Yorkshire Shopping Festivals Meadowhall Leeds York Shopping Whitby Jet Swaledale Festival

Yorkshire Cities Shopping - York, Leeds, Sheffield Meadowhall Shopping

Shopping heaven is often applied to York and it's an accurate description. York is easily one of the UK's best shopping cities offering the full range of designer, high street stores and fashion, antique shops, specialist gift shops like the Cat Gallery (a well known cat lovers magnet), and specialist shopping, market stalls and off the wall boutiques around the Quarter and the narrow Medieval streets of York. York's most famous street - The Shambles contains a fine selection of specialist shops. Many of the streets are pedestrianised, making browsing around the York shops a real pleasure.

With its largely pedestrianised city centre and choice of indoor and outdoor shopping spaces, Leeds is a centre for shopaholics in the North. At the heart of the Leeds Shopping Experience is the historic Victoria Quarter, a mix of covered ornate Victorian arcades offering over 70 chic shops including big designer names like Vivianne Westwood and now the new Louis Vuitton boutique. Leeds is such a good UK shopping centre they've designated a whole Leeds Shopping week to the city (end May into June). Choose from modern shopping and leisure spaces like The Light to stunningly converted listed Victorian buildings like the Leeds Corn Exchange offering a host of fine restaurants and cookware outlets. Checkout the choice of Leeds vintage clothing at Blue Rinse and Vintage and find every possible high street name you can think of along pedestrianised Briggate and at Leeds shopping centre meccas like the White Rose and St Johns. Europe's largest indoor market - Kirkgate is here in Leeds open 6 days a week with a different theme each day and big name stores like Harvey Nichols further boost Leeds' reputation as shopping mecca. Shopping weekend breaks don't come much better than Leeds!

Sheffield's shopping mecca Meadowhall is one of the UK's most successfull mammoth mall styled shopping centres. Conveniently located just off the M1, the Supertram Bus Service offers frequent direct links from Sheffield City Centre to Meadowhall. Every shop you could possibly imagine is here - Debenhams, House of Fraser, Miss Selfridge, New Look, Boots, Marks and Spencer. In all over 270 stores. Spread over two levels (see maps and store listings via Meadowhall's webguide), Meadowhall's huge Oasis food hall sits on the lower level, with main department stores Marks & Spencer, Debenhams and House of Fraser running up both floors. You'll find an impressive list of select clothing names here too including Ted Baker, Karen Millen and Hobbs.

The Yorkshire cities and large towns are UK leaders for independent unique boutique fashions - checkout Sheffield's city centre Devonshire Quarter and Fargate and city shopping centres - see Hull's Princes Quay and St Stephens and look out for the new Trinity Walk Retail outlet on Wakefield's waterfront. Other shopping hotspots include university town Huddersfield which has a real bohemian kick to its city centre shopping. Both Leeds and York stand as two of the UK's best shopping cities.

• Leeds Shopping
• York Shopping

Harrogate & Yorkshire Dales Shopping

Antiques, books, wine, specialised foods, arts and crafts, contemporary art, Beer specialists and spa therapy - you name it Harrogate has got it. A particular hotspot for specialist and fine clothes shopping, and home to acclaimed Betty's Cafe and Tearoom Harrogate is the Montpellier Quarter. A choice of chic cafes and bars alongside unique clothing shops and specialist Harrogate shops such as the famous Farrah's Sweet shop are all down here on Montpellier Hill.

You'll find unique specialist shopping in all the Yorkshire Dales villages and towns. Particular specialist shopping Dales hotspots include in the West Dales Sedbergh for its fine selection of bookshops and Farfield Mill Arts & Crafts and Kirkby Lonsdale boasts a fine specialist shopping scene.

In the South Dales Skipton's main high street is pure specialist shopping heaven with other hotspots including Grassington and Settle.

In the North Dales more specialist shopping treats are at Leyburn, Reeth, Hawes and at Richmond around the town's picturesque main square. Bordering the Dales National Park, historic spa town Ilkley also offers a superb choice of specialist shops, tearooms and fine restaurants.

• Harrogate Shopping

Whitby Yorkshire Coast Shopping & North York Moors Shopping

Whitby on the Yorkshire Coast is a specialist shopping hotspot. Boosted by the large number of shops selling the distinctive stunning Whitby Jet jewellery, you can purchase beautiful Whitby Jet crafted jewellery from numerous jewellery and craft shops in the town. Most Whitby Jet jewellers are located around the arts and crafts shopping area in Whitby based around Church Street on the East side of the town. The narrow cobbled streets in this area are a specialist shopper's paradise, akin to the shopping experience on York's Shambles. Whitby boasts many fine bookshops, jewellers, glass studios, tearooms and restaurants. Near Whitby, little Robin Hood's Bay boasts a fine selection of craft shops.

Main towns and villages bordering the North York Moors, including Helmsley, Malton, Pickering and Thirsk all offer an outstanding selection of Specialist Shops.

Helmsley is a particular favourite, with some fine second hand books shops and boutiques here. Within the North York Moors National Park look to the picture postcard villages of Thornton-le Dale, Hutton le Hole, Goathland (a stop on the North York Moors Railway) and Rosedale Abbey which is renowned for its unique glass pieces.

• Scarborough Shopping
• Whitby Shopping

West Yorkshire Specialist Shopping

Villages and towns in West Yorkshire offers some of the regions best of specialist shopping and independent fashions. Topspots include Hebden Bridge - a mecca for specialist and vintage clothes shopping fans. Haworth Village's Main Street is specialist shopper heaven (checkout the Rose & Co. Apothecary!). Halifax's historic Georgian Square Piece Hall has a fine selection of craft and specialist collectors shops and a great second hand bookshop.

Move into Pennine Yorkshire for more specialist shopping hotspots at Holmfirth and Denby Dale and the surrounding villages.

The town centres of both Huddersfield and Halifax are superb shopping towns, boosted by their stunning Victorian architecture, a legacy of the textiles boom. You'll find quirky off the wall boutiques in both. Huddersfield has a great cafe culture and bar/nightlife scene with a wide selection of independent boutiques and shops. Halifax's ornate Victorian borough market is a busy place and is architecturally stunning.

• Shopping Halifax
• Huddersfield Shopping