KateB's Qype profile

This store is lovely as aswell as selling everything you’ll ever need for your pet you can look at the baby guinea pigs, rabbits and hampsters whilst popping in for your supplies. It’s a bit dangerous though as a few months ago I ended up buying another guinea pig as I couldn’t resist her cute panda eyes. There is a vets in the back which I can’t comment on as I’ve never been but it’s definitely convenient to have it all in one place! The staff are knowledgeable and friendly if not a bit understaffed, there never seems to be enough people working on the shop floor.

This shop is really useful to have in Olney as it sells almost everything. It has a great range of essential items aswell as gifts and a stationers. There is a post office at the back of the shop but it is rarely open when I am around as I work full time in CMK. The parking can be a bit of a nightmare as there are only about 4 spaces outside (shared with the chippy next door) and the market place often gets clogged up with visitors and/or the market itself. Overall it’s good value for money though as it is competitively priced and sells everything from a ball of string to the latest copy of your fave glossy magazine. By the way, it is now called McColls not Forbuoys!

A fantastic lingerie shop, the best I’ve ever been to. The staff are knowledgeable and friendly and manage to put you at ease in what is not always the most relaxing situation. They have a good range of stock and are knowledgeable about how the sizes vary based on the style and design. The prices do vary but on average you can expect to pay about £25 for a bra. They also sell corsets, sportswear and swimwear. The shop has now moved and is based in the Courtyard opposite the Market Square. Parking can be a bit difficult on busy days such as Saturday.

The Coop is the only supermarket in Olney and therefore has a somewhat captive market. This does mean that the prices can be slightly inflated. However, the recently refurbished Co-op offers a good range of products including those suitable for the 'green and ethical’ consumer with a large range of Fair Trade products. Their fair trade coffee and chocolate selection is excellent. The CoOp offer some kind of reward card, although unlike all the other supermarket chains you have to send off an application through the post to obtain one….I’ve never managed to get round to it. The staff are usually helpful but are not always the most knowledgeable. There are also a lot of younger people working on the tills so when you want to buy any age-legalised products one of their superiors has to authorise it first which can cause a hold-up!

I love Coast, although pricey its dresses and outfits are beautiful. For a more dressy occasion such as a wedding, Christmas party, Christening or a night out with the girls then Coast is ideal. The dresses cost about £120 and a skirt can be as much as £60 but most of the designs are timeless and will last you years if they are looked after. I can recommend their online shop. My order arrived in 2 days and was carefully wrapped in tissue paper then in a large purple Coast bag and then again in a huge cardboard box.

Morrisons is now my supermarket of choice for most of my weekly shop. I say most because starting on the bad points, their fresh fruit and veg is not the best and not comparable to the freshness of the stock in the local Tesco. However, Morrisons cannot be missed for its meat and fish alone - the quality and breadth of the range is fantastic…..they literally sell all parts of the animals for all your cooking needs. Their lean stewing steak is now a staple to my weekly shop, it can be used in curries, casseroles, stews, pies etc. They have some lovely cheeses too and plenty of offers on for Christmas goodies.

Having previously lived round the corner from this garage it has been a 'lifesaver’ many times. Whether you need milk, a loaf of bread, custard, a birthday card or some deodorant this mini mart has all the essentials. It also quite often has good deals on beer and wine which is great for the weekends. The staff are friendly and as it’s 24hr it’s always open albeit sometimes via the night-pay. As you would expect of a garage and convenience store you pay quite a bit more for things from here than you would in say a standard supermarket, but who can put a price on convenience?.....and you can’t usually walk to Tesco at 4am for some milk!

I really enjoy visiting this shop. They have a large selection of books, especially travel books so if you are planning a holiday they have a good choice of guides. I love paperchase and there is a reasonably sized concession at the back of the shop. They do great wrapping paper, diaries and cards among other things. There is a fab starbucks upstairs too. You definitely should try the Chai Latte - it’s the best drink and never fails to perk me up! Their sandwiches are good too, especially the toasted panninis. They do take a while for them to be heated up/toasted but it’s worth it! Definitely worth a trip to this place on a lunchtime for a snack and to get a birthday present, card and wrapping paper all in one shop!

I have only been to Abbey Hill for the food and not the golf so can only review the food and service I have received. I have to say that the service can be less than friendly at times. The food isn’t much cop either especially the jacket potatoes which are blatantly just microwaved to order. The chilli is a bit better but a pretty small portion and once took over 40 minutes to arrive (and I very much doubt they were making it from scratch!). We only go here as it is so convenient, however we avoid it where possible.

I recently went here and wasn’t that impressed. They are apparently not as cheaply priced as they used to be. They have a lot of what I would call 'factory shop’ shoes such as end of line or over ordered stock. They do stock brands such as Clarks and Hush Puppies aswell as a few lines of sports shoes. The boots are still priced at around £70 though and the shoes were on average between £30 and £50 which was more than I was prepared to pay from what I thought was a cheaper shop. I would go back, but only if there was a sale on. There’s quite a lot of parking spaces there so that shouldn’t be a problem. It’s near to Maccy D’s and Starbucks so you can get food too.