Video Store Day 2026

Today is Video Store Day.

This year is the 16th Annual International Independent Video Store Day.

'International Independent Video Store Day' is observed on the third Saturday of October each year.

Do you still have a video store near you?

This was Northgate Video & DVD in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England earlier this year

Check out my blog post from Video Store Day 2025 where I wrote about the video stores we've visited on our travels, Blockbuster Video, video shop speakeasies, Blockbuster-themed crazy golf holes, non-rental video shops, 'Free Blockbuster', and more!

Related blog posts:

• Video Store Day 2025
• Video Shops
• Video Stores
• Video rental shops in the UK (January 2026)
• Video shop speakeasies in the UK

Video Store Day 2025

Today is Video Store Day.

Northgate Video & DVD Video Rental and Sales shop in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk

This year is the 15th Annual International Independent Video Store Day.

International Independent Video Store Day is observed on the third Saturday of October each year.

Do you still have a video store near you?

Video shop memories.

Growing up in the 80s and 90s I've got fond memories of visiting video shops with my family and picking out a film or two (generally one of the Police Academy films, action flicks, or horror movies as I got older!).

I found the preserved remains of a Blockbuster Video store in Fallowfield, Manchester in 2019. And during the coronavirus pandemic my interest in lost brands and retail history was piqued. Since then I've been to several former Blockbuster Video stores around the UK, as well as finding some other old, and some still open, video shops on our travels!

How many video shops are there in the UK in 2025?

Our most recent estimate in the summer showed there were seven 'video shops' still in operation offering physical media movie rentals in the UK. Since then we've also found another niche video shop in Leeds that specialises in skateboard VHS tapes and DVDs!

They are:

• 20th Century Flicks in Bristol.
• Fast Forward in Ayr, Scotland.
• Northgate Video & DVD in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.
• Snips Movies in Bebington, Wirral.
• Stones Video Library & Sweet Shop & Vaporiser Shop in Lowestoft, Suffolk.
• TVL Allstar Video in Haverhill, Suffolk.
• VideOdyssey in Toxteth, Liverpool.
• Video Years in Leeds.

We've been to 20th Century Flicks, Northgate Video & DVD, TVL Allstar Video and Video Years, and are looking forward to going to Fast Forward, Snips Movies, Stones Video Library and VideoOdyssey in the future.

Northgate Video & DVD shop in Bury St Edmunds (May 2025)

While there are nowhere near as many video shops as there once were, it's still very nice to see there are businesses active in the 'video rental' sector in 2025.

Do you know of any other video shops in operation? Please do let us know.

Signs and traces of old video shops.

There are still traces of former video shops to be found on the streets, shopping centres and retail parks of the UK!

VHS tapes and DVDs to rent at B.V.C. Bolton Video Centre in Little Lever (October 2020)

While most of these relics and ghost signs are of old Blockbuster Video stores, there are still signs of independent video shops to be seen if you're lucky (and actually visit and rent from if you're really lucky!).

An old video rental sign inside a Happy Shopper shop in Ilkeston (November 2020)

The list below has links to those we've snapped over the years:

• Shahenshah Videos in Luton
• Deane Video Centre in Bolton
• Video Box Office at the Happy Shopper Wayfairer Discount Store in Ilkeston
• Video Future in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent
• The Movie Box in Manchester
• Jubilee Films in Ashton-under-Lyne

Jubilee Films video shop in Ashton-under-Lyne (August 2020)

• B.V.C. - Bolton Video Centre in Little Lever, Bolton (closed down in 2024)
• 20th Century Flicks in Bristol (still operating, but closed on the day of our visit)
• Video Express in Swansea
• Video Rentals at The Village Top Shop in Thorpe Hesley, Rotherham
• Northgate Video & DVD in Bury St Edmunds (still operating, but closed on the day of our visit)
• TVL Allstar Video in Haverhill (still operating)
• Video Years in Leeds (still operating)

TVL Allstar Video DVD rental shop in Haverhill, Suffolk last Christmas

We're looking forward to checking out the other still operating stores on our travels in the future.

Blockbuster Video shops.

I've enjoyed researching the lost brand and seeking out remnants of old Blockbuster stores over the last few years.

