Broughtons

I love shops like this! I remember when every small town had one, before places like Halfords and Homebase took all the business. It still has those neon cardboard star price tags and a window full of retro electronic gadgets.
The interior is crammed full of useful things — they even cover the ceiling. It can be hard to find what you’re looking for, especially if you’re a bit technologically challenged like me, but the staff are really friendly and helpful, and can point you in the right direction.
They do key-​cutting (not car keys) for a good price and are great for those things you always forget about needing to buy, like batteries, light bulbs and cleaning products.
It’s really great to support a historic, traditional family shop, and this has most things you could need, so give them a go before heading off to Boswells.

Another useful rather than glamorous shop. Broughtons is an old fashioned hardware shop selling good old fashioned hardware: lots of different sorts of light bulbs; nails, glues and things to fix your house with; bike locks and padlocks; electrical fuses, plugs and sockets; bike lights and torches; irons and kettles and lots of cleaning stuff including the green and friendly range from Ecover.