Sunday 20 November 2016

Neston, Cheshire

We hadn’t been to the Wirral for a while so as it was a nice day we thought we’d pay another visit.  Our main destination was the affluent Heswall – birth place of John Peel and home to lots of nice charity shops.  However our first port of call was Neston, which I was surprised to find was not in fact part of the Wirral, but on the very edges of Cheshire.

Normally getting to Neston from north Manchester is about an hour via the M60, M62, M6, M56, A540 and B5134.  However, due to road works we ended up going via Widnes / Runcorn, which wasn’t much better either as we got stuck in more road works.  Hopefully when they finish the bridge works over the Mersey it might be a better route.  At least we found free parking in Neston, which is always good. 
Neston itself is a quiet well-to-do town.  Architecturally small scale with some nice red brick buildings, interspersed with black and white rendered buildings with a hint to the 20th century with a small stretch of newer shops.  There is a modern Sainsbury’s hidden behind the town hall, which helps to retain its small town charm.  There are a number of period pubs you could easily spend a cosy evening in or have Sunday lunch.  It seems like the sort of town you would like to bring up a family in or retire to. 

Obviously we were there to check out the charity shops and we toured the lot.  These included Oakwood Animal Sanctuary, Age UK, Sue Ryder and Hospice of the Good Shepherd.  I regretted not buying a cocktail shaker in one shop, but I eventually got one from Lymm.  Neil didn’t spot much, but then again we were heading off to nearby Heswall which is great for charity shops.
We were heading off to eat in Heswall, so we didn’t get to sample any coffee and cakes here.  Obviously there is a Costa here, although I’d like to know where there isn’t a Costa these days.  However if you are looking for a local independent alternative, Elephant Coffee looked like a really nice option.

To be truthful we didn’t stop long here as Heswall was our main destination, but people have since told us we missed out on going to nearby Ness Botanical Gardens, which is a shame as it was a lovely blue sky day.
Whilst technically Neston isn’t on the Wirral Peninsula, if you are planning a road trip around it, you should definitely take in Neston.  It’s a pretty little town and worth a quick detour, especially if you are going to charity shops or want to visit a botanical garden.  


Sunday 16 October 2016

Brighouse, West Yorkshire


We’d been meaning to go to Brighouse for a while as we know some people who live just outside of the town.  It has to be said that Neil was excited to go because of the Brighouseand Rastrick Brass Band who reached number 2 with “The Floral Dance” in late 1977. As you’d expect their albums can be found cluttering up the vinyl section of many a charity shop in the area.

The route to Brighouse is very straightforward from Manchester – M60, M62, exit junction 25, A644 and follow the signs to Brighouse.  We parked for free in Tesco which is at the edge of the town centre.  Although, note to self – must remember in future to turn off car lights, otherwise will end up needing to get new car battery.

The weather wasn’t too great in Brighouse - it was a bit overcast and drizzly. However it was much better than Manchester which was experiencing a monsoon that day.

Brighouse is typical of your Yorkshire town, sturdy and squat buildings made of local Yorkshire stone – understated but classy.  Although in Brighouse they have massive silos on the edge of town dominating the skyline.  One of them has been turned into a climbing gym, which sounds like a good alternative to normal gyms which can be rather boring. A canal cuts through the town too - no doubt it used to service the huge silos back in the day.
The town itself is a mix of traditional and independent shops.  Clearly it has been inspired by the nearby Hebden Bridge and Holmfirth to up its game in terms of attracting out-of-towners into Brighouse with cafes and restaurants.  But I do like to say it hasn’t gone overboard in that direction too so it retains much of its character.

At the back of the main shops there is an open air market.  It wasn’t that exciting as that Saturday it was a second hand market with locals flogging off stuff they didn’t need.  It reminded me of the flea market in Huddersfield, which is on a much larger scale.  The good thing I found about it was how friendly it was with stall holders and locals chatting. Apparently there is a Food and Craft market that pops up once in a while and dates can be found here http://brighousemarket.co.uk/.  I did notice on Visit Brighouse website they do various festival weekends throughout the year and it’s worth timing your visit to coincide with these events.
There are quite a few charity shops in Brighouse and naturally we toured them all.  The charity shops were rather busy and Neil again was experiencing a severe case of charity shop blockers – basically old men slowly browsing through all the records Neil wanted to look at.  If you are looking for wedding outfits or outfits for a fancy do, go no further than Overgate Hospice designer wear shop on Bethel Street.

