Oxford
Blackwell's split-level sibling store, all but opposite the main bookshop, specialises in reference books, coffee-table tomes, posters, cards and…
Must-see shopping in The United Kingdom
Oxford
A treasure trove of traditional butchers, fishmongers, cobblers, florists, barbers, coffee bars, restaurants and independent shops, Oxford’s 250-year-old…
Oxford
The Oxford Committee for Famine Relief opened its first-ever shop on Broad St in 1948 – and it’s still going strong, selling secondhand clothes, homewares…
Cardiff
The Cardiff branch of the Britain-wide John Lewis chain is the city's premier department store, occupying a swish glass-fronted building at the bottom of…
Cardiff
If you're in the market for a vintage Hawaiian shirt or a 1970s printed sun frock, this is the place to come. Along with vintage men's and women's clothes…
Cardiff
So you want to be a rock and roll star? This menswear boutique by Oasis' Liam Gallagher will at least have you looking the part. Stock up on paisley…
Cardiff
It may look small from the outside but this excellent secondhand bookshop sprawls upstairs and down. There's a Welsh-language section and a big selection…
Cardiff
Along with all the usual deli treats (olives, cold meats, Welsh cheeses), Wally's sells Penderyn whisky from the Brecon Beacons and a large range of local…
Cardiff
If you're after stuffed dragons, love spoons or Cardiff T-shirts, this is the city's biggest souvenir shop, conveniently located across the street from…
Cardiff
Taking up a whole corner of the Cardiff Market balcony, this record shop stocks a huge selection of secondhand vinyl and CDs, including rarities and…
Cardiff
This kooky collection of independent stalls is a great place to rummage for vintage clothes and jewellery.
London
For one of London's oddest shopping experiences, pass through security and descend 12m into the windowless subterranean depths of the London Silver Vaults…
Harry Potter Shop at Platform 9¾
North London
Pottermania refuses to die down and Diagon Alley remains impossible to find, but if you have junior witches and wizards seeking a wand of their own, take…
The West End
Run by the people behind the design and international current affairs magazine Monocle, this tiny (and attitudy) shop stocks very costly clothing, bags,…
Cadenhead's Whisky Shop & Tasting Room
The West End
Scotland's oldest independent bottler of pure, non-blended whisky from local distilleries, this shop is a joy for anyone with a passion for uisge-beatha …
Southeast Wales
The 19th-century Market Hall is a lively place, hosting a general market (food, drink, clothes, household goods) on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday, a flea…
The West End
Walking into this Japanese sweet shop is a mind-blowing experience. Wagashi (Japanese sweets) are made out of all sorts of rice and sweet red-bean paste …
Clerkenwell, Shoreditch & Spitalfields
Dedicated to simple and functional, yet scrumptiously stylish, traditional British and European homewares, Labour & Wait specialises in items by…
Kensington & Hyde Park
The motto 'One man's rubbish is another man's treasure' couldn't be truer in this part of London, where the 'rubbish' is made up of designer gowns,…
Clerkenwell, Shoreditch & Spitalfields
One of the capital's biggest vintage clothing stores, Atika has more than 20,000 hand-selected items for men and women covering the last four decades. The…
The West End
Edgy and exciting, this series of knocked-together shops on upmarket South Molton St is full of luxury threads and shoes from internationally renowned…
London
This modern, multilevel shopping centre is filled with places to eat for all budgets and all the usual chain-store suspects – and is thankfully open on…
Swansea, The Gower & Carmarthenshire
There's been a market here since Roman times and in 1180 it was given a royal charter. Now housed in an edgy modern building, the market sells a bit of…
Belfast
This 1950s-style shop sells fudge, candy, chocolates, toffee apples and other traditional sweets made by hand. Book ahead for child-friendly candy-making…
The West End
James J Fox has been in business for over 230 years and any cigar merchant that kept Winston Churchill well supplied with maduros has to be a reliable…
The West End
Subterranean Skoob has to be London's largest second-hand bookshop, with some 55,000 titles spread over 186 sq metres of basement space, with about 5000…
The West End
South of Oxford St and running parallel to Wardour St, this fruit-and-vegetable market has managed to hang on to its prime location since the late 18th…
The West End
This Dutch chain is a ‘network of brands’: most of the clothes it stocks are European labels that are little known in the UK. Spread over three floors,…
Birmingham
Split into two vast retail spaces – the East Mall and West Mall – the Bullring has all the international brands and chain cafes you could ask for, plus…
The West End
Hailing from London, Topshop is one of many 'high street' clothing retailers selling racks of inexpensive fast fashion. Every week more than 400,000…
Cardiff
The historic Wyndham Arcade (1887) is home to up-market cafes and the gloriously old-fashioned Havana House, a specialist cigar merchant from a bygone era…
The West End
Paul Smith represents the best of British classics with innovative twists. Super-stylish menswear, suits and tailored shirts are all laid out on open…
The West End
A more central basement outlet of an enormous warehouse on Cheshire St just off Brick Lane in East London, Beyond Retro sells vintage and some vintage…
Cardiff
This interesting gallery, upstairs at the Norwegian Church Arts Centre, displays and sells the work of photographers Mike La-Traille and Dave Poulton,…
Oxford
This tiny 500-year-old shop was operating as a grocery – and managed by a sheep – when Lewis Carroll’s Alice popped in. Opposite Carroll’s Christ Church…
The West End
This tiny shop in Covent Garden's central market building is a temple to all things Moomin – that weird hippo-like character created by Finnish artist…
Clerkenwell, Shoreditch & Spitalfields
Selling everything from furniture to china and clothing, all in the zaniest of prints, this store is well worth a look. If you ever wanted to have your…
The Cotswolds
Yes, the only thing they sell here is brushes. But they are very nice brushes, the kind of brushes you might buy even if you didn’t think you needed a…
Plymouth
While not as thriving as it once was, the city's market is the place to get locally landed fish and shellfish. Other stalls are strong on fruit, veg and…
Clerkenwell, Shoreditch & Spitalfields
This supremely elegant and cool menswear boutique is brought to you by fashion designer Philip Start. It offers casualwear as well as tailoring, all made…
