Art Deco in Lichfield, Staffordshire

A look at The former Regal Cinema in Lichfield, Staffordshire.

The Regal Cinema opened on Tamworth Street in Lichfield in 1932. It closed in 1972, later becoming a Kwik Save supermarket.

The building now consists of residential apartments and retail units.

Northgate Video & DVD in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk

There's a video and DVD rental shop in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.

While visiting family in Bury St Edmunds in 2024 we spotted the sign for Northgate Video & DVD - a video rental shop!

We returned last year and were back in town again last week and are happy to report that the shop is still there.

Link:

• Northgate Video & DVD

Related blog posts:

• Video rental shops in the UK (January 2026)

Toys R Us at TGJones in Lichfield

There's a Toys R Us at TGJones in Lichfield city centre.

You can find a Toys R Us concession at TGJones in Lichfield, Staffordshire.

The end of WHSmith, and the start of TGJones

The start of July 2025 marked the end of WHSmith on the British high street after 233 years. Following the sale of the business to Hobbycraft owner Modella Capital WHSmith shops underwent a rebrand to the new name of TGJones.

Toys R Us in the UK

Toys R Us returned to the UK shopping scene with an online presence in 2022 and with concessions opening inside some WHSmith shops in 2023. There are currently Toys R Us concessions open at TGJones and WHSmith at Welcome Break shops.

Toys R Us at Hobbycraft.

You can also find Toys R Us concessions at Hobbycraft stores.

Working at Toys R Us

My first job while at university in the year 2000 was as one of Geoffrey's helpers at the Luton Toys R Us store. I worked on the video game and electronics section.

The old Toys R Us

At its peak there were 105 Toys R Us stores in the UK. It's been very interesting to find that there are still remnants of the brand on some retail parks in the UK and we've visited several of these closed, abandoned, derelict and demolished Toys R Us locations on our travels.

Links:

• TGJones
• Toys R Us

Related blog posts:

• Toys R Us
• TGJones
• WHSmith
• Retail

TGJones (formerly WHSmith) closed in Ipswich, Suffolk

The TGJones shop (formerly WHSmith) closed down in Ipswich, Suffolk last month.

TGJones closed in Ipswich on the 9th June 2025.

The end of WHSmith, and the start of TGJones

The start of July 2025 marked the end of WHSmith on the British high street after 233 years. Following the sale of the business to Hobbycraft owner Modella Capital WHSmith shops underwent a rebrand to the new name of TGJones.

Pit Pat Golf at Thistles Shopping Centre in Stirling

There's a new Pit Pat Golf course at Thistles Shopping Centre in Stirling, Scotland.

Thistles Shopping Centre in Stirling is now home to a Pit Pat Golf course.

Pit Pat is similar to minigolf/crazy golf, but played on elevated tables with the ball 'putted' using cues.

Thistles Pit Pat Golf is available from the 6th July until the 2nd August.

Find out more on the Thistles Shopping Centre website.

Pit-Pat

I first saw the game of Pit-Pat (obstacle billiards) in Vienna, Austria back in 2010 - it's like minigolf but played with cues.

You can also find two permanent Pit-Pat courses outdoors at Watermouth Family Theme Park and Castle in Devon (where it is known as Crazy Snooker) and outdoors at Fairytale Farm in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire (where it is called Queen of Hearts Crazy Cues).

There were previously Pit-Pat courses outdoor at Western Putting on Banjo Road in Littlehampton, West Sussex (where it was called Pit-Pat Crazy Snooker) and indoors at The Floodgate in Digbeth, Birmingham (where it was called Pit-Pat Table Golf).

Happy National 7-Eleven Day

It's National 7-Eleven Day.

Today is National 7-Eleven Day!

7-Eleven convenience stores celebrate National 7-Eleven Day on the 11th July.

The first 7-Eleven Day was held in 2002.

Related blog posts:

• 7-Eleven
• The 8-Twelve in Nottingham

Crazy Golf in Beverley, Yorkshire

There are plans for a new crazy golf course in Beverley in the East Riding of Yorkshire.

A new crazy golf course could be opening as part of a new golf venue at the Flemingate shopping centre in Beverley in the East Riding of Yorkshire.

