Merry Hill, Birmingham

Christmas Shopping can be a nightmare at the best of times, but when you have a 3-year-old toddler in a pushchair it becomes your worst nightmare.

I can recommend a Shopping Centre that makes Christmas shopping more of a dream than a nightmare. First a bit of history…

Merry Hill is located in Brierley Hill in the West Midlands. It was originally the site of an Iron and Steel works, started by the Earl of Dudley in the early 1850’s. Due to the recession it closed down in 1980.

In the mid 1980’s the Merry Hill site was purchased by Black Country Developers Richardson Developments Ltd. It was due to them that the first two stages of the Merry Hill development opened in 1985. Since then there have been several more developments on the site including the Shopping Mall which opened in 1989. It was about this time that the development was sold to a Canadian Property company called Mountleigh. Following the collapse of Mountleigh, in 1994, Merry Hill was bought by it current owners Chelsfield plc.

Today Merry Hill Centre has over 200 shops under one roof and free car parking for 10,000 cars. It is one of the biggest centres in the UK and one of the finest in Europe.

Inside is laid out in marble and brass, with scenic lifts and water fountains. There is an Upper and Lower Mall and access is made easy with several large lifts, together with stairs and escalators. There are also plenty of toilets, including disabled toilets and baby changing facilities at various locations around the malls.

Other good features include a free wheelchair service and a meeting point. How many times have you been out shopping with a friend and split up to do a bit of shopping on your own only to lose each other. If this does happen an announcement can be made to say that you are at the meeting point. No Smoking is allowed on the malls at Merry Hill.

I could not possibly list all the shops, as I would be here until Christmas. When you walk into the Mall you can pick up a copy of the Magazine, this gives a guide to all the stores available and where they are. It shows all the entrances, car parks, toilets, lifts, stairs, escalators, customer service points, telephones and restaurants. There are plenty of Banks and cash point machines, so there is no excuse not to shop.

All the main shops are at Merry Hill, M&S, BHS, Argos, Index, Boots, Debenhams, WH Smith, Asda and Sainsburys.

Some of my favourites are the Body Shop, Bear Factory, Superdrug, Wallis, The Disney Store, Warner Brothers, Schuh, Jessops, The gadget shop, The Discovery Store, to name just a few.

My 14-year-old daughter loves it, we have to visit Claire’s accessories, Tammy, Mark One, New Look, McDonald’s, of which there are several and Millies Cookies.

My 3-year-old loves the Early learning Centre and she spends ages in there playing with all the toys. We usually have to bribe her out with an ice cream and there are plenty of ice cream stalls.

If you are not a McDonalds or a Burger King fan there are many other restaurants to try. If you want something quick and hot try Dewney Pasties, they have had a shop in Merry Hill since it opened and sell tasty meat pasties in all sizes. I highly recommend giving these a try.

If you take the kids with you, but don’t want to drag them around the shops, there is Snappers’ Crèche. I’ve not tried it myself, but it is for 2 to 8 years olds, and there is a ball pool, a dressing box and other toys for them to entertain themselves with.

Also for the kids, being as it’s only a few weeks until Christmas, there is Santa’s Magical Fairy Grotto. This opened on 8th November and the kids can see Santa from £3.00 to £6.75, dependant on whether you want just a gift, or a photo, or a gift and a photo.

The opening hours at Merry Hill prior to Christmas are extended to Monday to Friday 10.00am to 10.00pm, Saturday 9.00am to 8.00pm and Sunday 11.00am to 5.00pm.

The weekends are very busy in the run up to Christmas, therefore I have found that the best time to go is on Sunday or on a weekday evening.

Once you are in the malls you don’t have to worry about the weather, because it can be pouring down with rain outside and you can carry on shopping in the dry regardless. With the variety of shops you cannot fail to get all your presents for Christmas.

I have always found Merry Hill to be pushchair friendly, with lots of space in the malls, easy access to the 2 levels, plenty of toilets, which is essential with a 3 year old who doesn’t give you much notice when they need to go. The amount of parking spaces is amazing, you can always find a space.

For more information you can ring the Merry Hill Customer Careline on 01384 481141 or visit their website at www.merryhill.co.uk.