As usual in Yorkshire we had our chippy lunch and we went to Blakeley’s by the market.  We both had fish and chips which were great.  Somehow we missed the entrance to the restaurant and went to the takeaway bit.  Thankfully they do have a sheltered outdoor eating place overlooking the canal which was a nice place to eat.  There was a mum struggling to make her kids eat their lunch as they kept wanting more tomato sauce, even though they still had some on their plates.
If you are looking for a place to drink in Brighouse you will be spoilt by the amount of pubs available here.  Many are the old traditional style pubs with lots of original features and I can imagine you’d be spoilt for choice doing a pub crawl here.  I was very surprised to find the local Freemasons had put up a banner to recruit new members.  I thought they were a rather secretive organisation, but clearly not in Brighouse.

It was a pleasant trip to Brighouse, although the weather was a bit overcast.  Brighouse is an interesting mix of the traditional and industrial, as the silos and industrial buildings do dominate the town.  It doesn’t lend itself to being a traditional pretty Yorkshire town, but great for photographers who are looking for something different.  Clearly the local town’s people are taking pride in the place and put on events throughout the year to attract people into Brighouse.  We’d definitely visit again, but will time it with the Food and Craft Market as I do love exploring these type of events.

Sunday 25 September 2016

Accrington, Lancashire


We hadn’t been to Accrington before and I had heard scary stories about the place from a former manager who lived there, so I wasn’t too sure what to expect.

The drive from Manchester to Accrington is straightforward - M60, M66, A56 and A680.  It takes about 30 minutes from north Manchester.  We found free parking behind some shops which is always good.

I was surprised to find there is some nice architecture in Accrington – the Town Hall and the Market Hall are fine examples of 19th century architecture with their solid stone facades and symmetrical design.  It was great to see the Town Hall was being used to host weddings.  There is also a lovely arcade which has seen better days.  It has a lovely sweeping curve and light streamed in through the ceiling windows.  However the fine stained glass panels, high up on the shop windows are obscured as the shops have installed suspended ceilings so the stained glass colours can’t be seen.  This place is crying out for some TLC and some more occupants.
Accrington Town Hall from an angle
The main shopping area is a 1960s shopping centre, which isn’t very exciting, although I loved the massive banner across the buildings for the Accrington Pals as part of the WW1 commemorations.  Across the rest of the town there are lots of independent shops and bizarrely quite a few wedding shops. There are plenty of empty shops too, which is always sad to see.  However there seems to be a lively night time economy with plenty of pubs, bars and takeaways – I think this was what my former manager was referring to.

Obviously we were here for the charity shops and there are loads.  Other people had a similar idea and these shops were busy.  Neil experienced a severe case of record section blockers.  Most charity shops have their records under the DVDs, so you often find people slowly browse through the DVDs whilst blocking access to the records.  Then you find the older blokes who look at every record with no intention of buying anything. Thankfully the larger charity shops were where he had less chance of tripping up old ladies whist he was on the floor looking through the records.  For once I got lucky and bought some unused place mats for £1.99.
Picture of Accrington Town Centre and the banner for the Accrington Pals for the World War One memorial
The Market Hall seemed to be a popular place for the older people of Accrington.  I think the fact it had lots of benches to sit on was part of the draw.  The lady at the pet stall was very helpful with my kitten queries.  I like these old Victorian markets as they do give a place a sense of heritage and community.

One good reason to visit Accrington is the pun names of the town’s shops. There’s a fish shop called “Passion for Sole” and a cycle shop called “Blood, Sweat and Gears”.  My personal favourite was the charity shop called “Only Foals and Horses” - sadly it wasn’t open but what a fab name!
Only Foals and Horses Charity Shop in Accrington, Lancashire
We had a cake and a coffee in Costa.  I swear Costa has become the new pub, so it’s quite apt the chain is owned by the brewery chain of Whitbread.  It was full of old people catching up with friends and collecting points on their loyalty cards.  To be honest I’d rather meet up in a coffee shop with friends rather than a pub these days, but that’s more to do with the fact I do fall asleep after a few drinks.

