Great shopping centre for a town this size! (Camberley in general)

Member Name: Joanne84

Product:	Camberley in general
Date:	17/09/09 (78 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great cinema, good independent shops, easy to navigate town centre

Disadvantages: parking can be difficult if you don't want to go in a multistorey

I have not lived in the South for very long, just under 2.5 years in total but I have developed a bit of a soft spot for shopping in Camberley! I moved here originally after University as this is where my partner is from and the area is particularly good for commuting, especially into London.
We actually live outside of Camberley, in Hampshire. Like the other reviewers I find property prices in Camberley to be higher, all because you have crossed that line into Surrey.

For a small town, Camberley has quite a good shopping centre, spurred on by the close proximity of places like Reading, Guildford, Basingstoke and, of course, London. You will find all the high street shops you need here, although there are a few notable omissions, such as a Debenham's or a Marks and Spencers. There is, however, a HUGE Marks and Spencers at the Meadows, which is a shopping park just outside of Camberley and there are shuttle buses which can take shoppers out there from the town centre, although I am not sure what the charge for these are as I am lucky enough to have a car. The Marks and Spencers there is open until 10pm most nights, and there is also a 24 hour Tesco there too. There is a House of Fraser in Camberley's Mall, but I find this to be a slightly pricier option.

Back in the town centre, there are some excellent independent shops and these are my favourite things about this town! There is a great little music shop on the A30 called The Rock Box which has a great selection if you are a rock fan! There is also a great gift shop in the Mall called Macdonald's gifts which stocks a wide variety of cards and quirky gifts which are excellent for those times when you just don't know what to buy someone!

A new addition to the town centre is the City Farmers' Market, a shop sellling local, fresh produce in the style of a farmers' market. I LOVE this shop as I am a big fan of shopping locally and many of the prices are comparable to the supermarkets as well.

Recently a new shopping and leisure centre has opened called the Atrium. It is predominantly made up of chain restaurants and there is a great Vue cinema and Bowlplex.

In terms of restaurants, Camberley does have a mix of chain and independent places. The Thai House on the A30 serves fantastic and well priced Thai cuisine, and there is also a great tapas bar called El Pic which is great food, but a bit pricier.

Parking in Camberley is never a problem, especially since the Atrium opened as that includes a huge multistorey. It is oddly designed though and you need to be careful not to catch corners in some places! For the south parking is not too expensive, but I always prefer to park on one of the side streets and walk in as I don't tend to like paying for parking! There is limited stay free parking on Southwell Park Road as well as on the High Street, but the latter can get congested rather easily.

All in all, Camberley has a great centre, and is perfect for 'popping out to the shops' rather than heading into one of the cities. The recent redevelopments in the centre have managed to keep it current and popular with visitors; something which many other similar towns in the vicinity have not been able to do so well.

Summary: Has everything you need from a small town's shopping centre