I have fond memories of the amazing newsagent that I used to visit as a child. A whole wall of magazines that you could browse (well, the owner didn’t mind), a wall of chocolate bars and a huge range of pick and mix that was better and cheaper than Woolies. They also had a brilliant stationery section and a room dedicated to cards. You would always see friends in there. The staff were lovely.
Also a local bakery, again, you’d always see a familiar face and things somehow seemed more wholesome than Greggs etc.
I used to find department stores really exciting to visit. As a child it was fascinating to see a place that sold everything, with the nicely presented departments and glamorous, knowledgeable staff. We did tend to avoid Debenhams even in the 80s as it was badly laid out and easy to get lost.
I know Next is still around but I do miss the excitement of an impending Next sale, and figuring out how early me and my friend were willing to travel and how long we’d expect to queue. That was when Next was fairly premium I guess.
Most shoe shops - I can’t think of many shoe shops these days. I struggle with buying shoes online but e.g. Office is tiny and cramped so doesn’t feel pleasant to browse and try things on. The big Shelly’s in Oxford street was good.
I used to love Gap when it looked really classy with the neat piles of high quality trousers and stuff.
I’m not sure I miss many places that have gone - in most cases similar to the above it just topped being fun to visit the high street. Shops just look messy and I don’t feel particularly welcome so no real advantage over shopping online.