Toys R Us at the Riverside Retail Park in Nottingham

A look at a lost shop in Nottingham.

Many thanks to my friend and minigolf rival Jam Trubridge for sending over a snap of the old Toys R Us store at the Riverside Retail Park in Nottingham.

It's great to see the signage is still up.

It's another store for us to visit in the future as soon as it's safe to do so.

It'll be nice to meet up with Jam too as there are a lot of minigolf courses in Nottinghamshire we have yet to play on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Former Toys R Us stores

Sadly Toys R Us closed in the UK in April 2018. Luckily there are still remnants of the brand on some retail parks in the UK. I worked in the Gipsy Lane store in Luton, Bedfordshire back in the year 2000.

This year we've also been to the old Toys R Us stores at Gemini Retail Park in Warrington, the Festival retail park in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, Deepdale shopping centre in Preston and at the Wyvern Retail Park in Derby.

We took at look at the old Toys R Us store at the Central Retail Park in Ancoats, Manchester just prior to its demolition in March 2019.

Toys R Us at the Wyvern Retail Park in Derby

A look at a relic from a lost time.

The front of the store

It was marvellous to find the old Toys R Us store at Wyvern Retail Park in Derby.

A corner of the store

Sadly Toys R Us ceased trading in the UK in April 2018.

All of the big signs are still in place

The rear and side of the store

Luckily there are still remnants of the brand on some retail parks in the UK.

I worked in the Gipsy Lane store in Luton, Bedfordshire back in the year 2000. I got the job shortly after arriving in the town to study at the university.

A magical place

Thanks to Blast From The Past on Instagram for the heads-up about the Derby store still being there.

If you know of any other old Toys R Us shops do let me know.

More photos from our trip to Toys R Us at Wyvern Retail Park in Derby

The container loading bay. When I worked at Toys R Us I spent parts of my evening shifts unloading the containers at the Luton store

A lovely old sign

Look at the markings in the car park bay on the left

One part of the trolley bays is still there

Other former Toys R Us stores

This year we've also been to the old Toys R Us stores at Gemini Retail Park in Warrington, the Festival retail park in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent and at the Deepdale shopping centre in Preston.

We took at look at the old Toys R Us store at the Central Retail Park in Ancoats, Manchester just prior to its demolition in March 2019.

Other lost brands

Our travels have seen us spot the remnants of a number of old and defunct brands, including Woolworths in Stoke-on-Trent, Tandy in Hitchin, RadioShack in Lytham Saint Annes, Kwik Save in Barrow-in-Furness and Blockbuster Video stores in Fallowfield, Manchester, Colne, Lancashire, Prescot, Merseyside and Chester, Cheshire.

Happy Shopper in Sheffield

I found an old Happy Shopper shop in Sheffield.

It was nice to see the old Happy Shopper branding still up on the signs at what was once Pops Mini Market on Sharrow Lane in the Highfield area of Sheffield.

As the Happy Shopper branding was updated in the year 2000 I didn't think it would still be possible to see it 20 years later. I was glad to be wrong.

Last month I found a Happy Shopper in Preston purely by chance while en route to look for an abandoned Toys R Us.

While in Sheffield I actually managed to find a Happy Shopper that was open and had some of the original branding on the signage. Marvellous.

I remember seeing the Happy Shopper shops and branded products a lot when I was a kid.

The Happy Shopper on Page Hall Road in Sheffield

The Happy Shopper branding was changed in the year 2000 and I think it lost a lot of its charm and individuality. Many of the former Happy Shopper stores were rebranded as Premier shops.

Happy Shopper does still exist, as both convenience stores and own brand food & drink products. It has been part of the Booker Group since 1996. Booker itself is now owned by Tesco.

Related blog posts:

- Happy Shopper

- The Happy Shopper in Sheffield

- Happy Shopper in Preston

- Shopfronts

Old Littlewoods logo in Ashton-under-Lyne

Finding an old mosaic tile logo at the former Littlewoods shop on Stamford Street Central in Ashton-under-Lyne.

A few doors down from the old Woolworths on Stamford Street Central in Ashton-under-Lyne is a Cash Converters. The doorways to that shop also hold a link to the past.

Past meets present - the decades old Littlewoods logo and the signs of the pandemic times of 2020

Before becoming Cash Converters the building was home to Hitchens, a catalogue clearance store.

Another interesting thing about the building is that the street light is attached to the building itself, rather than on a pole.

Many thanks to Richard Eccles on Instagram for help in identifying the logo.

Old Woolworths sign in Ashton-under-Lyne

Finding an old mosaic tile logo at the former Woolworths on Stamford Street Central in Ashton-under-Lyne.

This branch of Woolies opened in 1927. It closed in the 1960s.

The building is now a charity shop for the Wooden Canal Boat Society.

I found out about this old logo on the excellent Woolies Buildings blog.

It's great to look up, down and all around while out exploring as you can see so many interesting things.

You can see still other remnants of Woolworths on the UK high street if you know where to look.

We visited the old Woolworths in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent earlier this month. It's one of the few former Woolworths shops that has not been occupied since the brand's demise in January 2009.

We also spotted an old Woolworths store in Brunstane, Edinburgh on a minigolfing trip back in August 2011. That was the Big W Woolworths store at The Jewel retail park.

Video Future

Spotting an old video shop in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent.

Video Future!

You can also see the remains of a Woolworths store on the main street in Longton. It's quite a sight to behold in 2020!

Lost Minigolf Courses - Crazy Golf at Fairhaven Lake in Lytham Saint Annes

A look at the lost minigolf course at Fairhaven Lake in Lytham Saint Annes.

We made a quick stop off at Fairhaven Lake in Lytham Saint Annes on our trip to Blackpool last week.

