Shophound Alert - Here"s Where to Find Original Gifts in the
Do you love to shop? I confess, I do. I'm a shophound verging on being a shopaholic. I love poking around in independent shops and finding offbeat, winding lanes lined with boutiques. Wherever I go, I try to head for the stores and markets. But since travel is my work, I'd be in big trouble if I returned from every trip with a new haul of stuff.
My guilt free solution? While I'm on the road, I look for birthday presents and holiday gifts for everyone on my list. That way I can indulge my desire to look at, touch and buy beautiful or original things from wonderful shops while actually getting ahead on my gift list.
If a love of shopping is your guilty secret too, you'll want to visit some of these during your UK travels. They are all great for presents, and, if you decide to buy some goodies for yourself too, I promise I won't tell.
By the way: If you decide to travel to any of these destinations by train, find train schedules and fares at National Rail Enquiries.
Visiting shoppers who head for London's famous Oxford Street can easily overlook this beautiful, jewelbox of a store on Great Marlborough Street near the corner of Regent Street. What a shame - in its half-timbered, Tudor Revival and Arts & Crafts influenced building it is, I think, the most beautiful store in London.
Inside, Liberty is like an oak panelled treasure chest, stocked with eclectic collections of fashion, jewelry, household goods and decorative items. Fashion here tends to be unique, one-off and expensive. But the store is always full of unusual and highly covetable objects gathered from all over the world and often surprisingly affordable. Visit the ground floor for accessories, handbags, jewelry, chocolates, stationery and the famous scarf hall. The fourth floor has decorative objects from around the world and there is even a Arts&Craft department harking back to the Liberty design heritage.
How to Get Here: Just off Regent Street, south of Oxford Circus in London. The nearest Underground station is Oxford Circus.More »
Snape Maltings in Suffolk is an uncategorizable destination that is worth a good long day trip or a weekend getaway from London. It's a concert venue associated with Bejamin Britten and Peter Pears; it's a nature reserve with beautiful marsh walks; it's a place where people live, where they study music, where they enjoy art. And it's a great place to shop - for fashions, for textiles, for antiques and for small, affordable work by local artists and artisans - like my ceramic marsh warblers, pictured here.
How to Get Here: Snape is on the B1069, about halfway between Aldeburgh and Saxmundham near the Suffolk Coast. There is frequent rail service to Saxmundham on the Norwich line from Liverpool Street Station in London.More »
Norwich, a university city not far from the East Anglian coast, has a glorious medieval Cathedral and Cathedral Quarter; a very good art museum, The Sainsbury Centre on the University of East Anglia campus; a 900 year old castle; and an enormous, daily outdoor market. While you are there, plunge into the pedestrian shopping area and look for the Norwich Lanes - the best preserved medieval street layout in Britain. It is chockablock with tempting independent shops. Look especially for Upper and Lower Goat Lanes, Cow Hill, Dove Street and Pottergate for the most interesting shops - fashion, yarn, leather goods, sweets, home furnishings, and just fun stuff. You won't find more retail creativity anywhere in the UK.
How to Get Here: Norwich is 118 miles northeast of London via the M11, A14 and A11. Really the best way to travel is by train. It takes about two hours from London Liverpool Street and trains leave every half hour.More »
Like most museums these days, London's Victoria and Albert Museum (familiarly known as the V&A), has a shop stocked with goods inspired by current exhibitions and museum collections. But the shop at the V&A goes much further. This is a museum of design and applied design and the main gift shop carries a constantly changing and very well curated collection of designer goods. Current British designers are featured but you can easily find jewelry, household objects, scarves and textiles from anywhere in the world. Shopping here is especially good for the women on your list. And prices range from about £1 for novelty items to many hundreds of pounds for jewelry and one-off designer clothes. I visit every holiday season to see what's new. And I always end up buying something.
