A video shop shopfront

Spotting a 'video shop' in Watford.

I spotted this nice shop sign for GTV TV & Video on St Albans Road in Watford, Hertfordshire on my recent visit to the town.

I wonder how many TVs and VCRs get rented out in 2025?

40 years of Blockbuster Video

Blockbuster Video opened on the 19th October 1985.

The first Blockbuster Video store opened in Dallas, Texas, USA on this day in 1985.

At its peak in 2004 there were more than 9,000 stores around the world. 500-plus of those were in the UK.

From 9,000 to 1.

There is now just one Blockbuster Video store left open. It's in Bend, Oregon, USA.

There has been a boom in nostalgia for the brand in recent years. The Bend store is now a destination for people wanting to rekindle some of that 90's spirit.

Blockbuster in the UK.

Blockbuster ceased operations in the UK in December 2013. At the start of that year there were 528 Blockbuster locations in the UK. The number dwindled until October when only 264 shops remained. The last stores closed on the 16th December.

Even now, there are still some clearly visible remnants of the brand on the high street and on retail parks. And we've been to most of them on our travels!

Blockbuster Video stores we've visited.

Check out these posts about other former Blockbuster Video stores we've been to in:

• 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

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.

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 rental shops in the UK (July 2025)

A look at video and movie rental shops in the UK.

You can still rent films from a number of video shops in the UK.

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 shows there are currently seven 'video shops' still in operation offering physical media movie rentals in the UK as at July 2025.

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

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

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

While there are nowhere near as many 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.

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.

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

And Bunga 90 - a re-imagining of the Bunga Bunga restaurant and entertainment venue as a 90's fever dream! - is planned to open in Covent Garden, London on the 18th September 2025. The venue will see you step through a video shop frontage to enter a venue full of retro games, karaoke and more.

Blockbuster Crazy Golf.

Interestingly there are 'Blockbuster' store-themed minigolf holes in the UK! They're part of the Golf Fang indoor crazy golf courses. This was the one at The Custard Factory in Digbeth, Birmingham back in 2017.

A Blockbuster Video themed Crazy Golf hole at Ghetto Golf (now Golf Fang) in Digbeth, Birmingham (November 2017)

Video shop pop-ups.

In April this year there was a KitKat x Blockbuster pop-up video shop that was part of a nostalgia inspired campaign to launch KitKat's new sharing bars.

KitKat x Blockbuster Video Shop pop-up in Soho, London. Photo by Gareth Holmes (April 2025)

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 if you look for it!

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)

TVL Allstar Video DVD rental shop in Haverhill, Suffolk

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.

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

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.

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)