Shopping in Northern Ireland

furiousox

hello all

how big is the tesco in banbridge and are there any other decent shops nearby?

thanks

mossfort

qwas75 wrote: »

hi all!
never was before in NI, thats why I need advice from experienced buyers which is the best place to go for shopping?
(mainly beers & vodka - Xmas coming )

asda are doing 15 bottles of miller ,bud for 7 pounds.
18 bottles of stella artois for 7 pounds.
im sure vodka is fairly cheap as well.
tesco and sainsburys will have good deals as well.

pepperds

sorry guys I thought I'd read this on here but can't seem to find the information now

which would be the best/biggest Asda to go to in NI - principally looking for wine/beer but would probably pick up a few other things while I'm there

thanks for any help

milly4ever

Just back from england- amazing value on glasses- got 2 designer pairs for £90 (including super thin lenses), also childrens glasses £13.74! I managed to get 3 pairs for the same price as one in specsavers and tesco!

HelsBels001

Hi all,

Just a quick question ... or well some advice please?

I want to go to The Outlet, and then a toy store, electrical store and the usual ASDA,M&S etc.

My plan was to head to Sprucefields first and then to the outlet, would this in your opinion be the best way to go about it?

Any suggestions greatly appreciated ... first timer both posting n northern shopping.

Thanks

furiousox

HelsBels001 wrote: »

Hi all,

Just a quick question ... or well some advice please?

I want to go to The Outlet, and then a toy store, electrical store and the usual ASDA,M&S etc.

My plan was to head to Sprucefields first and then to the outlet, would this in your opinion be the best way to go about it?

Any suggestions greatly appreciated ... first timer both posting n northern shopping.

Thanks

Yep

Theres a Sainsburys, Currys and Toys R Us in Sprucefield and you're better off going there first and then swinging into the Outlet on the way back

lisajane

How much cheaper is it to shop in the north than the south? There's a bus going up to newry a week saturday for 20euro return and i am half thinking of going, but i have never been up there before.

okidoki987

How much cheaper is it to shop in the north than the south?

Depends on what you're buying.
Have a read of some of previous pages and that will give you a good idea of the savings, also try the web sites of Asda, Sainbury's, Tesco etc for comparisons.

HelsBels001

furiousox wrote: »

Yep

Theres a Sainsburys, Currys and Toys R Us in Sprucefield and you're better off going there first and then swinging into the Outlet on the way back

Thank you for the confirmation! much appreciated!

MarysCross

There's two big independent Supermarkets in the area that easier to get to and park at that than Newry. Hunters in Markethill (10 miles) and Emersons in Armagh (beside Sainsburys, 16 miles)

M&S and Lidl in Armagh are on the Dungannon Road as well.

Mollymollu

Heading up north next week to do my xmas shopping.
Want to avoid Newry and want to go to the outlets in banbridge but need argos and sainsburys too........is there any near banbridge?
Help much appreciated:)

maxwell smart

Go past the outlet village in Banbridge to Sprucefield. Its about 15 mins further on. Its got Sainsburys, Argos, Currys, Next, Toys R Us across the road is a very large M&S. Hit the outlet village on the way back.

Mollymollu

Many thanks Mr Smart!
Now another question.......u wouldnt by any chance know the postcode for argos in sprucefield?????:)

maxwell smart

Indeed I do, very handy for ordering stuff from Argos for collection!


Its BT27 5UJ

Enjoy your trip!

Jayob10

Driving up to Belfast from Dublin on Sunday want to do loads of shopping, both food and xmas shopping for toys and clothes etc...

I have heard that the further away from the border you are the better prices you get.

Could someone gimme a quick rundown of the best places to do a great food shop i.e what shopping centres I should go to for this, and also could you give me the same info in relation to clothes shopping.

Are the shopping centres far apart in Belfast city?

Any advice you could give me would be greatly appreciated. Thanks very much

maxwell smart

I'd go to Sprucefield and the Outlet in Banbridge on the way back.

granturismo

30 min tailback at 10am yesterday on A1/M1 after the Jonesborough turn off, due to the road upgrade. No delay on towards Belfast, once we reached the Newry ringroad.

wackjob

Ya was in Newry yesterday same time, 20 minutes at the end of the motorway, no issue coming home.

1st time up shopping, booze was good value some examples below, would say 30/40% cheaper. Also found the people very friendly

jameson 1L £ 19.25
Powers 1L £ 18.14
Bacardi 1L £ 15
Corona extra 12 pack £ 13.28
Balies 1L (I think) £ 10
Smirnoff 1l £ 15

Piccini Chiant £ 5.49

In_tuition

New road is open from Dundalk side to just past the roundabout (flyover)

Not sure though if the traffic congestion will ease totally.