Whilst it wasn’t a very exciting visit, I was pleasantly surprised by the place - the shop name puns alone put smiles on our faces.  It’s a down-to-earth working class town, which has seen better days and could do with investment.  However it does have a sense of community and that’s always a good thing.
Street view of Blackburn Road in Accrington


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Sunday 10 April 2016

Uttoxeter, Staffordshire

Despite the miserable weather we ploughed on, over the county border from Derbyshire to Staffordshire.  Uttoxeter is 14 miles from Ashbourne and it takes about 25 minutes, driving via the A515, A50 and A518.

Before this visit I had very little knowledge of Uttoxeter apart from the many signs I’ve passed over the year on the A50, the film director Shane Meadows is from here and the Starbucks drive through at the Uttoxeter service station. 

We parked up behind the little precinct and wondered why there was a queue at the ticket machine.  Apparently people were waiting until 3pm to get a free ticket for parking, which is always good to know as these things aren’t always widely signposted.

As we walked through the little precinct, the song “Ghost Town” by The Specials went through my head.  It was a rather bleak concrete place from the 60s with lots of empty units. There was a handful of shops still open but mainly charity shops. 

When we made it out onto the main shopping street, things improved.  Firstly the street is pedestrianised which always helps.  Also the architecture is definitely market town, with many buildings dating back at least a couple of centuries. The butcher’s shop on Market Street had a little brown plaque stating it was from Elizabethan times – you could tell with its Tudor wooden beamed structure.  At least the town planners have kept the newer developments behind the main shopping streets to retain the character of the place.  

Luckily for us, there were a quite a few charity shops to explore in Uttoxeter.  I’m always a fan of good second hand charity book shops and the Katherine House Hospice had a particularly good one – plenty of books, well organised and reasonably priced.  I bought Cheryl Strayed’s “Wild” here, which is a gripping read by the way.  In the other charity shops, Neil was also having some luck with vinyl records and CDs and picked up some stuff – even some sheet music which happened to be in good condition.

On the mobile phone front, Neil was getting tetchy as the signal for O2 was pretty patchy, whilst on Vodafone there was a better reception.  Thank goodness for tethering is all I can say.

There were a few independent shops in the town too, but it must have been a slow day for them as the place was virtually empty as the wet weather kept most people indoors.  The only place which was experiencing shopping action that day was the local ASDA.

The main thing I really took from this place was the Staffordshire version of the Midlands accent.  It’s not as strong as you’d find in Birmingham or Wolverhampton, but it still has that burr which is captured beautifully by Shane Meadows in his films and TV programmes.  It’s fascinating how accents change with geography and the first time I’d spotted this accent was on a previous trip to Leek about 20 miles north west.  I do think it’s one of the most interesting things about the UK how accents can be so radically different over relatively short distances, for example there are only 30 miles between Liverpool and Manchester but the accents are poles apart.


I’m sure Uttoxeter on a race day feels like a different place, but on the day we went we found it to be a dull but functional place.  I’m sure it’s a nice place to live – the countryside on the door step, but within easy reach of Stoke, Derby and Stafford.  I wouldn’t be that excited to visit here again, but as ever with certain places the weather can really temper your experience of a place.

Sunday 3 April 2016

Ashbourne, Derbyshire

I discovered Ashbourne in Derbyshire through taking detours back to Manchester when the A40 or M6 had been jammed with traffic.  As I passed through, I noticed the town seemed rather nice and I made a mental note to return here to visit.

Getting to Ashbourne from Manchester takes about an hour and a half to drive.  There are several ways to get there and the route I took was the M60, M62, M6, A50, B5030, B5032 and A52.  I think there are better ways to get there, that’s for sure, and Neil was getting queasy on the B road part of the journey.  We parked up in Sainbury’s car park and you have to pay to park for a maximum of 2 hours, but you can get the parking fee refunded in the supermarket.

