The Heart of England

The High Street

The High Street

This is a typical little town in the North of England, the nation of shopkeepers!

Here you find the Butcher, the Baker, the Candlestick Maker: Oh wait, not really. However, wandering down this street it seems like there could be all of these. There was a bakery, fruit and veg shop, a gift shop and much much more

This is one of the things I like about England; the individuality and uniqueness of these shops all down the high streets.

In South Africa there are mostly just shopping malls and those are becoming more and more generic. Each time they renovate a centre they lose a few more quirky little shops, till every mall becomes the same, like an airport.

Of course there are massive shopping centres in the UK, but as long as you also have these towns and high streets, then the Heart of England will remain in tact.

 

31 thoughts on “The Heart of England”

  1. faburlifekhloe

    A great character was shown in your picture. Although I have never been to England before, I already fall in love just by the way you described it. I enjoy small shops because of their “individuality and uniqueness” exactly the way you said it. 🙂 Thank you for the virtual tour Sci! Great post! 😉

    Liked by 1 person

  2. blosslyn

    You need to come to Norfolk and Suffolk, still plenty of little towns full of lovely one off shops, plus a wonderful coast line 🙂 My husband comes from Cheshire and as you say there are still lots of lovely little towns up North. We are are Nation of Shop Keepers and that will hopefully never change, my mum had 3 shops and also a couple cafes at one time 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Gobetween

    So true, our malls make choosing a gift for someone so difficult because how do you find something special for someone if each mall stocks the same stuff and that person might already have ten of the item you end up buying.

    Liked by 1 person

  4. pensitivity101

    Sadly the days of the High Street shops are numbered as more and more are pedestrianised, which eventually kills off trade because people can’t park or access them easily. We’ve seen it happen in several towns, and big shopping centres (or malls) have no character or charm, being nothing more than a concrete advertising area!
    Many High Streets that have survived are now either full of charity shops and coffee houses, or every other shop is empty. I love the quaintness of old towns, where you have proper book shops, toy shops, original bric a brac gift shops, and if you can find an olde sweete shoppe, oh yeah…. sherbet, gobstoppers, candied shrimps, bullseyes, blackjacks and fruit salad chews.

    Liked by 1 person

  6. Garfield Hug

    So quaint and full of character. I like this kind of shopping as more personalised and can chat with shopkeepers. I used to do this in Brighton 🙂 You must return to north of England often and show us more of life on the other side 😉

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Laura

    I am happy to say that little shops are becoming more popular in my area, we call it “shop local” however every city has at least one mall and they are all alike.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. scifihammy Post author

      I don’t mind malls, as they do serve a purpose; just that I miss the little shops 🙂
      Shop Local is always a good idea – save on petrol too! 🙂

      Like

  10. dizzylizzie72

    America has become a nation of malls. Wal Mart was founded here in Arkansas by Sam Walton a very long time ago. Wal Mart is putting all the small business owners out of business, because they cannot compete with Wal Mart’s lower prices. Very sad.

    Liked by 1 person

  11. Midwestern Plant Girl

    I love seeing other country’s street signs. Is the jut-out in the street paint a crosswalk? Or did the line painter have whiskey in his coffee? 😉
    Here the crosswalks are almost solid white as drivers are supposed to stop for pedestrians, but not all do… 😠

    Liked by 1 person

    1. scifihammy Post author

      haha Good point!
      The zig zag lines indicate the approach to a pedestrian crossing (out of sight behind the photographer). You are not allowed to park there or over-take a vehicle.
      The Zebra crossings have black and white stripes – you can just see one right at the back of the photo in front of the red van thing. We have similar signs here in SA.

      Liked by 1 person

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