Shopping
Whilst the Cotswolds does not offer the extensive luxury retail experience of London it does have its attractions in offering interesting independent shops and small family food producers. In addition, shop assistants with attitude are thin on the ground.
Shopping in Cirencester, capital of the Cotswolds, has improved markedly in recent years and this trend looks set to continue with the redevelopment of the Corn Hall and Post Office sites.The Sue Parkinson boutique in the Corn Hall is definitely worth a visit. It stocks an attractive mix of fashion and gift items including Anya Hindmarsh bags and shoes, J Brand jeans and Ren toiletries. Another welcome addition in the upmarket fashion stakes is Moi, whose labels include Hoss Intropia, 7 For All Mankind, Antik Batik, Farhi, Lulu Guinness and Polo by Ralph Lauren. The boutique in the Corn Hall Arcade is the second store openeing after Nailsworth.
Made by Bob, delicatessen, coffee shop and catering outlet provides a modern alternative to the traditional tea shops in town. The Bob in question is the acclaimed former head chef at the Swan gastropub in Southrop.
In addition to independent stores, including Hobbs Bakery, the Corn Hall offers themed shopping events with a Home and Garden Bazaar on Wednesdays, Food and Drink market on Thursdays and Antiques and Collectables on Fridays and craft markets on Saturday.
It is also worth checking out the Cowley House shops tucked away within the historic Stable Yard off Black Jack Street in Cirencester. Derelict buildings have been renovated and turned into a collection of small studios housing independent retailers selling a range of items including clothes and home accessories.
Ciencester's dedicated music store ToneZone in the Woolmarket, Cirencester, aims to provide local musicians with all the equipment and advice they need. Items for sale include guitars, amps, keyboards, drums, books, sheet music and accessories. In addition music lessons are available. For details visit www.tonezonemusic.co.uk or call 01285 641641.
New Brewery Arts, the contemporary craft centre based in Cirencester, offers a changing programme of exhibitions featuring artists working in various media. There are adult and children’s workshops and it is also possible to see craftspeople in action. These include a wire worker, stained glass artist and china restorer. There is a craft shop and café.
For childrenswear go to Zip for labels such as Timberland and Burberry. A good range of children shoes including Hush puppies is availabe at Splosh in the new parade of shops on the approach to the Post office, off Catle Street, in Cirencester.
There are several towns that are good sources of high quality antiques including Burford, Stow on the Wold and Tetbury. The latter boasts one of the greatest concentrations of protected buildings in England and they provide a perfect setting for art and antiques. The majority of antique shops can be found on Long Street and have an international reputation for stocking high quality 17th, 18th and 19th century furniture. There are also several auctioneers selling a wide range of items. These include the Wotton Auction Rooms, Moore Allen and Bonhams in Tetbury. 
However, Tetbury does not just offer antiques. Highgrove, Prince Charles's shop located in the centre of town, is a good place to pick up a gift for a lunch party or mother-in-law.Among the products on offer are plants, garden tools, books, wooden toys, candles, home accessories and stationery. Duchy Originals products and organic foods grown or made at Highgrove or the Duchy Home Farm are also available. The shop only sells items from ethical and sustainable sources, made by local artisans and craftsmen. All profits from the shop are channelled into the Prince's Charities Foundation.
Tetbury also has some excellent boutiques. These include the atmospheric Tetbury Gallery Boutique. It stocks a well edited collection of knitwear and eveningwear including brands such as Kenzo, Tara Jarmon and Malene Birger. In addition there are gorgeous bags by Coccinelle, Wolford tights and French sole shoes.There is a strong likelihood that you will have a house to refurbish at some point. Help is at hand from many good interiors shops throughout the Cotswolds offering soft furnishings, candles, lamps etc. These include French Grey and Tattinger Marsh in Cirencester and Gigi and The Felbrigg Design Company in Tetbury. The second branch of Fabric Mills opened in Cirencester stocking 1000’s of metres of clearance fabrics at very reasonable prices from upmarket brands such as Romo, Osbourne & Little and Zofanny. In addition the shop offers services such as re-upholstery and curtain making.
Amongst the well regarded local shops is Hobbs House bakery in Nailsworth and Tetbury. It specialises in artisan breads such as Sherston, made from an old local recipe from the village of Sherston. Operating from its original Edwardian tiled premises, Jesse Smith’s in Black Jack Street Cirencester, offers cheeses, game and organic meat including delicious pies and Gloucester Old Spot sausages. Tetbury has the House of Cheese selling cheese and pickles and Strictly Strings selling stringed instruments of the violin family and small sculptural wooden furniture.
