much the same now as well though but now its diaries, organisers and general note books to write things down in. This store is on two floors downstairs you have books, from biographies, baby books, educational, fiction and magazines; you can also buy sweets and drinks from here. Upstairs which is my favourite part of the store to visit you can find all the stationary you could possibly need, notebooks, diaries and anything you could need to keep yourself organised. They also sell music CD's, blank CD's, arts and craft activities ect This store is nice and spacious, it is my favourite store to visit and the staff are really very nice.

WH Smith used to be a one-stop shop for all your music, book, magazines, stationary and just about…read moreeverything else but these days it's fallen foul in just about every department thanks to the internet boom. The Music range is limited, the dvd prices are far higher than Amazon, Play.com, etc and for books your better off going to a Waterstones or a Charity Shop! If you need a biro though, then this is the place to be!

This is a great store for books and magazines. There is always plenty of variety and they will…read morealways order books that they don't have if they can. There is also a downstairs that sells computer games, stationery etc. These are all reasonable prices, and there is usually some sort of deal on the books

'The Works' in Banbury is a cheap book shop that deals also in seemingly random objects such as…read morecheap toys, cards and other plastic objects. The shop is great for a massive discount but not really for searching for a most wanted book. Also available at 'The Works' are celebrity calenders, postcards, posters and for some reason lots of books about Steam Railways?! The shop often is very disorganised, with some items not really displayed but merely plonked down in their original packaging with the top ripped open. However, the shop is good for childrens books, big floppy paperbacks that kids love. It does seem quite a kids orientated shop actually, running all over the place whenever I've passed. The best thing about the shop is its location. The shop is situated right in the heart of the town centre, literally probably the most central shop in the town. A good shop for Christmas when you dont know what to buy for presents!

The works is a great store for cheap books. from cook books to world war 2. each time i go in there…read moreseems to be something new. The works also sell craft supplys, card and canvas's. lots be discovered here. The staff always seem to be very busy and hard to pin down but when you do they are very helpful. not a big store to take a buggy in but its managable if no to busy

The works is a fantastic little shop. It is located at the middle of the shopping centre, next to…read moreWaterstones and the fountain. It stocks books, stationary, art supplies and some toys. The prices are great and if you are looking to buy a book I really would urge you to check The Works out first because everything is so cheaply priced. Their art supplies are also very good value for money and they stock different types of paints and canvases. The staff are nice, but not overly helpful and the store is small and can get quite crowded but don't let this put you off, it is a good cheap place.

The Works is a great shop - it sells all sorts of things from cook books, childrens books, non…read morefictions books, stationary, greetings cards, artists supplies, DVDs, plus more. The prices are excellent, much cheaper than other book stores, and they always have a good choice of stock. They also sell a great range of crafting material for you to be able to make your own cards. This shop was really busy in the run up to Christmas - they must be doing something right! Every time I have shopped at this branch of The Works, staff have been friendly and always willing to help.