Woolworths in Brunstane, Edinburgh

A look at an old Woolworths store in Brunstane, Edinburgh.

The abandoned Woolworths store in Brunstane, Edinburgh in August 2011

My recent revisit to the old Blockbuster Video store in Fallowfield, Manchester reminded me of the old Woolworths shopfront we saw in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent last November. That in turn prompted me to look in our archives for the photos I took of the abandoned Big W Woolworths store at The Jewel retail park next to the railway station in Brunstane, Edinburgh, Scotland from 2011.

A closer look at the old entrance

Brunstane railway station on the left is dwarfed by the old abandoned Woolworths store on the right

The building is now home to The Range.

The last Woolworths

The last Woolworths shop in the UK closed in January 2009 so we were amazed to see the sign was still up at the Stoke-on-Trent store last year.

Ghost signs

We see a lot of ghost signs on shops and building on our travels. Many of these are from decades ago and they help tell the story of an area.

Unfortunately in the coming months and years we are likely to see a number of other brands disappear.

In addition to these Woolworths shops and the Blockbuster Video store we've seen the remnants of retail brands from recent years including Tandy in Hitchen, RadioShack in Lytham Saint Annes and Kwik Save in Barrow-in-Furness.

Do you have a favourite brand from years gone by? Are the remains of an old brand still visible on a building where you live or work? Do let me know.

Woolworths Pick n' Mix

Interestingly there's a Woolworths-themed miniature golf hole at Teezers Retro Golf course in Coventry, we played that course in April last year.

A loop-di-loop obstable on a Pick n' Mix minigolf hole