The Buttercrane Shopping Centre, the corner stone of shopping in Newry City!

The Shopping Centre opened late 1988 and was the first of its kind in Newry and Mourne, at a cost of £8 million the centre opened with around 35 shops on site.
Various extensions and revamps have been carried out over the years and the Centre now boasts a 1000 car spaces incorporated in two ground level car parks and one multi story. These extensions have also caused the centre to near double in size, now hosting 60 stores which include the three flagship department stores, Primark, Marks and Spencers and Dunnes Stores.
The centre is not just all high street chains as there are many locally owned shops within the Buttercrane.

The centre management claim around 5 million customers come through the doors per year, but I fully expect that figure to rise dramatically this year with the influx of Southern shoppers coming up for the many euro for pound deals and as an example, an Ireland rugby shirt in the centre would be around £44.99 whilst in the south they are priced at Euro75.00, that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Getting there.
By car. Bang smack in the centre of the City, the Buttercrane is quite easily serviced from Dublin and Belfast, as soon as you exit the motorway for Newry, coming from both directions, that road leads straight to car park entrance at the back of the centre.
By bus. Conveniently the main bus centre in Newry is straight across the road from the Buttercrane so just make sure that you get off at the bus station.
By Train. Although the train station is a distance away from the centre, there are buses waiting on each express train into the station and they are free to catch or if you prefer there are taxis waiting and charge between £3.00 and £3.50, depending on the driver.

Shops. The three big shops are Primark, Marks and Spencers and Irish superstore Dunnes. Apart from these there is Burtons, Topman and Louis Boyd for the men. Dorothy Perkins, New Look and Wallis. There are a few unisex stores such as Paranoid and D2.(These are just a selection of the shops available). Other shops include, 3mobile and O2 mobile, Jessop's, Teddy Mountain, Mothercare, Barratts, Semi Chem, Boots and for the adventurer in you Ann Summers and Millets (it depends on what adventure means to you..outdoor or indoor).

Eating. At present there is Costa Coffee and O'Briens as the old food court is currently out of use, but just across the road from the main entrance is The Quayside Inn, they serve some cracking meals and have very competitive prices or just beside here is Subway and O'Dowds bar and restaurant. If fast food is what your after at the back door is KFC so there is a great choice in and around The Buttercrane.

Facilities. There is toilets situated just beside the back doors, there is also baby changing and disabled toilets situated here.
3 Bank machines are present in the building, at the back and side doors and also one in the middle.
There is a bureau de change at the front door, but with such great Euro rates in the stores people tend to just spend the euros in store.
As already mentioned there are 3 car-parks.
In the centre of the building there is an Ice-cream vendor (very popular) and a customer services desk, which is operated at all times.
Security, the centre has a squad of security guards who work 24 hours and have cameras in the car parks, surrounding area and inside(for those looking to be safe).
There is also the use of wheelchairs and children's cars on offer at the centre.
You can log onto www.buttercraneshopping.co.uk for a full list of stores and for job opportunities. There is also some vouchers available, these vary from time to time and can be money off or a bite to eat or a free coffee.

Opening Times.
Monday and Tuesday 9am - 5.30pm
Wednesday to Friday 9am - 9pm
Saturday 9am - 6pm
Sunday 1pm - 6pm

These opening times change towards Christmas and the centre is usually open for a week or two until 12am.
Variations are also in place fro certain public holidays.

I would do the vast majority of my shopping(non-food) here and I find it too have a great variety of stores, the prices are competitive and staff are very helpful. I also find that the simple cross shaped layout is very good and makes the centre very easy to get around.

If your coming to Newry check out the Buttercrane for sure.

Check my reviews on Newry City itself and The Canal Court Hotel in Newry if your planning a trip to Ireland or are just interested in the place.