In a new weekly series exploring the Tyne Valley Line, University of Sunderland student Eleanor Tait uncovers the best attractions, rich history and hidden gems along the route. This week, she visits the independent shopping haven of Corbridge.
With small businesses thriving on every street corner, and the village rapidly gaining a reputation as the heart of the independent business scene in Northumberland, this week I took a pit stop tour around six popular Corbridge shops to find out what makes their teams tick.
Turn off from the Market Place and tucked behind St Andrew’s Church is Forum Books - a staple for local literature lovers.
Manager Heather Slater hand-selects her books, curating stock which is intended to open minds and offer everything from the classics to the enticingly obscure.
“What’s important to us is that everyone feels like it’s their bookshop, that they feel represented in what we have on the shelves or are inspired to pick up something different,” she said.
“There are children who say this is their favourite place to come and they’ll talk to us about what they’re reading, they ask questions, and they really find themselves in the bookshop.”
Just around the corner, the window of Kirsty Taylor Goldsmiths glints with its charming array of handmade jewellery designed to mark special moments and memories for Corbridge lovers and locals.
“We’ve been here 12 years in this location, designing for 21 – it’s nice doing engagement rings, because couples tend to send us pictures of where they got engaged, and sometimes we really have to try and keep it quiet in case we know the person they’re proposing to.
“Sometimes we end up making the wedding rings too!” Kirsty said.
Also serving the Corbridge community in the very best moments of life - and often in the worst - are the team at Watsonia Florists.
Owner, Sarah Evans, notes the individualised service they provide is what keeps customers coming back.
“We love our customers, and it’s quite creative working with flowers – not only do we have people walking in wanting a hand-tied bouquet there and then, we do a lot of funeral work and wedding bouquets too,” she says.
“I think it’s the personal touch – we really do get to the nub of what our customers need or would like.”
Corbridge’s shops cater to a diverse palate of customer taste, but no business brings together a more eclectic range of sustainably sourced homeware than RE.
Hidden, except to those in the know, behind a garage in Bishops Yard, designer double-act Simon Young and Jenny Vaughan have curated a unique shopping experience which offers a visually stunning range of functional items and is itself a treat to the senses, right from the scent to the sound of the store which offers products for every price point.
“We sell everything from a 50p pencil to £800 handmade beaded chairs, and I think there’s something quite honest about the space,” Jenny shares.
“We get teenage lads coming in to buy soap for their mum, and they’re not over-faced by the environment, it’s not a posh shop. I think it can be all things to all people really, if they get it.”
“Everybody thrives because of other people in Corbridge,” Simon said, and it’s a sentiment shared by Wendy Kammeier, manager of The Corbridge Larder on Hill Street, home to a shop, deli and cafe brimming with local produce.
“We all support each other in Corbridge, and if you come for a visit it’s like a shop pub crawl!” she laughed.
“You’ll automatically go to Grants Bakery, you’ll come here, you’ll go to The Cookshop and Acanthus.
“We’re a friendly bunch here, and I think there’s a very close-knit community.”
As chair of Visit Corbridge and owner of Vintage at the Tower, Gayle Foster, has long championed the community spirit among independent businesses in the village.
“Every single shop here is unique,” she said.
“It’s selling something you won’t get anywhere else, and Corbridge offers the whole package – visitors can really enjoy a full day out.”
As owner of a dazzling preloved vintage store, Gayle is passionately committed to sustainability, like many of Corbridge’s independent businesses.
“Every item is hand-selected. I picked them because I can see the quality and the potential in them, and that way we save them from landfill.
“You’ve just got to go out with an open mind,” she said, and with all that Corbridge’s shops have to offer, I’m inclined to agree with her next observation.
“It’s the thrill of the chase,” she says, “you never know what you’re going to find!”
To explore more of Corbridge’s independent businesses go to www.visitcorbridge.co.uk
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