How to Get Here: The shop is on the ground floor, just past the information desk in line with the V&A entrance on Brompton Road. The nearest Underground station is South Kensington.More »
Founded in 1977 in a restored 19th century terracotta building, Grays Antique Centre now occupies two buildings, the Antiques Market and the Mews, where at least 200 dealers offer fine and vintage jewelry, silver, vintage clothing, dolls and objets d'art. If you know someone who adores Victorian jewelry or wonderful beaded headdresses from the Roaring Twenties, this London market near the intersection of Bond and Oxford streets is prime territory for loads of selection. And, as an added bonus, the lost Tyburn River actually runs through the basement of this building. You can shop on the lower level while admiring the gold fish that swim in it.
How to Get Here: The main building is on Davies Street in Mayfair, facing Bond Street Underground. Come out of the Tube station and you are there.More »
Bath was a fashion center in Jane Austen's day and it still is. But forget the tourist board hype about Milsom Street - lined with chain store clones these days - and duck into the lanes and alleys nearby for more original shopping. I liked the somewhat chaotic Northumberland Place, a warren of connected lanes and passages. Or try Milsom Place, Green Street, Broad Street, Quiet Street, Margarets Buildings. Shopping in Bath takes some persistance; you won't find a lot of cool shops all lined up and waiting for you. But if you like hunting for treasure, you will find it here. Find out more about my favorite shopping streets in Bath.
How to Get Here: Bath is 115 miles west of London. There's regular train service from Paddington station. Once you arrive you'll find that Bath is a compact, walkers' city. Taxis are around but it's better to just hoof it.More »
Birmingham is the market of the Midlands, with several smart shopping districts, covered malls, markets and ethnic shopping areas. But for something completely different - and probable bargans to boot - you have to visit the Jewellelry Quarter. They've been working precious metals here for about 350 years but, until quite recently, this was a manufacturing area with little retail. Some of the sparklers for sale in the posh shops of Mayfair were probably made here - but no one was talking.
That's all changed now. There are at least 400 jewelry related businesses in the Quarter and about 100 of them are retail shops. You'll find designer makers to create custom made pieces at reasonable prices, plus lots more. At least 40% of the jewelry sold in the UK is said to have been made in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter.
How to Get Here: Take the Birmingham Metro from Snow Hill Station to Jewellery Quarter Station. Cross St. Paul's Churchyard to Vyse Street and the Jewellery Quarter Information Centre at 120 Vyse Street, then just look around.More »
My guilt free solution? While I'm on the road, I look for birthday presents and holiday gifts for everyone on my list. That way I can indulge my desire to look at, touch and buy beautiful or original things from wonderful shops while actually getting ahead on my gift list.
If a love of shopping is your guilty secret too, you'll want to visit some of these during your UK travels. They are all great for presents, and, if you decide to buy some goodies for yourself too, I promise I won't tell.
By the way: If you decide to travel to any of these destinations by train, find train schedules and fares at National Rail Enquiries.
Liberty
Visiting shoppers who head for London's famous Oxford Street can easily overlook this beautiful, jewelbox of a store on Great Marlborough Street near the corner of Regent Street. What a shame - in its half-timbered, Tudor Revival and Arts & Crafts influenced building it is, I think, the most beautiful store in London.
Inside, Liberty is like an oak panelled treasure chest, stocked with eclectic collections of fashion, jewelry, household goods and decorative items. Fashion here tends to be unique, one-off and expensive. But the store is always full of unusual and highly covetable objects gathered from all over the world and often surprisingly affordable. Visit the ground floor for accessories, handbags, jewelry, chocolates, stationery and the famous scarf hall. The fourth floor has decorative objects from around the world and there is even a Arts&Craft department harking back to the Liberty design heritage.
How to Get Here: Just off Regent Street, south of Oxford Circus in London. The nearest Underground station is Oxford Circus.More »
Snape Maltings
Snape Maltings in Suffolk is an uncategorizable destination that is worth a good long day trip or a weekend getaway from London. It's a concert venue associated with Bejamin Britten and Peter Pears; it's a nature reserve with beautiful marsh walks; it's a place where people live, where they study music, where they enjoy art. And it's a great place to shop - for fashions, for textiles, for antiques and for small, affordable work by local artists and artisans - like my ceramic marsh warblers, pictured here.