An ex-rental Blockbuster VHS tape with stickers

Here's a list, with links to blog posts about the former Blockbuster Video store locations we've visited to date:

• Abingdon, Oxfordshire
• Ashton, Bristol
• Barnsley, South Yorkshire
• Basingstoke, Hampshire
• Billingham, Teesside

• Cheadle Hulme, Greater Manchester
• Chester, Cheshire
• Chorley, Lancashire
• Clacton-on-Sea, Essex
• Colne, Lancashire
• Failsworth, Manchester
• Fallowfield, Manchester
• Felixstowe, Suffolk
• Filton, Bristol
• Great Moor, Stockport, Greater Manchester
• Hastings, East Sussex
• Leigh, Greater Manchester
• Luton, Bedfordshire
• Marple, Greater Manchester
• Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire
• Nuneaton, Warwickshire

• Oldham, Greater Manchester
• Prescot, Lancashire
• Shanklin, Isle of Wight
• Southampton, Hampshire
• Telford, Shropshire
• Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex
• Wisbech, Cambridgeshire
• Wythenshawe, Manchester

A sign for the old Blockbuster Video Express store in Colne, Lancashire (August 2020)

At its peak in 2004 there were more than 9,000 Blockbuster Video stores around the world. 500+ of which were in England, Scotland and Wales. Interestingly in Northern Ireland the Xtra-Vision brand was used by the owners in-line with the Republic of Ireland.

An Xtra-vision ex-rental VHS tape from Ballymena, Northern Ireland

The last Blockbuster Video shop ceased trading in the UK in December 2013.

'Free Blockbuster'.

The first Free Blockbuster was created in 2019 and since then more have been created in the USA, Canada, Australia and the UK.

Emily visited the Free Blockbuster Las Vegas at Sohn vintage shop in Las Vegas last year and swapped some of our DVDs for some wrestling VHS tapes!

The Free Blockbuster Las Vegas at Sohn vintage shop in Las Vegas (September 2024)

You can find Free Blockbusters in several locations throughout North America, one in Australia, and there is one in the UK - at Midsomer Magpie in Midsomer Norton, Somerset, England.

Check out the Free Blockbuster website for more information.

Non-rental video shops.

There is also Straight To Video - 80s Video Shop in Alfreton, Derbyshire. While they don't actually rent physical media, the shop is a treasure trove of nostalgia. And they do have items for sale.

We're looking forward to a trip there too.

Video shop speakeasies, bars, and venues.

The nostalgia for video shops and the culture they provided back in the day has been translated to a few speakeasies, bars and other venues incorporating a video shop theme.

You can't rent any of these films on VHS at RBT Video

These include:

• Pixel Busters in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire - an arcade and social gaming venue hidden behind a video store.
• Rewind NQ in Manchester's Northern Quarter - check out my blog post 'Drinking in a 'video shop'')
• RBT Video in Wakefield - take a look at the blog post from our visit
• Vice & Co in Lincoln - here's a blog post from our visit
• Bunga 90 - in Covent Garden, London. The venue sees you step through a video shop frontage to enter a venue full of retro games, karaoke and more.

Blockbuster Crazy Golf.

There are also 'Blockbuster Video' themed minigolf holes in the UK!

Blockbuster crazy golf in Nottingham

They're part of Golf Fang indoor crazy golf courses.

Video rental shop watch.

Do you still have a video rental store near you? Please get in touch or let us know in the comments if you do!

An ex-rental cover for what would've been our local video shop here in Edgeley, Stockport

Video Years in Leeds

Spotting a video shop in Leeds, West Yorkshire.

We spotted a sign for the Video Years video shop while having a wander round Leeds city centre on our recent trip to the city.

Video Years has a niche of being a video shop specialising in skateboard VHS & DVDs! It's also housed within a head shop!

Find out more.

Check out the Video Years website for more information.

Related blog posts:

• VHS
• Retail
• Shops
• Leeds
• Video rental shops in the UK (July 2025)

Happy National VCR Day

Today is National VCR Day!

Do you still own or use a Video Cassette Recorder? I do.

There are still some great and rare films and programmes that can only be seen on video tapes these days, so I'm glad we've still got our TV/Video combination set. As well as a few standalone players.

Over the last year several years I've been documenting the remains of Blockbuster Video stores - and other video shops - in the UK.

The QuikDrop box on the old Blockbuster Video store in Southampton

There are still some video shops trading today! As well as some retro and nostalgia locations such as bars, speakeasies and shops that are a throwback to those halcyon days of the 1980s and 1990s video shop experience.

RBT Video in Wakefield - a video shop speakeasy

A visit to RBT Video in Wakefield, West Yorkshire.

We visited RBT Video in Wakefield while in the city for the Star Walk event at Trinity Walk.

We've wanted to revisit Wakefield and go to RBT Video for quite a while, so it was brilliant to check out the speakeasy and visit the pop culture event at the shopping centre too.

We've been nostaglic for the halcyon days of the video shop for a few years now, and while you can't actually rent out videos at RBT, it is fun checking out the video shop 'front' to the speakeasy.

I don't remember seeing R.B.T. on the shelves at my local Ritz Video back in the day!

Definitely not a Blockbuster Video shop

You don't need to ask Spuds MacKenzie to let you into the bar, but you do need to know the movie codename of the week to gain access!

Inside the bar at RBT Video

Behind this wall of VHS tapes is a bar!