Mix and Match option in Sainsbury's

2 for €14 or €10 each.

Carslberg (cans and bottles) Miller, Bud (cans and bottles) Bulmers, Magners, Coors, SOL, Stella (cans and bottles), Fosters (cans) few others too that slip my mind.

mad m

Is Rushmere shopping centre in Craigavon any use?

In_tuition

mad m wrote: »

Is Rushmere shopping centre in Craigavon any use?

Yeah pretty good.

Store directory.

tregan

good news on the road, was in lisburn last tuesday and thought the road was looking like it would open soon and wondered when that might be? thanks for the update

In_tuition

tregan wrote: »

good news on the road, was in lisburn last tuesday and thought the road was looking like it would open soon and wondered when that might be? thanks for the update

It's always been scheduled to open in summer of 2010. They are ahead of that so perhaps the whole project will be complete sometime around March/April.

Jayob10

Another silly question, but whats the best bet in relation to currency when ya head up to the big shopping centres in Belfast i.e castlecourt and victoria square?
Will they take euros or should I arrange to get some Sterling?

Also may I ask the same question about Banbridge and Lisburn?

Also any idea on where to go to exchange to get the best exchange rate , somewhere they won't screw you on charges for exchange???


Help is greatly appreciated

eimsRV

Hey all,

Just wanted to share my experience.

I headed off yesterday morning from Rush at 715, went by Newry slip about 8:10 and reached Sprucefield about 845. Car park empty and very cold! The shops had already opened even though the signs said 9am on most. I'd reserved items in Argos, no queues at all.
Did a shop in Sainsburys, top buys prob Baileys @£;10 a litre, Heinz Baby food jars on offer & clothes with 25% off. Used Laser Maestro, rate worked out at 90.4p to the euro.
Went to Toys r us - was a bit busier, queue to pay took less than 10 mins. They have a great range, but I felt prices weren't very competite compared to argos/smyths.
Went to M&S, amazing selection. Busy enough, car park very busy. Wrapping paper 3 for 2, plus £1 off each roll as well. ~Price of clothes more reasonable, and great children selections. Got Poinsettia plant for £14.49, was €21 in M&S here!

Headed to Bow St Mall - very disappointed. Primark & dunnes very disororganised and nothing special.
Got few things in dorothy perkins, hmv, adams, new look. Overall felt i could have given it a miss.

On way home dropped in to tesco banbridge - was quite busy but more locals I think. Not many southern reg cars. Best deals were Smirnoff 70cl, Bacardi 70cl for £10, Avent soothers £2.40 - almost 6 euros here!

Left Banbridge about 4 - traffic was a bit slow coming up to newry but apart from that fine. As I passed the turn for Newry there seemed to be no queue heading down the hill.

E

Jayob10

just one more question, are the shops only opened from 1-6 tomorrow up north??

Heading up to belfast from the midlands tomorrow, are there special opening hours in the run up to christmas.

veryangryman

Anyone ever get served by the guy in Asda Enniskillen with the Elvis locks and the tatoos?

Gas man, always with a joke/story to tell. The staff are ultra friendly but he stands out. Anyone got any experiences of him?

felinefeelins

veryangryman wrote: »

Anyone ever get served by the guy in Asda Enniskillen with the Elvis locks and the tatoos?

Gas man, always with a joke/story to tell. The staff are ultra friendly but he stands out. Anyone got any experiences of him?

Can't say I'v been served by him but I can't say enough about the staff in Asda Enisk, each and everyone of them are amazing. Dosent matter how busy the place is, if you need something they will find it straight away, or at least tell you when it might be back in stock.
Was up yesterday and for the first time the booze section was closed till 8am, peolpe kept going in, but the lads were pleasent and polite constantly. I was the the one standing there waiting for the clock to strike 8am, the show was great !!!!!!!!!!!!
Love going there. In my local shop (small town) even though you know the staff, pigs will fly b4 they put themselves out for a customer. How do they not get it? Go back to that ould saying, honey, vinegar bees????????????
Am at the point where I will go up for the shopping experience (hate shopping) regardless of the exchange rate.

Tragedy

How are people using Laser Maestro, and how do they know the rate?

Sorry if it's a stupid question, have a maestro PTSB laser card and that seems a very good rate vs what I'm getting from the banks.

Richard

Jayob10 wrote: »

just one more question, are the shops only opened from 1-6 tomorrow up north??

Heading up to belfast from the midlands tomorrow, are there special opening hours in the run up to christmas.

