Co Op

This Co-​op offers a good basic selection of foods, household goods and small electricals. Open until 8pm weekdays and a good place to pop into late afternoon onwards as their reduced for quick sales section (much of it in the chiller cabinet on the left-​hand side, next to the deli) offers amazing bargains. Today, Brie 35p, and recent purchases, melons 25p, chilled marscapone sauce 10p. Often these things are suitable for freezing so you don’t have to eat them on the day of purchase. Lots of special offers that run for a few weeks — for instance their Fairtrade medium ground coffee has been £1. Look for these on the end of aisles. Annoyingly, they often stock products only for a special offer period and then they’re gone from the shelves! Good selection of wines, including Fairtrade wines — in fact the range of Fairtrade foods including seasonal fresh fruit, is very good for the size of shop. I find the staff friendly but often not enough of them on the checkouts. Also stocks newspapers.

Small to medium size Co-​op store with a Post Office branch to the rear. It’s a well used shop and there never seems to be enough staff working on the tills at peak periods (and they rarely offer to help you pack). There’s a good selection of produce but it’s more expensive than Asda or Tesco. There’s a home delivery service available, a deli counter and a hot food counter that’s popular at lunch times.