It was a grey and drizzly kind of day - not the best to go visiting towns, to be honest with you.  After parking up, the first order of our day was to get food.  As we didn’t want a pub lunch, we found Billy’s fish and chip shop in the centre of town and thankfully they had some indoor tables so we didn’t have to eat them out in the rain.  The fish and chips were nice which is always a bonus.

Ashbourne is a classy kind of town. Not only does it have a Sainbury’s and an M&S supermarket in a nearby retail park, but it rocks the holy grail of middle class supermarkets – a Waitrose.  It also has an Edinburgh Woollen Mill, which to me is always an indicator of a tourist destination.  It’s definitely upmarket with lots of lovely little independent shops too.  Ashbourne also prides itself on being a fair trade town which is always good thing.  If you like antiques and art you will find plenty of shops to your taste.  In one antique shop window there was a pair of glorious, white life sized greyhounds – they were so lifelike and no doubt cost a small fortune. 

There is both an indoor and outdoor market in Ashbourne.  The outdoor market wasn’t that big or exciting, but I did like the upholstery stall where they were selling footstools, which could be customised to your own taste.  The small indoor market was hosting a craft day and it was very busy as the rain was driving people inside.

Architecturally, there is a country market town vibe going on and the sort of place you could spend a weekend soaking in the relaxing calm.  The gallows sign “Green Man and Black’s Head Royal Hotel” spanning St John’s Street is a distinctive landmark in the town and I couldn’t help but think that some lorries wouldn’t be able to pass down this street because of it.

In the cities and suburbs, pubs are closing at a rapid rate, but here I was surprised to see so many -   apparently 1 in 4 of the buildings in this town had been a pub.  Many looked like they had been here hundreds of years and it’s a shame I was driving as it would have been nice to sample a pint or two here. 

We were here obviously for the charity shops.  One was particularly overpriced, but the others were fine.  In Oxfam I overheard a conversation where the volunteer was telling customers that the rain was keeping people away from Ashbourne, but come on a sunny day and the place would be teeming with folk.  Neil managed to pick up some CDs and vinyl and that always bodes well for a repeat visit.

Bizarrely there were two religious speakers near the market proclaiming their stories of redemption to all who would listen.  This was really rather strange and unexpected.  You sort of expect this on a busy city centre street in Manchester, but not in a sleepy market town in Derbyshire.


I can’t quite understand why I’d never really heard about this place before my detours as I know Derbyshire fairly well.  Maybe it doesn’t have obvious lures like Bakewell (the Tart) and Buxton and Matlock (the Spas), but I’m so glad to finally stop off in here and explore the place with Neil.  It’s an unassuming, but charming place to visit and it definitely makes its way on the ‘revisit and stay overnight’ list.  

Sunday 28 February 2016

Knaresborough, North Yorkshire

The first time I came to Knaresborough was on a school trip to visit Mrs Shipton’s Cave and the Dropping Well where you could, at the time, petrify your handbag on the little waterfall.  The tour guide took great pleasure in telling us 10 year olds about how people used to get hung, drawn and quartered, with their bodies being left on display by the river as a lesson to others.  I’m not sure many of us had pleasant dreams that night, but that piece of knowledge has stuck with me ever since. 

This time, we had just visited nearby Wetherby and so decided to go to Knaresborough.  There is supposed to be a B road route between the two towns, but as ever I missed the right road and ended up doing a detour via the A1.  When we got there we found a little car park behind the main shops on Chapel Street - £1 for 2 hours. 
Knaresborough High Street

Knaresborough is a pretty little town packed full of characterful buildings, dating back hundreds of years.  One thing I did notice about many of the buildings was that they had three floors which gave the place a more imposing presence.  I liked the fact that the centre of town was pedestrianised with car access for disabled parking.  It is also a pet friendly town and we kept seeing posh pedigree pooches all over the place, which is always nice to see.

There are so many independent shops in Knaresborough and I did notice there were plenty of vintage style shops selling clothes, knickknacks and upcycled furniture.  Definitely a place to go to get vintage stuff and style ideas.  I also love to visit stationery shops and I found two here which is always great to see in this digital day and age.
Urban Fox Interiors in Knaresborough

Neil is a fan of daft shop pun names and he remembered on our last trip there was a shop called “Mungo Deli”.  Thankfully it was still open and Neil managed to get a picture of it for his Facebook album of silly shop signs.
Mungo Deli Shop in Knaresborough

There are plenty of places to eat and drink here – lots of cosy old pubs, cute cafes and gastropubs.  We had already eaten in Wetherby, but as we are greedy we did pick up cake from the friendly and down to earth Hurst’s Bakery.  I have to recommend the chocolate cream cake, especially as it had a surprise layer of black cherries in it and tasted great too.