Until this year there had been a Crazy Golf course there.

You can still see the outline of the old course

That course was the 436th course played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in June 2017. We'd originally made a flying visit to it in 2008.

How the course looked in June 2017

A new Adventure Golf course at Fairhaven Lake is nearing completion and should be open soon.

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Fuddruckers

Fuddruckers is soon to be no more.

It was announced this week that the brand is to be liquidated. Fuddruckers was founded in Texas in 1979. As of last year there were 156 Fuddruckers.

I've never eaten at one but did see a branch at The Orleans Casino in Las Vegas back in 2011.

If you've never seen the film Idiocracy check it out for a brilliant Fuddruckers visual gag.

Orange Wednesday

Last Wednesday was a very orange Wednesday.

It was brilliant to spot this old Orange Mobile shop sign while we were in Oswestry last Wednesday. A relic from another time.

We popped into a charity shop to escape the rain and while browsing spotted this old Orange mobile phone too. I used to sell mobiles from that era when I got my first job at Tandy back in 1996!

Orange launched in 1994 and merged with EE in 2010. The orange brand was continued until 2015 with existing customer plans ceasing in 2019.

Other lost and defunct brands

We've seen a number of old shop signs and retro retail remnants on our travels including Tandy in Hitchin; RadioShack in St Annes on the Sea; Toys R Us stores in Ancoats, Manchester, Warrington, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent and Preston; Woolworths Big W in Brunstane, Edinburgh; Woolworths in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent; BHS in Stockport; Kwik Save in Barrow-in-Furness; Cooltrader in Blackpool; Happy Shopper in Preston and Blockbuster Video stores in Manchester, Colne, Oldham, Cheadle Hulme, Marple, Hastings, Felixstowe, Telford, Prescot and Chester.

Lost minigolf courses - Galactic Golf in Halifax, West Yorkshire

Galactic Golf in Halifax, West Yorkshire has closed. (Update: May 2021 - the venue has now reopened).

We were sad to find out that Galactic Golf in Halifax closed its doors for the final time on Saturday. The business was a victim of the coronavirus pandemic.

We played at the two course, 36-hole indoor space-themed centre last November. The courses were were the 934th and 935th visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Galactic Golf was part of the Electric Bowl in the town. That business is continuing.

Lost shops - Toys R Us in Preston, Lancashire

September 2020 - Toys R Us still exists. Kind of.

Toys R Us ceased trading in the UK in April 2018. I worked there back in the year 2000.

It's always interesting to see signs from lost brands

This store is in Preston, Lancashire.

Toys R Us at the Deepdale shopping centre in Preston

Apart from one ghost sign on the side of the building where the raised letters have been removed it looks like it could've still been open.

Ghost signs

A busy car park

A colourful store front

Welcome to Toys R Us

This store is now closed

The entrance

A nice sign on the right of the building

At the exit

The exit doors

A piece of ephemera 

Remnants

A branded electricity substation

There have been plans for the old Toys R Us at the Deepdale shopping centre to be converted into a gym or a Sports Direct. But at the moment it's still there as something of a time capsule.

Other lost Toys R Us stores

We've also been to the abandoned Toys R Us in Warrington, Cheshire, had a look at what remained of the old Toys R Us store at the Central Retail Park in Ancoats, Manchester before it was demolished and visited the Toys R Us in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent shortly before it was converted into a Go Outdoors this month.

Lost shops

On our travels we've also seen a RadioShack in St Annes on the Sea; Woolworths Big W in Brunstane, Edinburgh; Tandy in Hitchin; Blockbuster in Fallowfield, Manhester; Woolworths in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent; BHS in Stockport; Blockbuster Video Express in Colne; Orange Mobile in Oswestry; Kwik Save in Barrow-in-Furness; Cooltrader in Blackpool and the remains of Blockbuster Video stores in Oldham, Cheadle Hulme, Marple, Hastings, Felixstowe, Telford, Prescot and Chester.

Happy Shopper

On our way to look at the old Toys R Us we also found a bonus lost shop - a Happy Shopper!

Toys R Us in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent

A look at the old Toys R Us store at Festival retail park in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent.

I've never seen cleaner and brighter signs on an abandoned shop.

There are three large branded Toys R Us signs on the store, this is one of two on the side of the building. They differ from the more commonly see signs as the brand name is printed onto one board, rather that the lettering being made out of individual 3D pieces

Toys R Us ceased trading in the UK in April 2018. I worked there back in the year 2000.

I was once one of Geoffrey's Helpers at Toys R Us

It was a lucky find as this month the unit will be opened as a Go Outdoors store and so the Toys R Us branding will be disappearing.

This scene won't be the same next month and the Toys R Us branding will be lost forever

Remains of other Toys R Us stores

We've also been to the abandoned Toys R Us in Warrington, Cheshire and had a look at what remained of the old store at the Central Retail Park in Ancoats, Manchester.

Woolworths in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent

A look at the old Woolworths in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent.

Anyone want some Woolies Pick n' Mix?

A view of the shopfront on Market Street

The last Woolworths shop in the UK closed in January 2009 so it was brilliant to see this frontage looking fairly unchanged!

Lovely to spot this extra piece of old branding hidden in plain sight on the shopfront

It won't be like that for too much longer though as work is going on inside the unit and it'll soon be a totally lost store.

A look inside the store

A view down the side of the store in Longton Shopping Centre

The secondary entrance / exit

Woolies in Longton

We first spotted the store in Longton while driving through the town last November. We were very surprised to see the branding still in place.

Woolworths Big W

We had a look at an old Woolworths store in Brunstane, Edinburgh back in August 2011. That was the Big W Woolworths store at The Jewel retail park.