Harding’s Hardware

This quaint and charming hardware store is like the opposite of megastore B&Q, although that’s not to say it’s not well stocked, it’s just that Harding’s offers a more personable approach to selling the hardware essentials.
I must admit, I’m not handy in the slightest, so all of the D-​I-​Y work is handed over to my beloved, who can wield a hammer with amazing grace. I, on the other hand, would lose a finger.
It’s definitely worth coming by here if you’re in the area — although it’s a bit away from the centre of town (and far away from my abode), so I normally just try to secure whatever I need from nearby Bay shops.
In any case, I think Harding’s is one of the better independent shops around for hardware tools and other DIY fundamentals, as the shelves are well-​stocked and the staff here are lovely.

There is something wonderfully old fashioned about this shop. Everyone who lives in the area talks about it with a fondness that is difficult to deny. When I was a young teenager I first discovered this phenomenon, and was confused, it was to be said.
A hardware store? Why is everyone so excited? It’s so boooooooring.
But now I’ve grown up and have started to think very differently. I went in the other day, out of the same old curiosity, and I ‘got it’. This shop is filled to the brim with everything that you need to satisfy your hardware needs.
But it’s the cosy factor and the personable service in this shop that makes it such a pleasant experience to go into. I was trying to find a bulb for my friend’s lamp, and, stupidly, had not checked to see what type it took. But the person behind the counter figured it out when supplied with a description of said lamp, and lo and behold! they were right.
Imagine is B&Q or Wickes shrank down and got a heart. This would result in something very much the same as Hardings Hardware. A shop to support and be proud of.