As ever we checked out the charity shops.  Other people had the same idea and we kept bumping into them in every shop.  There was a hospice charity shop which was really overpriced – although in fairness, with the proximity of so many vintage shops, they probably have a policy to mark up the stock so the vintage shops don’t profit on their donations.  Neil managed to get locked in one charity shop when he was browsing through the records upstairs.  I was a bit panicked and tried to phone him.  Thankfully the shop assistant checked the shop before she left and Neil managed to get out.  A practical point to note is that most charity shops in Knaresborough close about 4.00 pm so it’s better to get there earlier than we did.
Entrance to Frazer Theatre in Knaresborough

Knaresborough is a great little place to go, and one to consider for a weekend away as it’s close to the countryside, especially when it’s only a short drive from Harrogate too (fab place, you must visit).  Our only advice is to get there earlier in the day, as it begins to close around 4ish – otherwise it’s another fab Yorkshire town to visit.
Six Poor Folk Cafe, Bar and Kitchen

Sunday 7 February 2016

Wetherby, West Yorkshire

It was our first road trip of the New Year so where do we go?  We’ve been to loads of places in the North over the years, so finding somewhere new to go that’s nice can be more miss than hit.  So to ensure a hit on our day out, I wanted to go to Knaresborough as we’d been there before but I hadn’t written about it.  However, to make that journey worthwhile we needed to visit another town. I dusted off the atlas and found Wetherby, which is about 8 miles from Knaresborough – well, that is if you take the right route.

Getting to Wetherby from Manchester is straightforward enough – M60, M62, M1, A1, exit junction 45 and then follow the signs into Wetherby on to the A168 and A661.  I was very pleased to see on the way into town, a sign stating “Historic Market Town” – Wetherby looked to be a promising visit after all.  As for parking, I got a little confused and ended up going through the town.  Luckily we found 2 hours free parking on the edge of Wetherby town centre just off Crossley Street.  We had to laugh at the name of the gymnasium next to the car park – it’s called “Sunny Gym”!
Side street in Wetherby
Copyright Anne-Marie Marshall
We cut through the car park and found ourselves on Westgate where we found our first charity shop of the day.  According to my Yell app, there were supposed to be 7 charity shops, but in reality there seemed to be many more.  The shops were teeming with older people browsing and chatting to staff.  There are some pretty good charity shops in Wetherby and Neil picked up some cheap vinyl records and CDs. Neil will definitely want to come back here again for the charity shops alone.

You will always find a place to eat in Wetherby with its wide selection of cafes, pubs and restaurants.  As it was a cold day we wanted to eat indoors somewhere and we found the Wetherby Whaler chip shop which had a restaurant upstairs.  It’s a nice, clean place and seemed to be popular with the locals.  Maybe it’s because I’m getting older and need them more often, but I noticed the toilets were well maintained and pleasant.  The fish and chips we ordered were tasty and we’d certainly come back here again.
Swan and Talbot Pub in Wetherby
Copyright Anne-Marie Marshall
Wetherby is full of independent shops, which is always great to see.  I loved the pet shop with the animal tableau outside and there was a pie shop that caught Neil’s eye, especially the pies with black pudding in them.  Each Saturday you can find in the local town hall an antiques market.  It’s not a big market, but it was well organised and there was a camaraderie between the stall holders.  I also noticed there’s a farmers and craft market every second Sunday of each month.  This town seems like it has got its act together with lots of activities planned throughout the year.

