Best shopping centres to go to in the UK

Last Updated on 25th November 2023

England has plenty of extravagant shopping centres, full of high street and high-end stores. These malls are perfect for people in the mood for a shopping spree or an evening at a restaurant.

Let’s face it, online shopping on our devices is great for easily finding a product and seeing reviews, but then there is the hassle of shipping and returns. Plus there is no substitute for trying something on first and seeing the weight, fabric quality, colour and size without purchasing. And who can deny the buzz of queuing at the checkout with their items.

The good shopping centres are more than just the retail centre, they also have a range of restaurants, bars, cafes, entertainment facilities, activities, parks and shops all in one location. With preferable good information points to give store details so you don’t miss anything.

While price is standard across the main retail chains, you might grab a bargain in the sale section to make that money go further. Of course, what sets the shopping centre’s apart is the size of the shops, meaning a higher range of available products to browse and try on.

Here are the best shopping centres UK has to offer in the big cities.

Intu Trafford Centre

Address: The Trafford Centre, Trafford Park, Stretford, Manchester M17 8AA.

Manchester’s Trafford Centre is the third largest shopping centre in the UK, the biggest in the North-West and has over 280 shops including the Couture Club flagship store. It hosts huge department stores over 3 floors, like John Lewis and Selfridges and Next.

In the centre is Europe’s largest food court, The Orient, and based around this is four key areas Barton Square, The Dome, Regent Crescent and Peel Avenue each with key shops.

The Trafford Centre also contains Legoland, Laser Quest, Adventure Golf and Sea Life. After morning shopping, you can take the family to these hit attractions for some extra fun.

Check out the United Kingdom’s busiest cinema for nights out or take a leisurely mooch around the hundreds of shops across multiple levels with many having late opening times.

There are plenty of hotels around for visitors that want to travel in and want overnight accommodation.

Fashion Shops in the Trafford Centre

Being the largest shopping centre in the North West, in the mecca of fashion in Manchester, there is no shortage of designer fashion outlets and shops to buy womenswear, menswear, fashion accessories, jewellery, lingerie and more. You are truly spoiled for choice with Fashion retailers available including:

The best thing about going directly to the high end brand stores is you can see the styles and try them on. While there are many online stores selling the brands, you would need a good authentication service to ensure the item is legit and not a counterfeit.

Liverpool ONE

Address: 5 Wall St, Liverpool L1 8JQ

This indoor shopping centre is located in the heart of Liverpool and has an open-air roof. Say goodbye to sweaty shoppers and hello to an easy-breezy experience. Liverpool One contains six different districts, each with different tastes. For example, Peter’s Lane has more luxurious stores and designer outlet while Paradise Street focuses on technology and food.

Surprisingly only the 10th biggest in the UK, Liverpool ONE has a 14 screen Odeon Cinema and 36 hole mini golf course.

Fashion shops

Shops on Peter’s Lane include; Ted Baker, Fat Face, Karen Millen, Radley, Ghost, Jigsaw, Cafe Nero, Dune, Topshop, Tie Rack and Lollipops Paris. Masterplan, AllSaints, Ann Summers, Disney Store, Gap, Hollister Co., Mango, Monsoon, Pull and Bear, Republic, SportsDirect.com, Nike, JD Sports, American Apparel, Urban Outfitters, USC and Zara.

Westfield London

Address: Ariel Way, London W12 7GF

Take a train to London and visit Shepherds Bush for the ultimate London shopping experience. This five-floor shopping complex features a glass roof, elegant lighting and hundreds of shops. There is even a separate section, named The Village, for the most luxurious of stores and fashion brands.

There is also an entire floor for food – so you can stop and grab a snack halfway through your shopping spree and easy lunchtime dining.