No, by law shops over a certain size can only open 1-6. The smaller Tesco Metro shops can open much longer hours, however.

okidoki987

Went to Outlet Saturday, no queues going through Newry at 1pm.
Outlet car park was half full (half empty) and very few people around, couldn't believe how quite it was.
Went to Asda in Westwood, busy but not overly so.
Very low stock on the 3 for £10 wines (white) lots of red.
Generally good value all round and well worth the trip.

lukasbasic

Hi

I was in ASDA - Enniskillen on Saturday - in general amazed by the size and choice and prizes. The problem is the road connection Dublin-Enniskillen - is totally crap.
What is the biggest ASDA after NEWRY (want to take the M1)

wait4me

ASDA in Westwood. On M1 northbound take Junction 2. (You are almost in Belfast at this stage!) At lights take a left and ASDA is on the RHS just about 200-300 meters away. Sainsburys in the Kennedy Centre is literally about another 300 meters away.

milly4ever

lukasbasic wrote: »

Hi

I was in ASDA - Enniskillen on Saturday - in general amazed by the size and choice and prizes. The problem is the road connection Dublin-Enniskillen - is totally crap.
What is the biggest ASDA after NEWRY (want to take the M1)

If you can, the Newtownards one is much bigger and newer than Westwood.

qwas75

went to NI last tuesday. it was my first time & i was just amazed!
no rush, much cheaper... i ll definately will go there again!!!

zAbbo

Spent 40mins swimming around Sainsburys carpark in Newry at midday (I know!), so we left and went up the road to Lisburn, bigger Sainsburys and M&S

Newry is and will be a nightmare from now on, unless you're there very early in the morning.

Some good deals

- 6 bottles of Guinness £4.22
- 1ltr Baileys £10

fordfocus1

are most of the shops open on the 26th of December ?

Tipsy Mac

fordfocus1 wrote: »

are most of the shops open on the 26th of December ?

Id check with the website of the shop your going to, I know Sainsburys in Newry is closed.

wackjob

Jayob10 wrote: »

Another silly question, but whats the best bet in relation to currency when ya head up to the big shopping centres in Belfast i.e castlecourt and victoria square?
Will they take euros or should I arrange to get some Sterling?

Also may I ask the same question about Banbridge and Lisburn?

Also any idea on where to go to exchange to get the best exchange rate , somewhere they won't screw you on charges for exchange???


Help is greatly appreciated

I loaded cash onto my prepaid mastercard and used that to shop. Exchange rate looked ok. www.payzonemoney.ie

Dooish

Tipsy Mac wrote: »

Id check with the website of the shop your going to, I know Sainsburys in Newry is closed.

all supermakets are closed

milly4ever

Dooish wrote: »

all supermakets are closed

incorrect. just search by shop- sainsburys forestside is open for example.

Spiritoftheseventies

Nothing like the festive holidays to bring out the auld patriotism in people.

Cicero

Was up in The Quays today (since I did all my Christmas shopping down south, thought I deserved a little post christmas money saving treats and wanted a change of scene from the over-priced under -friendly city centre!!:)) ...arrived about 10am and carpark and sainsburys quiet enough...by the time I left...1.30.., car park was packed and saw two cars..a merc and possibly a volvo driver, at logger heads with each other over a parking space....absolute madness..neither would give way as to who 'owned' the space...would guestimate that 50% of the cars there today were from ROI...with motorway finished, traffic going into Newry not as bad but queue of traffic into Newry when leaving......
The usual type of deals available in the wine dept... Mcguigans estate Shiraz for £5, a good white Chablis at £6 ..nothing else out of the ordinary though...

Ambersky

Dont know what to think about all this controversy around shopping up North.
Didnt think it was worth my while anyway as my own household probably isnt big enough.

A couple of weeks ago however I had reason to go up to Newry on personal buisness and had a prescription on me for two months worth of medication I normally buy in the South.

I have been getting very painful debilitating migraines and my doctor prescribed a tablet called Imigram which Im suppose to take at first sign of an attack. For me the first signs are nausea, light sensitivity and maybe a dull headache.
The problem is at €10 a tablet I find myself delaying and wondering am I just feeling a little sick, is this really a migraine starting, will I be wasting €10 taking this now or should I save it untill Im sure? Then it dosent work.
And if I do take it and I dont get a migraine is it because it worked or because it wasnt the start of one anyway. So I havent been giving the med a chance.

