Get Your Purses At The Ready
Recommendation added: 26/08/2006 04:49
By: erika26 (YSUK rating +43)erika26 has been thanked 7 times for this contribution
"The Yorkshire Outlet has undergone many changes of late and is now completely different from how it originally started out. Not only is there more shops but the name has also been changed. The Yorkshire Outlet is now known as the Lakeside Village.
The Lakeside Village is situated near the new man-made lake in Doncaster about 2 miles away from where I live. The lake itself is still under development and once finished should provide plenty of aqua sports such as canoeing, sailing, fishing etc......There have also been lots of business developments here including a huge BT call centre, Greenflag, Solicitors and plenty more. Around the side of the lake are brand spanking new houses and flats which are very posh to say the least. I believe some holiday chalets are also in the pipeline.
Anyway it is the Lakeside Village which I am going to tell you about here so enough with the surrounding area and lets get on with the information about this retail outlet.
What is the Lakeside Village?
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The Lakeside Village is an outlet where you can find famous name brands for huge discounts. The shops sell factory seconds, last season stock, excess stock etc........Not only can you find fantastic clothes at very reasonable prices but you can also find chocolate, houseware goods, toileteries, toys and much more. It really is a fantastic place to go for a day out or even just an hour as the prices are easily cheaper than shopping in town.
Where is the Lakeside Village?
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Well luckily for us it's very close to our house. We just jump in the car and travel in a straight line for about a mile, turn right and travel for a mile th
en we are there. Lucky for us, but most people live a lot further away. I am terrible at directions so I will quote what is on the Lakeside Village leaflet and try to give those of you who live further away a better idea of how to get there. According to the leaflet "The centre is excellently located about 1 mile from junction 3, M18. You can reach the M18 from the M1, M62 or A1. If you are travelling by train, Doncaster train station is approximately 1 mile away from the centre, with services to most local, regional and national stations. Local buses also service the centre. For further inromation on transport, accomodation and local attractions contact the Tourist Information Centre on 01302 734 309"
What shops does it have?
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The shops have dramatically changed over the last couple of years. When this outlet first opened to be honest it was pretty poor the choice that you had, but recently with all the changes it has become much more appealing and contains much more choice for the whole family. Some of the shops closed down and re-opened as something different and some of the shops have undergone refurbishment and now look much more appealing. Not only that but there is now twice as many shops as they have erected another undercover shopping area.
Firstly there is a *huge* Next shop. This wasn't here when the outlet first opened, it has only recently become an addition, but I have to say it certainly fits in here. This Next shop has a vast selection of both mens and womens clothes which are greatly reduced in price for whaever reason. Unfortunately they don't have much choice of childrens clothes which is a shame as my Son would look gorgeous kitted out in Next gear.
Clarks Shoes also have a large shop located here. This shop u
sed to be twice the size that it now is but they got rid of half of it during the refurbishment of the outlet. It now contains less of the sports clothes and equipment and more of the childrens shoes. Halving the size of this shop hasn't done it any harm at all, after all they did struggle to sell all the sports gear so there was no point in keeping it in stock. This Clarks shop mainly attracts the families so I think it was a good decision to concentrate more on the kiddie section of it.
Pilot is a fantastic shop here. It used to be located at the far end of the outlet, where the Next shop is, but during the refurbishment they relocated to the middle of the outlet. This place sells good quality, fashionable and cheap clothing for young females. You can always find fantastic bargains here as they have a permanent reduced section where you can pick up items for just a couple of pound.
Along with all the clothes shops there is also a great selection of other shops. My Hubby likes to browse around the Black and Decker shop where you can pick up all your power tools for a lot cheaper price than other shops. This Black and Decker shop sell anything from lawnmowers, hedge trimmers, drills, work benches, saws etc etc....... Not my kind of place but it keeps the men happy.
To satisfy the kiddies or chocolate lovers amongst us there is a Cadbury shop located towards the centre of the Outlet. This shop has a model train running around the roof and a fake chocolate machine pretending to make chocolate. My Son loves watching this in action, although the price of the chocolate in this place has something to be desired as it's not exactly cheap.
The Marks And spencer shop is a new addition, and pretty rubbish in my honest opinion. All they sell is clothes and a few measly toileteries. Still it must be doing good busine
ss as it's always packed out, but it's just not my thing.
Whittards is a shop that i've only been into a couple of times but they sell very good quality gifts and a wide selection of specialist tea and coffees. If you happen to visit this shop they have various teas and coffees for you to try free of charge. You just help yourself to a glass of whatever at the machines they provide.
I won't go into all the shops at this Lakeside Village as there is a vast number. If you would like any more information on what they provide then please go to their website at www.lakeside-village.co.uk
What bargains have I picked up?
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I have picked up tons of bargains as we visit this outlet frequently with us living close by. Unfortunately it can be a bit hit and miss but you just take your chance. Some days when i've visited there has been absolutely nothing which I want to buy, whereas other times i've come back with bags and bags of bargains. We go to the Clarks shop for my Son all the time as it's so much cheaper than the Clarks shop in town and they still have the fully trained staff to make sure whatever we choose fit him correctly. We picked up 2 pairs of Clarks Doodles (pumps) for Jake which cost us 3 pound each, whereas at the shop in town the same pair would have cost 12 pound.
