Shopping in Cheshire
There's plenty of shopping to be done, in and around Crewe town centre.
When you arrive in Crewe as a young and impressionable fresher, the Grand Junction Retail Park should be your first port of call. Why? Because it has an ' .instore'. Irons at £4.95, toasters for a fiver, ironing boards for £3.50 and assorted cups, mugs, plates, dishes and cutlery for as little as 50p. You can kit your student digs out, from top to bottom for less than £50. Although some of the stuff is a little tacky, most of it is so cheap, and so useful that you don't really have a reason not to go. Who needs Ikea?
Also on Grand Junction Retail Park, you'll find a sizeable Sportsworld; great for buying discounted sportswear and equipment. And there are huge amounts to choose from. As well as trainers, tracksuits and rackets, they have shoes, boots, and casual wear in abundance. There's also a large Next, a KFC and several electrical stores.
Heading into Crewe town centre you'll come across many more shops in the Market Centre. A mini-mall, it joins a large car parking space to the main outdoor shopping area. It houses such shops as Dorothy Perkins, River Island, Evans, Game and JJB. Although many of the shops are yet to jump on the 'student' bandwagon, there are a few that offer student discount. Dorothy Perkins and Burton both offer 10% discount and sometimes even 15%. Game also offers student discount but only in conjunction with a Game card.
If you like traditional shopping, head Crewe Market or Nantwich Market, where you can get the creamiest cheeses, freshest produce and savour the sights sounds and smells of local traders selling their wares. There's an outdoor market or the Market Hall to choose from. The popular Farmers' market showcases local produce in Nantwich on the last Saturday of every month- except in December. It's definitely an experience not to be missed.
Further afield, you can take a little trek to Chester, which is a beautiful city. There are all the usual high street shops and some little independent stores where you can get some great one-off items. There's a certain buzz in Chester that's quite electrifying and there are always great bargains to be had.
Out of the centre, there's Cheshire Oaks, a massive discount retail outlet. It houses stores such as Timberland, La Senza, Diesel, Gap, Nike, Calvin Klein and Cadbury's. Everything is at least 30% off so if you had the money, you could spend a whole weekend at Cheshire Oaks. There are also plenty of restaurants, to choose from and there is another retail park just beside Cheshire Oaks with a cinema and a bowling alley, as Marks and Spencer, Boots, HMV and Borders.
If you're based in the Alsager campus, you can head down to Freeport Outlet Shopping Centre, where you can find great bargains in everything from designer clothing and accessories to homeware and electronics. Everything is up to 50% off high street prices, so get your wallet at the ready and enjoy a retail therapy day out.