My movie pick - it's no Pulp Fiction though

A poster for RBT Video's events we spotted while at Subs & Suds - a sister venue of RBT Video and part of the Host & Home group. Emily got a delicious Chicken Parm and Fries for lunch there (while I played Street Fighter II on one of the arcade machines)

Take a look on the RBT Video website for more information, opening times, and clues on how to gain access to the bar behind the VHS tape stacked shelves!

NOT a V.H.S. Rental shop

Lost Video Shops: B.V.C. - Bolton Video Centre in Little Lever, Bolton

B.V.C. - Bolton Video Centre in Little Lever, Bolton closed down in July 2024.

We stumbled upon it back in October 2020 and it was fascinating to find a video shop, with actual VHS tapes available to rent out, open!

Here are some photos of B.V.C. - Bolton Video Centre in October 2020 and June 2021.

Related blog post:

• Video rental shops in the UK (April 2025)

Video Store Day 2024

Today is Video Store Day.

Do you still have a video store near you?

International Independent Video Store Day is observed on the third Saturday of October each year.

This year is the 14th Annual International Independent Video Store Day.

By my reckoning there are three video shops still in operation in the UK. They are:

• Northgate Video & DVD in Bury St Edmunds
• 20th Century Flicks in Bristol
• Snips Movies in Bebington, Wirral

Unfortunately B.V.C. - Bolton Video Centre in Little Lever, Bolton closed in July this year. We visited that particular video shop on Video Shop Day in 2020!

It's nice to see there are still some businesses active in the sector though!

Northgate Video & DVD Video Rental and Sales shop in Bury St Edmunds, August 2024

There are still traces of former video shops to be found on the streets, shopping centres and retail parks of the UK. Most of those are old Blockbuster Video stores. But there are remnants of independent video shops to be seen if you're lucky. Some of those I've snapped over the years include:

• Shahenshah Videos in Luton
• Deane Video Centre in Bolton
• Video Box Office at the Happy Shopper Wayfairer Discount Store in Ilkeston
• Video Future in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent
• The Movie Box in Manchester
• Jubilee Films in Ashton-under-Lyne
• B.V.C. - Bolton Video Centre in Little Lever, Bolton
• 20th Century Flicks in Bristol
• Video Express in Swansea
• Video Rentals at The Village Top Shop in Thorpe Hesley, Rotherham
• Northgate Video & DVD in Bury St Edmunds

Blockbuster Video stores we've visited to date include:

• Abingdon, Oxfordshire
• Ashton, Bristol
• Barnsley, South Yorkshire
• Basingstoke, Hampshire
• Billingham, Teesside
• Cheadle Hulme, Greater Manchester
• Chester, Cheshire
• Chorley, Lancashire
• Clacton-on-Sea, Essex
• Colne, Lancashire
• Failsworth, Manchester
• Fallowfield, Manchester
• Felixstowe, Suffolk
• Filton, Bristol
• Great Moor, Stockport, Greater Manchester
• Hastings, East Sussex
• Leigh, Greater Manchester
• Luton, Bedfordshire
• Marple, Greater Manchester
• Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire
• Nuneaton, Warwickshire
• Oldham, Greater Manchester
• Prescot, Lancashire
• Shanklin, Isle of Wight
• Southampton, Hampshire
• Telford, Shropshire
• Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex
• Wisbech, Cambridgeshire
• Wythenshawe, Manchester

Find out more about the event on the International Independent Video Store Day website.

Free Blockbuster Las Vegas at Sohn vintage shop in Las Vegas

A visit to the 'Free Blockbuster' in Las Vegas.

Emily made a visit to the Free Blockbuster 'pop up' video and DVD exchange/library/dispenser at Sohn vintage shop on her recent trip to Las Vegas.

The first Free Blockbuster was created in 2019 and since then more have been created in the USA, Canada, and one in the UK.

It's been fun following the Free Blockbuster movement's journey, and it'll be interesting to see where they appear next.

Emily took some DVDs from our collection and swapped them out for three wrestling VHS tapes! She managed to get a Free Blockbuster sticker and one for Sohn too.

Wrestling goodness from the USA and Japan!

A happy customer of Free Blockbuster Las Vegas and Sohn

Hopefully I'll get to visit Las Vegas again in the future. It'd be superb to see the Free Blockbuster stall in person - and see what's new there to swap. The people at the store also showed Emily the vintage wrestling t-shirts they had in stock.

Check out the Sohn and Free Blockbuster websites for more information. And check out Free Blockbuster Las Vegas on Instagram.

As well as being a wrestling fan I'm a fan of ALF and Emily bought a vintage ALF keyring and badge for my collection at Sohn!

An ALF keyring, badge, and a Sohn sticker

Sohn seen from across the street in the Las Vegas heat!

Check out the blog posts about our travels to former Blockbuster video shops.