Brixton, Peckham & South London
Old-fashioned antiques markets are a dying breed in London, but this resurrected weekly event makes a good stab at it. Old ad posters, vintage jewellery…
Must-see shopping in Great Britain
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,…
Arran
With great views over a grassy sward to the sea beyond, this hillside complex has a shop of high-quality woollen and leather clothing and accessories – a…
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…
Wickedly Welsh Chocolate Company
South Pembrokeshire
Set among an otherwise drab industrial estate on the northern edge of town, this purply-pink den of temptation is hard to miss and even harder to resist…
Greenwich
The unique fisheye-view drawings of various areas of London (and other cities, including New York, Paris and Berlin) by architect Hartwig Braun are works…
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…
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…
New Town
Crisp white and hot-pink decor sets off the racks of designer clothes for women in this branch of the well-known London-based store. Lots of little black…
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…
Greenwich
If it's 'salty', this 'first shop in the world' (it's just over the meridian at 00'00.4' W, so can thus make that claim) will stock it – from bells and…
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…
Pitlochry
Just behind the tourist office, Heathergems is the factory outlet for a most unusual form of jewellery made from natural heather stems, which are dyed and…
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…
Ullapool to Kyle of Lochalsh
This gallery displays a selection of paintings, watercolours and ceramics from two artists, with some fine glen scenery and seascapes standing out. Look…
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,…
South Bank
You'll find an extensive selection of books covering literature, history, art and more, as well as National Theatre merchandise and unusual gifts…
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…
Swansea (Abertawe)
Set in a beautifully converted 19th-century seamen's chapel, this modestly sized gallery stages some of Swansea's most striking exhibitions of…
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…
The Midlands & the Marches
Stalls at Leicester's award-winning indoor food hall and outdoor markets, revamped in 2018, sell everything from organic vegetables, aromatic spices, fish…
Shetland
This spinning mill specialises in producing yarn from native Shetland sheep. As well as seeing the mill at work, you can buy yarn for knitting, or…
The West End
This traditional toyshop is stuffed with the things that kids of all ages love: Victorian paper theatres, wooden marionettes, finger puppets and antique…
Bristol
A multimillion-pound shopping centre hosting all the big names, selling everything from new threads to boxes of chocolates.
Lowland Perthshire & Kinross
From April to September, on the last Saturday of the month, a farmers market takes over the grassy square in the middle of Blairgowrie, with stalls…
Islay
Top-quality whisky marmalade is just the beginning of the home-made treats on offer at this little deli shop in the curious Islay House Square complex, 3…
Mull
In a small commercial complex just outside Tobermory on the Salen road, this worthwhile smokehouse and shop offers very toothsome cold-smoked salmon and…
Richmond, Kew & Hampton Court
This small jewellery shop down charming Brewers Lane sells an intriguing and eye-catching collection of necklaces, rings, bracelets and earrings,…