The architecture in Wetherby is typically sturdy as it’s made from Yorkshire stone.  We did spot the odd building built in the 1960s and 1970s, but they look much more dated than the buildings which have been here for hundreds of years.  The place is very well maintained and you can tell people here really take pride in the town.  I wish this was the case everywhere.
Wetherby Town Hall
Copyright Anne-Marie Marshall
Whilst Wetherby is not really a touristy type of place, it seemed to me to be a nice middle class commuter town (well it does have an M&S supermarket after all) for people working in either Leeds or York.  It’s great to go to towns with no expectations of them, as you come with no preconceptions and just see it for what it is.  In this case we were pleasantly impressed with Wetherby and would definitely revisit.  
Small public garden
Copyright Anne-Marie Marshall

Sunday 17 January 2016

Abergavenny, Monmouthshire

The final stop on the Welsh part of our road trip was Abergavenny, on the edge of the Brecon Beacons.  We had no clue what to expect there and were curious to find out.

We parked at the local car park on the edge of the main shopping area – it was £1 for 2 hours, but on a market day it’s better to get the £1.50 ticket for 3 hours.

Abergavenny is an old-school sort of town and very down to earth.  The central shopping precinct is a typical, functional concrete mid-20th century building with many high street names.  However surrounding the precinct is where you will find more interesting shops and some interesting period buildings.  Many of the buildings are in typical Welsh style with painted rendered walls – all of which add character to the town.  The two buildings which stood out for me were the Abergavenny Baptist Church and Abergavenny Market Hall.  Both buildings used dark rough-hewn stone and sandstone in their construction to create a distinctive look.
Abergavenny Market Hall
Copyright Anne-Marie Marshall
The town was busy as the kids hadn’t gone back to school yet and the pavements and side streets are quite narrow so you end up walking in the road, trying to dodge traffic.  The A40 runs through the heart of the town too so there is always plenty of traffic and you need to use the pedestrian crossings to navigate the town safely.

First thing we did was to find food.  We ended up at a little takeaway called the Codfather and had a generous portion of fish and chips - they were nice too.  Then there was the mission to find the local toilets.   I tried the local public toilets which weren’t great – lack of tissues and the overwhelming smell weren’t pleasant.  However Neil on the other hand used the toilets in Nicholls department store which were much nicer.

Obviously we were here to check out the charity shops and found plenty to choose from.  As we were in Wales it wasn’t clear whether some were charity shops or just local independent shops.  So I ended up being the Sherpa trying to suss out what was a charity shop and what wasn’t.
Street in Abergavenny
Copyright Anne-Marie Marshall
There are plenty of independent shops in Abergavenny, which was great to see.  I did notice there were a number of empty shop units in the town and also there weren’t that many pubs either.  The recession has clearly hit this place, but the independent trade is keeping it afloat.  I found a few craft shops, which is always a joy for me.  One shop specialised in fabric and I picked up a few pieces in their sale.  There was a good wool shop too, but sadly I couldn’t buy anything as I can’t knit anymore. Neil found a house clearance shop, but the owners were impatiently waiting for Neil to finish browsing so they could shut up shop for lunch.  It’s definitely worth popping in Nicholls, which is a classy independent department store.  We’d seen one in Brecon and apparently they have a tiny chain of shops in South Wales.  It’s quite a pleasant upmarket place and the cafĂ© seemed to be full of families and ladies-who-lunch. 

My favourite place was Abergavenny Market Hall as it was hosting the regular Wednesday flea market, which proved popular with the locals too.  It reminded me of the Sunday flea markets you find in New York – jammed packed full of interesting and quirky stuff.  I loved the realistic looking flying pigs which were hanging above the stalls and I had to take a few pictures of them.  Neil found some record stalls and picked up some nice 80s 7 inch singles.  I didn’t pick up anything, although a couple of the locals were commenting on my camera.  They have a wide range of different markets here over the month including a farmers, craft and antiques markets.  If I lived near here I would definitely be visiting this place on a regular basis.
Flying pigs in Abergavenny Market Hall
Copyright Anne-Marie Marshall
We had only planned to stay in Abergavenny for a couple of hours, but now wished we’d spent a bit longer here.  I really didn’t expect the place to be quite as interesting as it was, because it didn’t strike me as a tourist destination.  Clearly the community likes to shop local and it’s great to see a place like this teeming with people.  If we were ever in the vicinity again, I’d definitely pay another visit, particularly to the Market Hall.
Abergavenny Colseum
Copyright Anne-Marie Marshall