Speciality shopping
With countless malls and shopping centres, English towns and cities offer unlimited opportunities to ‘shop until you drop’. But if you explore a little further you may come across one of the countless pockets of specialty shopping that exist across England – havens for those distinctive, often old-fashioned goods, from a select item of furniture to a hand-crafted pocket watch.
The jewel of England’s heart
The Heart of England can rightly boast to be one of the top shopping destinations in the UK with Birmingham's new Bullring shopping centre, its impressive Jewellery Quarter and the esteemed craftsmanship of The Potteries.
The Jewellery Quarter (www.the-quarter.com) in Birmingham is a unique home to over 250 jewellery businesses. Visitors can purchase traditional handcrafted jewellery, commission a contemporary piece from one of the many skilled jewellery designers, or even design and make their own jewellery at a weekend workshop.
The Potteries of Stoke-on-Trent, steeped in centuries of craftsmanship and tradition, now offer some excellent shopping opportunities. There are over 30 factory shops, Wedgwood, Royal Doulton and Gladstone, to name a few, offering both best quality and seconds at unbeatable prices. Delicate figurines, bowls and plates are all snapped up by visitors, and for glass lovers head to the Black Country where glass is still blown and engraved by hand.
More info on The Potteries (www.visitstoke.co.uk/)
Yorkshire pride
The key to Yorkshire’s extraordinary shopping experience is that you’ll find a tempting range of decidedly up-to-the-minute specialty shops, which will sell you everything from retro-Sixties furniture to art deco, the latest fashion to contemporary crafts.
Since Harvey Nichols (www.harveynichols.com) opened a store in Leeds, the city has seen a host of designers eagerly opening stores and boutiques, while the exquisite Victoria Quarter and the endless mountain of goodies within Kirkgate Market should appeal to all manner of select customers.
For those who love to shop, the Stonegate and Swinegate areas of York offers a first-class opportunity to browse in traditional gift shops, independent boutiques and investigate curios and antiques. For designer shopping, head to the McArthurGlen Designer Outlet (www.mcarthurglen.com/) - just a short journey from the city.
Pollyanna, one of Barnsley’s finest boutiques occupies a four floor Georgian Townhouse with state-of-the-art interior on Market Hill in Barnsley, and includes a restaurant and art gallery.
