Freeport Shopping Village

...this review on the Hornsea Freeport which is situated on the edge of this seaside town in the East Riding of Yorkshire between Bridlington and Hull.

Hornsea itself is a lovely looking small town with a small centre - no chain stores here due to council objections, but thats another story - and a lovely beach area which has recently been renovated. We still go down to Hornsea once or twice a year as I have friends there and it's my ...
...as well as visiting the Freeport shopping area. There is also The Mere to pay a visit to. This is the largest freshwater lake in Yorkshire and is spectacular to see although can be spooky on days where the mist has come in off the sea which can happen quite a lot even in summer so take a jacket with you as it can make it chilly. There is also a local museum where you can see a big selection of the highly collectable Hornsea Pottery and Hall Garth ... more

As I lived in Hornsea for a while I thought I would focus this review on the Hornsea Freeport which is situated on the edge of this seaside town in the East Riding of Yorkshire between Bridlington and Hull.

Hornsea itself is a lovely looking small town with a small centre - no chain stores here due to council objections, but thats another story - and a lovely beach area which has recently been renovated. We still go down to Hornsea once or twice a year as I have friends there and it's my bloke's home town so the inevitable family visits occur. I must admit coming from Arbroath which is a bigger seaside town I found life hard there as there is no anonymity living there and I didn't realise how much I took a decent size supermarket for granted (there is a small Co-op and a Heron frozen food shop) as well as having shops like Woolworths, WH Smith and Boots as there are none of these in Hornsea. There is a large sandy beach though so if you are in the area you can make it a nice day out as well as visiting the Freeport shopping area. There is also The Mere to pay a visit to. This is the largest freshwater lake in Yorkshire and is spectacular to see although can be spooky on days where the mist has come in off the sea which can happen quite a lot even in summer so take a jacket with you as it can make it chilly. There is also a local museum where you can see a big selection of the highly collectable Hornsea Pottery and Hall Garth Park to wonder through and is great for taking kids to play. Just outside Hornsea on the way in from Beverley there is Honeysuckle Farm where you can see lots of animals and attractions such as milking and cart rides. For eating out I would recommend the Victoria pub which is just at the first roundabout as you come in from Beverley. They serve an excellent selection of food and are pretty reasonable for the portions you get.

Plenty to do on a day out but this is a review on Freeport so I'll get back to that. This Freeport site was once home to Hornsea Potteries which I visited as when my teenage girls were small but it closed it's doors in the year 2000 which was a shame as it had many interesting attractions as well as seeing the pottery itself. Established in 1949 this was a bit of a blow to the town as many people were employed here, however Freeport were involved in this site from 1994 and it became the ideal place to expand the outlet retail centre and this now employs many people in the wide variety of stores on site. Still at the site are the model village exhibition and the butterfly walkthrough which is lovely as well as an indoor childrens play area which has an under 4s area too. There is a small charge for these which at my last visit in the summer I think was around £1 each. If I remember correctly children go free in the model village but don't quote me on that one. One thing I do miss from the old potteries time is the Birds of Prey exhibition as this is no longer available here but if you are interested there is one at the potteries centre just outside Bridlington.

This centre was the first of the now 6 Freeports situated round the country and for anyone who hasn't been to an outlet centre before they consist of a variety of stores, a lot of which sell excess stock or end of line ranges at knock down prices. Sometimes some of the products can be seconds but legally these should be marked so that you know what you are getting for your money. The other outlets are Fleetwood - near Blackpool, West Lothian - on the M8 between Glasgow and Edinburgh, Castleford - just off the M62 near Manchester, Talke - near Stoke on Trent and Braintree - in Essex.

If it's fashion you are after then there is quite a big selection of different shops including high street stores such as Select and the Edinburgh Woollen Mill where you can get amazing discounts compared to the high street prices. There is also Double Two which is fantastic for getting good value men's shirts and the Designer Room has lots of expensive designs at great prices. There are also bargains to be found in Giorgio, Alexon, Damart and Mexx and for the sporty outdoor types there are great deals at Tog 24 and The Sports Mill. For those who prefer the casual look there is a large wrangler store too.

For footwear you can visit Famous Footwear which has a large selection of top brands including Kickers and Pods which is great if you are looking for kids school shoes. Lilley and Skinner are another good retailer for shoes if you are looking for something special and for men there are shoes available as well as the suits themselves at The Suit Company.