How to Get Here: Snape is on the B1069, about halfway between Aldeburgh and Saxmundham near the Suffolk Coast. There is frequent rail service to Saxmundham on the Norwich line from Liverpool Street Station in London.More »
Norwich
Norwich, a university city not far from the East Anglian coast, has a glorious medieval Cathedral and Cathedral Quarter; a very good art museum, The Sainsbury Centre on the University of East Anglia campus; a 900 year old castle; and an enormous, daily outdoor market. While you are there, plunge into the pedestrian shopping area and look for the Norwich Lanes - the best preserved medieval street layout in Britain. It is chockablock with tempting independent shops. Look especially for Upper and Lower Goat Lanes, Cow Hill, Dove Street and Pottergate for the most interesting shops - fashion, yarn, leather goods, sweets, home furnishings, and just fun stuff. You won't find more retail creativity anywhere in the UK.
How to Get Here: Norwich is 118 miles northeast of London via the M11, A14 and A11. Really the best way to travel is by train. It takes about two hours from London Liverpool Street and trains leave every half hour.More »
The V&A Museum Shop
Like most museums these days, London's Victoria and Albert Museum (familiarly known as the V&A), has a shop stocked with goods inspired by current exhibitions and museum collections. But the shop at the V&A goes much further. This is a museum of design and applied design and the main gift shop carries a constantly changing and very well curated collection of designer goods. Current British designers are featured but you can easily find jewelry, household objects, scarves and textiles from anywhere in the world. Shopping here is especially good for the women on your list. And prices range from about £1 for novelty items to many hundreds of pounds for jewelry and one-off designer clothes. I visit every holiday season to see what's new. And I always end up buying something.
How to Get Here: The shop is on the ground floor, just past the information desk in line with the V&A entrance on Brompton Road. The nearest Underground station is South Kensington.More »
Grays Antique Centre
Founded in 1977 in a restored 19th century terracotta building, Grays Antique Centre now occupies two buildings, the Antiques Market and the Mews, where at least 200 dealers offer fine and vintage jewelry, silver, vintage clothing, dolls and objets d'art. If you know someone who adores Victorian jewelry or wonderful beaded headdresses from the Roaring Twenties, this London market near the intersection of Bond and Oxford streets is prime territory for loads of selection. And, as an added bonus, the lost Tyburn River actually runs through the basement of this building. You can shop on the lower level while admiring the gold fish that swim in it.
How to Get Here: The main building is on Davies Street in Mayfair, facing Bond Street Underground. Come out of the Tube station and you are there.More »
Bath
Bath was a fashion center in Jane Austen's day and it still is. But forget the tourist board hype about Milsom Street - lined with chain store clones these days - and duck into the lanes and alleys nearby for more original shopping. I liked the somewhat chaotic Northumberland Place, a warren of connected lanes and passages. Or try Milsom Place, Green Street, Broad Street, Quiet Street, Margarets Buildings. Shopping in Bath takes some persistance; you won't find a lot of cool shops all lined up and waiting for you. But if you like hunting for treasure, you will find it here. Find out more about my favorite shopping streets in Bath.
How to Get Here: Bath is 115 miles west of London. There's regular train service from Paddington station. Once you arrive you'll find that Bath is a compact, walkers' city. Taxis are around but it's better to just hoof it.More »
Birmingham Jewellery Quarter
Birmingham is the market of the Midlands, with several smart shopping districts, covered malls, markets and ethnic shopping areas. But for something completely different - and probable bargans to boot - you have to visit the Jewellelry Quarter. They've been working precious metals here for about 350 years but, until quite recently, this was a manufacturing area with little retail. Some of the sparklers for sale in the posh shops of Mayfair were probably made here - but no one was talking.
That's all changed now. There are at least 400 jewelry related businesses in the Quarter and about 100 of them are retail shops. You'll find designer makers to create custom made pieces at reasonable prices, plus lots more. At least 40% of the jewelry sold in the UK is said to have been made in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter.
How to Get Here: Take the Birmingham Metro from Snow Hill Station to Jewellery Quarter Station. Cross St. Paul's Churchyard to Vyse Street and the Jewellery Quarter Information Centre at 120 Vyse Street, then just look around.More »
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