Nice towns/villages with little independent shops

[StudentHelp]

Can anyone recommend some little villages/towns to visit that I might enjoy?
I love Pickering, Whitby and Helmsley in North Yorkshire. I really like the Shambles in York and lots of places in Northumberland/Tyne and Wear e.g. Tynemouth, Newcastle Quayside market.

I also really quite liked Harrogate and I am going to Bakewell next week. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for somewhere with lots of little gift shops/galleries/craft markets and maybe somewhere nice to eat too.

Thanks in advance, I know it's quite a specific request

Down South you could visit St Albans and Guildford. Maybe Reigate but it's smaller.

@JoJoSM2
Thank you! I'm off to google them

Cheltenham seemed lovely when I did a flying visit.

Ipswich, Bungay, Cromer are all good ones in my neck of the woods. Might be a bit far for you though?

From the news article I read today, you should visit Oakham in Rutland if you want independent shops. They're being threatened with a McDonalds and are fighting against the plans ...

I grew up there. I wish to god we'd had a McDonalds back then ...

@EggysMom
Oakham is only an hour or so away from my uni house so I'll definitely put it on the list!
@ShadowsInTheDarkness Thanks for the suggestions - I will look into them and could potentially fit them into a long weekend in the future

Posted too soon.. I have a few small towns near me that keep petitioning against a mcdonalds. I understand their viewpoint but also used to meet friends there and get lifts/taxis from there when I was younger as it provided a safe place to get a drink and wait but others in the area would sometimes cause bother in mcdonalds so I can see both the positives and negatives.

If you are thinking of Oakham I would also recommend Stamford.

@Sharpkat
I'm thinking of anywhere in the UK really! I live near the Scottish border but my boyfriend lives on the South Coast and we go to uni in the midlands

I'll have a look at Stamford

I second Reigate, maybe Cranleigh which is a smallish town with some decent pubs. I used to like Leatherhead.

Westerham in Kent is very nice.

St. Albans has a market in the town centre but not sure which days.

Saffron Walden in Essex. Also has a market sometimes.

Peebles is lovely

Dunbar? Or Portobello? (officially in Edinburgh but on its own really) has nice independent shops, a bookshop has just opened too. Lovely flower shop. Nice cafes and restaurants along the prom looking out to the sea

Woodbridge

Totnes in Devon.

Leamington Spa in the Midlands or lots of the Lake District towns?

Shaftsbury (Dorset) is lovely.

Keswick
Chichester
Totnes
Dartmouth
Broadstairs
Tunbridge Wells
Haslemere
Southsea
Bath
Salisbury

Rye, Petworth or Arundel if the south coast is doable.

Hay on Wye. Small but perfect.

Poulton Le Fylde used to be a really nice quaint little village with a weekly market but not been for a while so may well be a bit run down now, maybe worth a look though.

Oh and Garstang is lovely, we live fairly near it’s beautiful, they do a Victorian market at night near Christmas well worth a visit.

If you don't mind tourist prices, there are lots of lovely little shops in the main Lake District towns, such as Windermere, Bowness, Ambleside, etc. Lots of handicrafts, niche foodstuffs, etc.

You would absolutely love Saltaire. It's 15 minutes on the train from Leeds (not sure if you're driving or not). It is a world heritage site and is absolutely beautiful. The mill is huge and has a gallery with David Hockney paintings, massive art shop, book shop, antiques etc and a great restaurant. Also lovely indie shops and loads of nice cafes. Avoid coming on a Monday as all the shops are closed!

Totnes in Devon.

I was in Scarborough a few years ago and I was surprised by how many independent shops they had there. There was one particular street(which I can't remember the name of) that was full of gift shops, book shops and lovely cafes.