On a rare occasion I like to go for a hardcore shop and the place I usually go to is Merry Hill in Dudley in the West Midlands. It is a massive shopping centre home to literally hundreds of brilliant shops where you can get anything from clothes to DVDs. Now if you are like me and literally cannot stand shopping on a regular basis, stay clear of this place, it will be your hell, however I must admit that it is a fantastic centre to go to in order to have a real shop. With me this is once a year, but I do come back with dozens of bags as the variety and quantity of shops is brilliant.
To get there it is probably easier to get off the M6 at junction 10 near Walsall. From here get onto the Black Country Route, go right until the end and there are sign posts directing you all the way to Merry Hill which is about another fifteen minutes away.
Merry Hill is a pleasant centre and is always clean when I go. There are lots of bins around for your trash and people walk around cleaning up, so it makes for a nice place to shop. The thing I always find great is that no matter how busy the centre can get it never seems claustrophobic or packed as many other shopping centres do. There are lots of plants around and the place looks quite modern. Overall look-wise it is a great shopping centre.
So the shopping is the reason most people visit Merry Hill because of the amount and variety there is. For one it has all of the high street shops you would find anywhere else but in Merry Hill all of the shops are quite large so there is a large selection of clothes. Debenhams is probably the favourite for everyone as it is just so big! Taking up about quite a large chunk of the shopping centre is has everything you could wish for. We have probably spent at least a couple of hours just in that shop. But there are loads of shops from fashion to sport to gaming and DVDs; there is just so much to do. To get a good day out shopping there you need a whole day. With New Look, Dorothy Perkins, Game, WH Smith and the Gadget Shop it really is a great day out shopping.
There are plenty of places to eat in the centre. They are mostly in the form of small cafes situated in the middle of the centre with some seating; however there is a McDonalds, a Burger King and cafes in both Sainsburys and Debenhams. There is also a Millie's Cookies which I have to visit every time I'm there!
Merry Hill is brilliant for the shopping and you can really make a day of it. What is brilliant is that it is only five minutes away from a cinema, so spend the day shopping and relax to a film afterwards! Parking the car is the only difficulty you will have with Merry Hill. Even though the car park is extremely large and can fit literally thousands of cars, it can get extremely busy. On Saturdays I recommend getting there early or prepare to spend at least half an hour waiting for a space! This is why so many people hate visiting Merry Hill, the parking is simply atrocious, definitely get there early.
Overall I love Merry Hill and go there a few times a year when I really want to have a good spend. You can get some right bargains as you are guaranteed to have a few shops with sales on! Shopping heaven, I completely recommend visiting, especially in the January sales as the amount of bargains you can get is brilliant.
Merry Hill is usually open from as early as 7am to 8pm. When it comes to Christmas time it is open till midnight which I find fantastic. You have to be lucky sometimes, I went at 10pm on a Wednesday night and it was packed so just because of late times doesn't mean quiet shopping!
Address: Merry Hill Shopping Centre Brierley Hill West Midlands DY5 1QX
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Advantages: lots of shops, good security,parking,food Disadvantages: the centre is full with people at Christmas and it is hard to get a parking space.
Anna145 09.09.2001 ·
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Review of Merry Hill
Mar 5th, 2008
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