At the Adidas shop i've recently purchased a couple of Adidas skirts that retail at over 20 pound whereas I only paid 2.50 each for them. At the same place I also bought a pair of trainers for 20 pound reduced from 60. The Adidas shop can have a lot of expensive items in there but if you look closely there are huge savings to be made. Take a good amount of time to thoroughly look around this shop and you'll no doubt find something of good value.
At
the Wrangler/Lee shop this is where it gets fantastic. As long as you are a size 6-8 or have long legs or are a bloke with a huge belly then you can find expensive clothes at unbelievably cheap prices. They sell named jeans for as little as 5 pound so long as you have an awkward size. As I am a mere size 6 I can usually find a few rails worth of very cheap clothes. In the past i've bought a couple of pairs of Lee jeans for just 5 pound each, my Husband has also bought a couple of similar pairs for himself for the same price. Now at 5 pound each how can you not buy them?
Bookends is the shop where most of my Sons books come from. He loves Thomas The Tank Engine but they can be so expensive to buy, especially when they have so many books in the collection. I purchased most of the Thomas collection for 99p each whereas in normal shops they would cost 2.99 each. bargain!!!
Petroleum is a fairly new shop to the Outlet and it's one that hubby always likes to have a browse in. Although a lot of what they sell is still quite expensive by my standards they do have some good bargains too. I bought Hubby a pair of slippers from here that were reduced from over 20 pound to just a fiver. He still wears them to this day too.
Basically bargains are to be had everywhere, you just have to look.
What about food and drink?
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This is where it gets disappointing. Unfortunately at the Outlet itself there isn't much choice at all. Apart from a Thorntons Coffee shop and Cafe Ritazza there isn't much else apart from a couple of outside stalls. The Thorntons Coffee shops sells a number of different coffees, cappuchinos and teas with a variety of sandwiches available too. There isn't much seating at this place so it can be difficult
to find a seat at any time let alone when it's busy. The Cafe Ritazza is practically the same although it does offer much more seating (which is smoke free) and a selection of kiddie lunchboxes. The food stalls outside sell jacket potatoes and hotdogs, but not much more. There is a French food stall but they only really do things like hotdogs or crepes, both of which are extortionate in price.
If this isn't enough choice for you then if you just walk a couple of minutes down the road you will come across a McDonalds, Pizza Hut and a pub which sells great home cooked meals. This is probably a wiser idea than paying for overpriced prepacked sandwiches or hotdogs.
What about the toilets?
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I have no complaints about the toilets whatsoever at the Lakeside Village. The ladies toilets are always lovely and clean and I have *never* had to queue to this day, this is because they have at least 20 toilets rather than just one or two. I can't speak for the mens toilets but Hubby has never complained so they must be OK. As for disabled toilets, well they do have quite a few although i've never been in them so I can't comment.
Any cash machines?
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Pathetic if you ask me. There is only 1 cash machine for the whole place. The queues are always quite long and I now make sure I take money with me rather than have to wait forever and a day. Why they don't have more than one cash machine i'll never know.
What about childrens facilities?
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Children are catered for quite well. Just the other day when I was there they had Snoopy doing an exercise routine with the kiddies outside by the play area. The outside play area consists of swings, slides and fort
resses which looks fairly safe as the ground has a rubber lining on it. Inside there is a play area for the younger kiddies where they have sponge balls and sponge building blocks to keep them entertained. Unfortunately you have to supervise your own kids as they don't offer a service where you can pay to leave them. What a shame!! It'd be lovely to chuck my Son into a creche for a couple of hours whilst I do the shopping.
Anything else?
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Across from the Outlet is a massive ToysRUs which isn't actually classed as part of the Lakeside Village, but it might as well be as it's only at the other end of the car park. ToysRUs doesn't sell seconds or have many sales as it is just a normal ToysRUs, but it's definitely worth a visit.
There is accomodation available to stay in at the pub just down the road, I think the pub is called The Lakeside (ironically) So if you are travelling quite a distance it may be worth checking out the prices for an overnight stay as there is so much to do in Doncaster that it's definitely worth a good couple of days exploring.
Summing up the Advantages
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The Lakeside Village offers a great day out for the whole family. Wherever you look there is a bargain to be had. Whatever your style. preference, taste or requirement it is worth checking this place out as it really does cater for everyone.
It is easy to get to (for me especially) and once there it is simple to find your way around the shops as it is layed out in a crescent shape. I hate shopping places that go off in every direction as I can never find my way around so it's quite refreshing to find a place which is layed out so simply.
The car park is huge and rarely gets full. If on th
at rare occasion it did then there is an overspill carpark just behind ToysRUs which is easy to find. On the 'full' days they have parking attendants which helpfully direct all the cars where to go which makes finding that parking space so much easier.
Summing up the disadvantages
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Because of the popularity of this place you will sometimes find queues to get into the car park. These queues usually disperse pretty quickly but around Christmas time just bare it in mind that you may be stuck in a traffic jam for half an hour or so.
The food and drink provided at this place could be a hell of a lot better but with McDonalds, Pizza Hut and a pub just down the road at least you won't die of hunger or thirst. As for the 1 and only cash machine, pah, fools. They really need a lot more cash machines than that. I mean what if that 1 cash machine was out of order one day?
Do I recommend it?
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Yes I would recommend you visit the Lakeside Outlet, even if you just go the once. Admitedly I have been to better places like this such as Hornsea Potteries but for anyone who likes shopping i'm sure you'd enjoy browsing around here. It's probably not worth travelling 200 miles for but if you live not far away then give it a go."
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