I asked if they could fill out the prescription in a chemist in Newry and they wanted to know did I want the whole lot right now. I get 10 a month but didnt know if I could affort 20, cos that normally €200.
They would ask, do you want a box and Id say how many in a box, how much for a box? I was really anxious about the cost.
Then they asked would the generic be ok and if that made it a bit cheaper I was all right with that. They said ok we have 20 here do you want them and again I started on the how much but wasnt getting a clear answer, they kept saying we'll see in a minute.
When the woman brought me over to the cash desk she looked at me and said £20. What £20 I was confused. Did they mean each.
No it was £20 for 20.
When I told the chemist my story she said thats terrible people shouldnt be afraid to take their medicine because of the cost. And that true.

How can that price difference be justified?

Morgans

Ambersky wrote: »

Dont know what to think about all this controversy around shopping up North.
Didnt think it was worth my while anyway as my own household probably isnt big enough.

A couple of weeks ago however I had reason to go up to Newry on personal buisness and had a prescription on me for two months worth of medication I normally buy in the South.

I have been getting very painful debilitating migraines and my doctor prescribed a tablet called Imigram which Im suppose to take at first sign of an attack. For me the first signs are nausea, light sensitivity and maybe a dull headache.
The problem is at €10 a tablet I find myself delaying and wondering am I just feeling a little sick, is this really a migraine starting, will I be wasting €10 taking this now or should I save it untill Im sure? Then it dosent work.
And if I do take it and I dont get a migraine is it because it worked or because it wasnt the start of one anyway. So I havent been giving the med a chance.

I asked if they could fill out the prescription in a chemist in Newry and they wanted to know did I want the whole lot right now. I get 10 a month but didnt know if I could affort 20, cos that normally €200.
They would ask, do you want a box and Id say how many in a box, how much for a box? I was really anxious about the cost.
Then they asked would the generic be ok and if that made it a bit cheaper I was all right with that. They said ok we have 20 here do you want them and again I started on the how much but wasnt getting a clear answer, they kept saying we'll see in a minute.
When the woman brought me over to the cash desk she looked at me and said £20. What £20 I was confused. Did they mean each.
No it was £20 for 20.
When I told the chemist my story she said thats terrible people shouldnt be afraid to take their medicine because of the cost. And that true.

How can that price difference be justified?

Great read Ambersky. Shocking really. Pharmacists really have it tough. No doubt the usual reasons will be trotted out, rates, VAT, minimum wage maintaining that excessive profiteering would never be a factor in the price difference.

Tipsy Mac

Morgans wrote: »

Great read Ambersky. Shocking really. Pharmacists really have it tough. No doubt the usual reasons will be trotted out, rates, VAT, minimum wage maintaining that excessive profiteering would never be a factor in the price difference.

It's mainly to do with cosy relationships between GP's and the Medical Board limiting the approval and supply of generic drugs onto the Irish market, ofcourse from a Pharmacists point of view the more expensive the drug is the more money to be made so it suits all involved except the idiotic goverment who should be regulating them to save costs on the tax payer and consumer.

Morgans

Tipsy Mac wrote: »

It's mainly to do with cosy relationships between GP's and the Medical Board limiting the approval and supply of generic drugs onto the Irish market, ofcourse from a Pharmacists point of view the more expensive the drug is the more money to be made so it suits all involved except the idiotic goverment who should be regulating them to save costs on the tax payer and consumer.

Oh I know. The armageddon the pharmacists were predicting following the action in June hasnt really come to pass. Dont mean to take the discussion off topic. Sorry.

Bugnug

Its digraceful that people take there money to another country. Apart from saving a few euros which I am not convinced is the case? All this does is increase the tax revenue to the British government and create diminished returns in Ireland and leads to unemployment. So the next time you leave your kids at school in Ireland a school paid for with tax payers money or the next time you decide to visit northern Ireland via our road system paid for with tax money how about you stop and have a think about what you are doing?

Tipsy Mac

Bugnug wrote: »

Its digraceful that people take there money to another country. Apart from saving a few euros which I am not convinced is the case? All this does is increase the tax revenue to the British government and create diminished returns in Ireland and leads to unemployment. So the next time you leave your kids at school in Ireland a school paid for with tax payers money or the next time you decide to visit northern Ireland via our road system paid for with tax money how about you stop and have a think about what you are doing?

We are in the EU, it's an open market, if we can't compete we should leave and introduce border controls on what people can spend across the border. Lisbon was all about us being better Europeans not better Irish people

Morgans

Bugnug wrote: »

Its digraceful that people take there money to another country. Apart from saving a few euros which I am not convinced is the case? All this does is increase the tax revenue to the British government and create diminished returns in Ireland and leads to unemployment. So the next time you leave your kids at school in Ireland a school paid for with tax payers money or the next time you decide to visit northern Ireland via our road system paid for with tax money how about you stop and have a think about what you are doing?

Having read the 237 pages in this thread, your argument has made me see the error in my ways. Thank you.