There are a large variety of stores available for making your home special including the floral Laura Ashley and Ponden Mill for all your curtains, bedding and towels. You will also find lots of other goodies in Ponden Mill who sell prints, bathroom and kitchen accessories such as wash mitts and salt and pepper pots, and even some smellies which include fancy soaps and bath bombs. If it's crystal or crockery you are after then you should have a look in Darlington Crystal and Churchill China where I hate to go as I am always sure I will knock something over and embarrassingly break something. A place to be avoided if you have young or clumsy children in tow. Both these shops have a gorgeous selection of special items as well as some more affordable designs which can make a lovely wedding gift or birthday present for collectors of special selections such as Winnie the Pooh or Beatrix Potter.

If you have a more unusual taste in furniture and love the big hardwood items as I do then Nickleby's is the shop for you. This
shop is actually split into 2 sides with fashion on one side and furniture and accessories on the other. There are some excellent tables, chairs and wooden chests for sale here and I would have loved to have bought a large old style wooden bed that they had available but didn't have the room for it or the funds at the time as with all furniture of this quality you do have to pay a large price for it. There are also some wonderful candle holders and vases as well as some wooden figurines which always for me brings images of Africa. This has got to be my favourite shop in Freeport and although it can be a bit of a tight squeeze to get round it is well worth the effort.

Hallmark are a good stop for all your cards and gift wrapping needs and again you can sometimes get excellent bargains especially just after christmas for those of you who like me buy my next year's wrapping and cards at this time.

The Book Depot has much more than just books although their children's section is fantastic and my kids loved looking round this one. They have a great art section including the painting equipment from brushes to canvas as well as selling many books on this subject and all the great artists themselves. There are also games available for the pc and a selection of cds and dvds too. You can often find good stocking fillers for kids here as they sell hard to find things like magic painting books and small jigsaws really cheaply.

Another good shop for buying gifts is Woods of Windsor. Now if you have a sensitive nose and sneeze easily then this probably isn't the store for you as they sell traditional English perfumes and lovely gift packs and soaps. If you are a fan of Lily of the Valley or Lavender fragrances then this is a definate must to visit. As well as the scents themselves they do a range of everything from bath salts to drawer liners so this could be a great place to stop for a present for your mum or grandmother. They also have more up to date items such as shower gel and body spray so there really is something for everyone if you like the floral varieties on sale here.

Claires accessories have everything a little girl could want in their range of jewellery, make up, bags and hair accessories. My girls would have spent hours in here if I had let them. They usually have 20% off all marked stock at the outlet store but also have other offers which include a great idea of a pick and mix section where you choose 5 items for £5. When the girls last did this we worked it out that it would have cost them around £15 each for what they had selected if they had gone to a normal branch of Claires. Loads of glittery small items make great cheap pressies for putting in their stockings - I don't know about you but I find it hard to get items around £1 anymore for this task.
Great shop and they do sell things for ladies too in the shape of hair brushes and really lovely hair clips and slides although they are generally quite a girlie marketed company.

Now I have quite a sweet tooth and no outlet village would be complete without the promise of some sweet treats to end the visit. The 2 main shops to provide this are Julien Graves, who specialise in fancy dried fruits and nuts and one of the most fantastic shops in the world - Thorntons. Now I'm a big fan of Thorntons choccies but do think they are very overpriced for some of their stock. Yes it tastes damn good but you always want more. Before I start making this look like I'm writing a Thorntons review though I will say that this is a great store to stock up on all your favourites at a fraction of the cost. You can get bigger bags of misshapes and even their ice cream is cheaper at the outlet store. Lovely end to a shopping trip in summer.

One shop which is missing now much to my regret is The Gadget Shop which used to be great for picking up some more unusual items such as magnetic spinning things and lava lamps. I miss this shop immensely and used to spend quite a bit in here on gifts which just weren't available in the mainstream. Such a shame they closed.

Facilities at this Freeport are toilets, free parking and a couple of cafes. As it is set outside in a village setting all the shops are on one level so wheelchair access is good with ramps to all stores.

In summary though I wouldn't say Freeport is as good as the MacArthur Glen outlets which is another review for another time as we moved from Hornsea to Selby which had one of these just up the road from us on the outskirts of York. It doesn't have the big name stores such as Reebok and Calvin Klein for example but it does have lots character and charm and the setting is perfect for a gentle stroll round with it's abundance of trees and plants as you walk from store to store. The car parking is good and we usually go all the way round to the back on the gravel parking area in summer although this can tend to attract big puddles if it has been raining so try to get in one of the front car parks then.

I have really enjoyed writing this review and I would hope that some of you may visit not only this Freeport but Hornsea too as it can be lovely in the summer and with plenty of things for young children to do it makes a great day out.

 

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