Retail Shops

The mall has many premium outlets like Marks & Spencer, House of Fraser, Next, Primark, AllSaints, Bershka, Coast, Cotton On, Dorothy Perkins, Dwell, Ernest Jones, Hackett, Hollister Co., House of Fraser, H.Samuel, Jaeger, Kurt Geiger, Mamas & Papas, Mango, Marks & Spencer, Next, Nomination, Oakley, Reiss, River Island, schuh, Topshop, Uniqlo, Zara, Burberry, De Beers, Georg Jensen, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Miu Miu, Mulberry, Myla, Tiffany & Co and Versace.

It’s one of the best shopping destinations in the South, while of course the capital offers other retail spaces like the busiest shopping street area around Oxford Street and Harrods.

London has some of the best shopping centres in the United Kingdom including Westfield’s sister site in Stratford (E20) and Canary Wharf shopping centre (E14) which are both in East London. There is also Brent Cross (NW4), and the London Designer Outlet in Wembley.

Westquay in Southampton

Address: Harbour Parade, Southampton SO15 1QF

The Westquay shopping mall offers over 125 shops, including a showcase cinema and Hollywood bowl. This is the largest Marland’s shopping centre, and it’s located near the docks. Visit superstores like M&S, John Lewis and Next for ladieswear, menswear, childrenswear and even homeware.

Westquay has undergone some major construction in the last few years. It now uses geothermal energy to power its heating, and the food terrace was redeveloped with some new restaurants. It’s a great option for those on the South Coast who want more than being a pedestrian in the shopping arcades.

Meadowhall

Address: The Oasis, Sheffield S9 1EP

Head to Sheffield for the indoor shopping mall, Meadow Hall. There are fifty places to eat and drink and over 12,000 free parking spaces. What’s not to like?

There is also a cinema with eleven screens so you can catch the latest movie release after a day of shopping.

Shopping complex’s are a brilliant day out for you and the kids. Make the most out of the wide array of shops available and enjoy some international cuisines in the food court. You can always opt for the entertainment facilities if shopping isn’t your thing, or the kids get bored. There is something for everyone in the UK shopping centres.

What Clothing shops are in the Shopping Centres?

Each shopping district has all of the big names like Footasylum and JD sports. If you like luxury designer brands outlets then the Oxfordshire Bicester Village shops are worth checking out.

What is the biggest shopping centre in the UK?

The biggest is Westfield in London’s Shepherd’s Bush at just under 236 square km’s retail store place, which is the equivalent of nearly 22’000 football pitches. For perspective there are only 40,000 association football clubs, so it could host every club playing simultaneously.

But Westfield doesn’t even make the top 50 Shopping Malls internationally, and is a fraction of the World’s biggest (1.45m2 squared) of the Iran Mall in Tehran. Even the immense Mall of America in the Bloomington, Minneapolis, United States is only 9th on the list dominated by China, Thailand, and the Philippines. Hopefully they provide guides tours so you don’t miss anything.

Of course bigger doesn’t always mean better, the fact is layout and design are crucial as no-one wants to walk for a mile when shopping for toys and video games, then needing to find the CDs selection.

Ireland’s biggest is Dundrum, a suburb of South Dublin at 140,000 m² which would put it 12th on the list below.

Here is a list of the biggest in the UK:

