Built between 1914 and 1921 this is one of the most prominent older buildings in Manchester city…read morecentre, at the end of Market Street on Cross Street going into St Ann's Square. Despite being damaged in two separate bombings, the Manchester Blitz during the Second World War and 1996 IRA bombings of the city, it still stands strong and looks good today. The Arcade is a small walkway with mainly independent shops, cafes and jewellery stores and as I recall there is a barber too, many of the shops seem to change frequently especially the cafes and are closer to high-end. The building its-self does look great as it links St Ann's Square to Cross Street, however the range of shops and everything else isn't too impressive, and it is more of a place to go "Oh, look at that stunning building" than "Oh, let's shop in that stunning building". The building as a whole (which isn't the shopping centre) includes a Theatre, which is on the St Ann's Square side and looks pretty modern and impressive. Perhaps it could benefit from more light and better shops, but still it's a nice historic building in the city centre so that has to earn an extra star but other than that it isn't really impressive. 2*

I love the Royal Exchange Arcade. Ok, it's not the biggest arcade you'll ever see, but it's full of…read morecharm and if you work nearby it has everything you need uncover if you're on a quick break (and it's raining). There's a card shop, gift shop, jewellers, framing store, barbers/salon, coffee shop and last but not least, a pawn shop should you need to flog something for a quick buck. I love this time of year when the arcade dresses itself up for Christmas. In fact it's fair to say that I'd love to work in one of these quaint little shops, I'm sure there's a real sense of community here and it takes you back to times gone by when independent owners went that extra mile to make their customers feel welcome. Now it's all high street homogeny.

Grange Shopping Centre in Birkenhead offers a wide variety of small and larger shops, coffee shops…read moreand cafes, electronic stores, bakeries and much more. What I like most about this shopping centre is that there even some independent small businesses here. It's not ALL Sayers, the O2 Shop, Home Bargains, et al. Another neat thing about this particular shopping centre is the exceptionally large amount of charity shops you will find here. If you love bargain hunting, second hand book browsing, and vintage/rescued clothing, you'll have a blast perusing the wares in the many different charity shops here. I find it difficult to drag myself away. Of course if you do prefer the chain stores, and the big names, you will find some of them here, as well as in the Pyramid Shopping Centre just next door.

Bury Market. World famous, apparently. I'm somewhat doubtful about the world famous claims, though…read moreit is an excellent market. Whatever you might need, for household items, or food shopping its all here, and all at great prices. The various meat, cheese and bakery stalls are amazing. The quality of the food is always top notch, everything is so fresh as its coming straight to the market from the manufacturer or supplier. My main problem is that I always end up going home with a pile of chocolate and cakes because the prices seem too good to be true!! Then theres Black puddings! This is the home of the Black pudding and if you like them, theres nothing better than a freshly cooked one eaten outdoors with lashings of tomato ketchup. Theres a couple of stalls in the outdoor market selling them. The layout of the market is somewhat haphazard, but for a very occasional visitor like myself, its nice to just wonder around taking it all in. I'm sure there are parts I've missed though. The location of the market is very convenient for public transportation, being right next to Bury Interchange which houses a bus station and a Metrolink tram station.

My local market- happens to be pretty famous too! Came here on a Friday to show my American friend…read moreCaitlin around- it was really sunny and the perfect day to stroll around. There's an indoor market with a huge selection of meat and fish, as well as other various stalls selling bits and bobs like clothes, handbags, homeware etc. There's also an outdoor part with stalls selling fruit and veg, lancashire cheeses, jams and spreads, sausages...you name it. Great to have a wander and try all the samples being handed out...before you know eat you feel like you've eaten a meal! You can also buy flowers, control knickers, bras...clothes...none of it fashionable, mainly for the OAPs. Bury is famous as the home of black pudding, I'm not a huge fan of it myself but you can come and buy it from a couple of stalls here. I've been to markets all over the world, this isn't an 'artisan' market, a lot of it is bargain tat, but I like coming here to buy meat/fish and things to cook with. Makes a change from going to Tesco and I like the atmosphere.