The crazy golf course at FORE! in Beverley would be an indoor 9-hole course.

Happy Shopper shops on '1980s Food: Everything We Loved & Lost' on Channel 5

Happy Shopper shops on the Channel 5 programme '1980s Food: Everything We Loved & Lost'.

A Happy Shopper shop in Ilkeston, Derbyshire (2020)

It was brilliant to be able to contribute to the Channel 5 documentary '1980s Food: Everything We Loved & Lost' and help to tell the story of Happy Shopper shops.

A sign at the Pleasant News Happy Shopper in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire (2021)

The programme was broadcast on Channel 5 today and was an edit of '1980s Food: The Ones We Loved & Lost' shown last year. These programmes followed 'The 1980s Supermarket', which included a feature on Happy Shopper shops in episode 3 when it was first broadcast in 2024.

Visiting a fully branded Happy Shopper shop is like stepping back in time

One of the  brands I remember clearly from growing up in the 1980s and 1990s was Happy Shopper. The colourful sign with the happy chappy face is a lovely throwback. Happy Shopper received a rebrand in 2000, but if you are lucky you can still find the original branding and signage on some shops.

The Happy Shopper shop on Chaucer Road in Sittingbourne, Kent (2022)

You can the watch the programmes via the Channel 5 website:

• 1980s Food: The Ones We Loved & Lost
• The 1980s Supermarket

A ghost sign at the old Happy Shopper shop in Ormesby St Margaret, Norfolk (2020)

Check out my Happy Shopper shops playlist on YouTube.

The former Woolworths in Selby

Spotting a Woolworth ghost sign in Selby, North Yorkshire.

We noticed the remains of a Woolworth sign on the former store on Gowthorpe in Selby while having a wander through the town.

The H of the original WOOLWORTH sign above one of the doors

Before its closure in 2009 the shop had been a Woolworths Local store.

Woolworth became Woolworths in 1984

It's now a Yorkshire Trading Company shop.

Related blog posts:

• Woolworths
• Ghost signs
• Lost shops
• Retail
• Urbex
• Selby

Urban exploration - Riverside Shopping Centre in Evesham, Worcestershire

A look at the Riverside Shopping Centre in Evesham, Worcestershire.

I had a walk through the Riverside Shopping Centre in Evesham while visiting the town last August.

It was such an interesting sight and experience to see an open shopping mall with so few open shops inside it! Really haunting.

As it is no longer viable as a shopping centre there are plans to demolish the shopping centre and regenerate the area.

Photos of the Riverside Shopping Centre in Evesham.

This entrance / exit to the shopping centre looked nice

Video:

• A walk through the Riverside Shopping Centre in Evesham (August 2025)

A Mace shop in Northampton

Spotting a Mace convenience shop in Northampton.

You don't see many Mace shops these days. There was one at a petrol station I used to drive past in Manchester, but I haven't seen any others in a while.

The Mace brand has had several owners over the years and the Great Britain version of the brand is currently owned by Bestway Wholesale after it acquired Costcutter which had bought the Mace brand from Palmer and Harvey.

According to Wikipedia, the Mace brand disappeared from Great Britain in 2025.

While not active in Great Britain, you can still find Mace shops in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

If still there, the Mace in Northampton may be the last one standing in GB!

Toys R Us at WHSmith at Keele Services Southbound on the M6

There's a Toys R Us at WHSmith at Keele Services Southbound on the M6 motorway in Staffordshire.

I spotted there is a Toys R Us inside the WHSmith at Keele Services Southbound on the M6 while travelling down to Wembley at the weekend.

Toys R Us in the UK.

Toys R Us returned to the UK shopping scene with an online presence in 2022 and with concessions opening inside some WHSmith shops in 2023. There are currently 148 Toys R Us stores open nationwide.

Working at Toys R Us.

My first job while at university in the year 2000 was as one of Geoffrey's helpers at the Luton Toys R Us store. I worked on the video game and electronics section.

The old Toys R Us.

At its peak there were 105 Toys R Us stores in the UK. It's been very interesting to find that there are still remnants of the brand on some retail parks in the UK and we've visited several of these closed, abandoned, derelict and demolished Toys R Us locations on our travels.