Farmers markets and farm shops are opportunities to sample and buy local produce. Daylesford Organic and the Organic Farm Shop and café on the Burford Road just outside Cirencester, are the best known farm shops but there are many smaller but equally good shops spread throughout the Cotswolds. The Cheltenham Farmers’ market; normally held on the Promenade on the second and last Friday of every month, has around 30 stalls offering a wide variety of produce from Gloucestershire and the Cotswolds including honey, meat, cider and cheese. If it is funky kitchen accessories that you are after then it is well worth dropping into Steamer Trading in Dyer Street, Cirencester. The large well lit shop is on the site that was the General Trading Company. It has comprehensive displays of coffee machines, food mixers, chopping boards and plenty of smaller items that would make excellent gifts such as oyster knives. It also stocks brands such as Alessi, Guzzini and Emile Henry oven-tableware. Upstairs there are attractively laid tables of crockery and a selection of unusual photograph frames.
The Rectory Kitchen & Cellar in Templar Mews, off Black Jack Street in Cirencester is an attractive place to stop for a cup of coffee and buy organic and fair trade foodie items. There is also a selection of locally produced food and drink including cider from Stroud and soups and fishcakes from the kitchen of the Rectory Hotel, part of the same business.
The shopping associated with events at Badminton and the Beaufort Polo Club is recommended.
It is worth a trip to Nailsworth near Stroud which has reinvented itself as an upmarket shopping destination with a variety of independent shops and boutiques including Moi. Its two children’s shops, doors from each other, between them sell a very good range of wooden toys and attractive children’s clothes. At William’s Fishmarket and FoodHall, fresh oysters and brill may be on offer in addition to fish pies, and other homemade dishes from the deli counter. Ethical coffee, fresh fruit and vegetables, chutneys and locally sourced foodstuffs such as Westonbirt ice cream and Sherston eggs are also available.
That mark of civilisation as we know it Waitrose has a large branch in Cirencester and Stroud.
On the outskirts of Cirencester is Dobbies Garden World, a gardening superstore with a children’s play area. It has a good selection of trees and plants including David Austen roses. The health and beauty section has Kenneth Turner’s lovely scented candles and toiletries. There is a food hall selling local produce and an aquatics department selling a range of tropical fish. It is a good place to take the children on a rainy Sunday afternoon.Gardeners should also head to the Burford Garden Company, located between Oxford and Cheltenham. The 15 acre site has an impressive collection of cottage garden herbaceous plants, palms, ferns, bamboo and 200 varieties of clematis. In addition to tools, garden furniture and water features, there is also a pet department including poultry and ducks, a food hall and an art gallery.
Department stores, inevitably smaller than their London namesakes, can be disappointing in their product ranges. This is particularly the case with Rackhams, the House of Fraser store, in Cirencester and Debenhams in Cheltenham. Fans of Harvey Nichols can now go to the recently opened store in Bristol. Situated in the Quakers Friars area of Cabot Circus, the store has three floors offering womenswear, menswear, accessories, beauty, food and drink. The womenswear labels on offer include Balenciaga, Stella McCartney, Dolce & Gabbana and Donna Karan. There is a bar and restaurant on the second floor.
For hairdressers, a trip to Cheltenham to Stuart Holmes, Toni & Guy, or Blushes may be necessary, if not a return trip to London. Cheltenham has many of the big name High Street shops including Debenhams, House of Fraser, Habitat and Marks & Spencer. The Montpelier district offers chic boutiques such as Blue and Foundation specialist shops including the Scandinavian homewares shop, Skandic Hus, antiques and cafes. Fans of vintage inspired fabrics can visit the Cath Kidston store in Cheltenham’s Promenade.
Several other upmarket niche retailers have branches in Cheltenham including SpaceNK, Molton Brown and the White Company. High Street ladieswear chains include Jigsaw, Hobbs and Karen Millen.
The nearest large standalone John Lewis outlet is at Cribbs Causeway near Bristol. However, it is not as good as John Lewis in London’s Oxford Street or Peter Jones in Sloane Square.
There is a McArthurGlen Designer outlet in Swindon. Although it does not have as many luxury clothing brands as the outlet centre at Bicester, it still has some good shops. These include Polo Ralph Lauren, LK Bennett and Burberry.
You could always venture over to Oxford or Bath which both have good shopping but for a few minutes extra journey time by train you might as well go to London. My reasons for a retail therapy session in London are in no particular order: Fenwicks of New Bond Street, Peter Jones, Emma Hope, Hoss Intropia and Paul, the French patisserie shop. After you have done a good impression of Julia Roberts in the film “Pretty Woman”, buy a copy of the London Evening Standard to remind you why you moved to the Cotswolds in the first place.