The Rock, Bury or 'New Bury' as some call the Rock, is a large 300 million development…read more Pedestrianized with £70k flats towering above shops a plenty such as Debs, M&S, Next, Costa, Subway; Vue Cinema, AMF bowling, Nandos etc. Free car parking after 6 pm (multi-story). St. Johns Gardens are a nice place to sit if it is warm. And there is a right good 99p shop there too. Love the place. Tai food opposite the gardens. Heaps of bike racks used as extra ram-raid stoppers near the clubs.

Wow shopping madness wasn't this busy over Christmas. Maybe people shopping last minute for…read morenew years eve. Great vibe everyone in high spirits.

Bon Marche is situated centrally in Bolton amongst the main shopping area…read more The store itself is light and bright, with warm decor and lighting verging on a 'cosy' feel. It generally seems to cater for woman at the upper end up middle aged towards the mature spectrum. It tends to have a hop-potch of semi-fashionable items and casual basics (you will not really find anything high fashion here) at very affordable prices. At times this store can feel a little cramped due to it's layout and it can put you off looking around, more so if you are in a wheelchair or have a pram with you. However, should you decide to look around you'll find that the staff are pleasant and helpful.

Middlebrook is actually pretty good for a retail/leisure park. It has all of the regular big shops…read moreyou'd imagine, selling sofas, carpets etc, as well as some good clothing stores and general shops, plus a large VUE cinema and several restaurants of both the fast-food and dine-in variety. There's also a bowling alley and arcade. It's also great that the plentiful parking is all free, unlike Bolton town centre, and is secured by the (slightly controversial) UKPC. If parking doesn't matter to you, it's easily accessible on foot, and bus services run through it via several bus stops, and the stop at Horwich Parkway Rail Station. It can get congested around match days and the such, as there's only really two ways in and out, and both clog up quite quickly. They also have occasional promo events and activities, such as radio stations broadcasting from there, free kids face painting and character events, petting zoos etc.

middlebrook is a superb retail park with big names such as boots, m&s, a huge asda, vue cinema, the…read morelist goes on. there is loads of free parking but becareful if bolton wanderers are at home on a staurday, it gets so busy. the location isn't ideal for everyone, as it is based in horwich which is close to wigan, sop it can be out of the way for some.

It was M&S for coffees, Eccles cake and chocolate croissant today at M&S Altrincham; a rather…read moreupmarket posh village. The coffees were cappuccino and splendid Cortado. The iced water on tap. The village has a delightful market in the centre where one can buy dressed crab, cooked whole lobster and my absolute total, complete favourite, in all the world, potted brown shrimps, sealed in butter. Forget caviar and lobster this, with good buttered toast, is the true food of the gods. Ambrosia. There are flower sellers, cake sellers, sellers of LP's from the 1960's, cheese sellers offering small batch local cheeses, folks with woodfired ovens for sourdough pizzas, beer and wine sellers, upmarket hand made chocolates, oriental and Jamaican food (I don't think I could face goat curry) and a fish & chip shop. I'm sure I've left out a lot of purveyors in this snapshot. It's also teeming with competitively priced coffee places, cafes and bars and as the competition is so fierce there's no downmarket offerings.

Marks and Spencer in Altrincham is a fairly good location, although it isn't the best/biggest…read morelocation in the area, and I do prefer their Manchester Market Street and Bolton stores, this isn't a bad alternative and it is one of my favourite stores in Altrincham town centre. It has improved a lot since my last visit, the store is now much cleaner and free of clutter to warrant an upgraded rating. The selection in the food hall was good, they had a nice range of products, again this might be slightly less compared to other stores, but I still was able to find the majority of what I needed which was handy. This store is also using the new Mobile Scan and Pay, where you can scan items and bag them as you shop in the Food Hall, pay via your phone and walk out, this is a feature I love but it always makes me feel strange as you just walk out of the store, it makes you feel like a thief, even though you have paid, you do get a payment proof on your phone incase someone does stop you, but I am worried about the security of this if someone is dishonest. Most of the staff seemed friendly and happy to help when required. Above-average Marks and Spencer store, a great brand to have in Altrincham if you don't feel like going into the city centre or another larger store.

Isha is an interesting little women's clothing shop with a definite Indian bent on Grange Road…read moreWest. Whether you wear Indian clothes all the time, or you just want something unusual for a costume party or general wear, you can certainly find some interesting and pretty dresses and other clothing items here. Clothing is fairly good quality compared with some similar items you will find in Birkenhead Market, for instance, and prices are fairly decent.