Links:

• Toys R Us
• WHSmith

Related blog posts:

• Toys R Us
• WHSmith
• Retail

Adventure Mini Golf at the Designer Outlet Ashford shopping centre

The Designer Outlet Ashford shopping centre in Ashford, Kent is adding a mini golf course to the centre.

A new mini golf course will be set-up at Designer Outlet Ashford shopping centre in Ashford, Kent from Saturday 16th May.

The outdoor 6-hole mini golf course will be part of a summer garden at Designer Outlet Ashford.

Find out more on the Designer Outlet Ashford shopping centre website.

OK Buster - Book-Buster in Hastings

A look at an old Blockbuster Video shop in Hastings, East Sussex.

We spotted this old Blockbuster Video store in Hastings while in the seaside town for a minigolf tournament. The former video shop had been turned into a book store called Book-Buster.

Book-Buster former Blockbuster Video store in Hastings in October 2013

Check out Book-Buster on Facebook for more information.

Visiting Blockbuster Video stores.

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.

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

Amazingly we've been able to find traces of the brand at 29 former store locations. This has ranged from QuikDrop boxes to parking signage to full shopfronts!

Posts about former Blockbuster Video stores we've been to:

• 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
• Watford, Hertfordshire
• Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex
• Wisbech, Cambridgeshire
• Wythenshawe, Manchester

Related blog posts:

• Blockbuster Video
• Hastings
• Retail

Urban exploration - Blockbuster Video Express in Billingham town centre, Teesside

A look at the old Blockbuster Video Express store in Billingham town centre, Teesside.

We visited the former Blockbuster Video Express store in Billingham town centre, Teesside during the pandemic.

Blockbuster ceased operations in the UK in December 2013, so it was interesting to see there were still signs of the brand at the old shop - including a near mint condition shop front!

Similar to the abandoned Blockbuster stores in Manchester and Colne, the inside of the abandoned shop had an eerie look to it.

Crazy Golf in Musselburgh, Scotland

There are plans for a crazy golf course in Musselburgh, East Lothian, Scotland.

The crazy golf course will be one of the activities on offer at a new indoor entertainment venue in a former B&M store on the High Street in Musselburgh.

Blockbuster Video stores visited on our travels

There are still traces of former Blockbuster Video shops to be found on the high streets, shopping centres and retail parks of the UK.

Video shop memories.

Growing up in the 1980s and 1990s 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 Emily and I have 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!

Visiting the last bits of Blockbuster Video in the UK.

Lost brands.

Emily and I have spent the last few years reminiscing about 'the good old days'. One of our areas of interest is in old retail brands - we're both marketers by profession and two of my first jobs in the 1990's and the year 2000 were at Tandy and Toys R Us, while Emily's first job was at a Happy Shopper shop.

It's been fascinating to find remnants of these brands - and a number of other lost, dead and defunct brands - on the high street and at retail parks around the UK.

Blockbuster Video in Nuneaton in 2021

Visiting Blockbuster Video stores.

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.

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

Amazingly we've been able to find traces of the brand at 29 former store locations. This has ranged from QuikDrop boxes to parking signage to full shopfronts!

Posts about former Blockbuster Video stores we've been to:

• 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
• Watford, Hertfordshire
• Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex
• Wisbech, Cambridgeshire
• Wythenshawe, Manchester

Related blog posts:

• Blockbuster Video
• Retail
• Video rental shops in the UK (January 2026)
• Video shop speakeasies in the UK
• Blockbuster Video Crazy Golf

Urban exploration - Guildhall Shopping Centre in Stafford

A look at the Guildhall Shopping Centre in Stafford, Staffordshire.

The Guildhall Shopping Centre in Stafford closed its doors in March 2024.

This is how it looked in November 2024.

The shopping centre had started to be closed down in April 2022, with sections and entrances being closed off.

Urban exploration - Debenhams in Canterbury, Kent

A look at the old Debenhams department store in Canterbury, Kent.

Debenhams ceased trading on the high street in May 2021 after 243 years of operation. You can sometimes still find ghost signs and somewhat intact storefronts around the UK where the shop units have not been occupied by a new business.