Rank	Shopping Centre	City/Town	Area (m2)
1	Westfield London	Shepherd’s Bush, London	235,900
2	Metrocentre	Gateshead, Tyne and Wear	192,900
3	Trafford Centre	Trafford, Greater Manchester	188,000
4	Westfield Stratford City	Stratford, London	184,100
5	Bluewater	Greenhithe, Kent	169,200
6	Bullring Estate	Birmingham	163,000
7	St James Quarter	New Town, Edinburgh	158,000
8	Manchester Arndale	Manchester	155,200
9	Merry Hill	Dudley, West Midlands	155,200
10	Liverpool One	Liverpool	154,000
11	Lakeside Shopping Centre	Thurrock, Essex	149,800
12	Meadowhall	Sheffield	130,000
13	St. David’s	Cardiff	129,200
14	Eldon Square	Newcastle	128,700
15	Derbion	Derby, Derbyshire	121,000
16	Central Milton Keynes & thecentre:mk	Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire	120,773
17	East Kilbride Shopping Centre	East Kilbride, Lanarkshire	111,484
18	Cabot Circus	Bristol	110,100
19	atria Watford	Watford, Hertfordshire	107,000
20	Braehead	Renfrew, Renfrewshire	104,300
21	Kingfisher	Redditch, Worcestershire	102,000
22	Festival Place	Basingstoke, Hampshire	102,000
23	Silverburn Centre	Pollok, Glasgow	100,500
24	Highcross	Leicester	100,400
25	Telford Shopping Centre	Telford, Shropshire	100,000
26	The Mall at Cribbs Causeway	Patchway, South Gloucestershire	100,000
27	Westquay	Southampton, Hampshire	93,500
28	Royal Victoria Place	Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent	93,200
29	Trinity Leeds	Leeds	93,000
30	The Centre	Livingston, West Lothian	92,900
31	Victoria Centre	Nottingham	90,700
32	Brent Cross	Hendon, London	85,200
33	The Mall Luton	Luton, Bedfordshire	84,000
34	White Rose Centre	Leeds	82,320
35	Queensgate	Peterborough	81,000
36	Cwmbran Centre	Cwmbran, Torfaen	79,000
37	Eden	High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire	79,000
38	St Enoch Centre	Glasgow	77,000
39	Whitgift Centre	Croydon	74,100
40	Frenchgate Centre	Doncaster, South Yorkshire	74,000
41	Victoria Square	Belfast	75,000
42	Westgate Oxford	Oxford, Oxfordshire	74,322
43	The Merrion Centre	Leeds	74,300
44	The Oracle	Reading, Berkshire	71,800

 

Some of the big brands available to shop at most UK shopping centres:

11 Degrees UK	Menswear
A Couvert	Menswear
Accent Clothing	Clothing
Ben Sherman	Clothing
Boden UK	Womenswear
boohoo.com UK & IE	Womenswear
boohooMAN.com	Menswear
Boux Avenue	Lingerie
Brakeburn	Clothing
Burton UK	Menswear
craghoppers.com	Clothing
Damart	Clothing
Dapper Street	Menswear
ellesse	Clothing
End Clothing UK	Menswear
Farah	Clothing
H S Johnson	Womenswear
Hedoine	Clothing
Homty & Co	Clothing
Hunkemoller UK	Lingerie
ISAWITFIRST UK	Womenswear
Jacamo	Menswear
Jaded London UK	Clothing
Jeff Banks UK	Menswear
Joules	Clothing
Juicy Couture UK	Womenswear
JUSTPRETTYCHIC	Womenswear
Kaiia the Label	Clothing
KIDLY	Childrenswear
Kings Will Dream	Clothing
Lacoste UK	Clothing
Love the Sales	Clothing
LTL London	Clothing Accessories
Luke Roper	Menswear
Lyle & Scott UK	Clothing
Maniere De Voir	Clothing
MC Online Menswear	Clothing
Miss Foxy	Clothing Accessories
New Era Cap	Clothing Accessories
NICCE clothing	Clothing
NOOD UK	Lingerie
Peper Harow	Clothing
Philip Morris & Son	Clothing
Popgear	Clothing
Preworn	Clothing
Raging Bull	Clothing
Rowley Hesselballe London	Clothing
Saltrock UK	Clothing
Secret Sales	Clothing
SIKSILK UK	Clothing
Simply Be	Womenswear
Soot and Ty	Clothing
Suit Direct	Clothing
Ted Baker	Menswear
The Chimp Store	Menswear
The Couture Club	Clothing
The Drop by The Stylist (The Stylist Group)	Clothing
The Gym King Ltd	Clothing
The Resort Co	Menswear
The Spark Company	Clothing
Tilbea London	Womenswear
Toby Tiger	Childrenswear
TravelPro UK	Clothing Accessories
Ulla Popken UK	Clothing
Voi London	Menswear
Weird Fish	Clothing
Young British Designers	Womenswear