Established in 1964, this Leek gem has been run by Alan & Pauline for the last 11 years.

Open every day at 5am(!!!) and closing at 1pm –  you can be sure of a tasty, delicious oatcake as fresh as they come. And how fresh is fresh? Well, how about standing in the serving area and watching the oatcakes for the day being made in front of you – the magical (and secret) recipe mix is ladled on to the two hot plates, left a minute or so to cook and then flipped – bingo! hot fresh deee-licious oatcakes.

And then you’ve got the difficult decision of the filling and the lingo – a bit like coffee house talk – a double bacon with cheese and brown (notice no mention of oatcake) is two oatcakes together with bacon, melted cheese and HP sauce.  No prizes for guessing red is ketchup.  Note a double is different than asking for two separate oatcakes.  They do sandwiches as well – or ‘on bread’ as you may hear when they are ordered.

Cos they’re such a local delicacy nearly every visitor to Leek will be treated to an oatcake by their host.  And more often then not they’ll be seen with a dozen in their luggage on their trip back home – and this then creates another responsibility. If you are visiting your friends who have got the oatcake bug you can bet they’ll be asking you to bring a few up (or down) with you when you visit.  Blimey, sometimes you don’t realise just how lucky you are when you’ve got a hidden gem like Leek Oatcakes on your doorstep.

As well as being up at silly o’clock every day of the week (they open Sunday as well) Alan and Pauline supply a large number of Leek’s corner shops, butchers, pubs and cafés with fresh, made in Leek oatcakes – a really Totally Locally product and company.  Are you hungry yet?

Leek Oatcakes, 2 Heywood Street, Leek,  ST13 5JX
Tel: 01538 387556

This lovely little emporium is just bursting at the seams with delicious clothes and gifts for kids.  Suzanna’s as warm and welcoming as can be whether you’re just browsing or on a serious mission – and full of ideas if you’re struggling for inspiration.  Hard to imagine that you would be here though – from the moment you walk through the door you’re surrounded by fab things to brighten the life of you and your little ones…or indeed any little one!  In fact, even just a visit is guaranteed to do that.

Pop in and see Suzanna and explore her gorgeous, covetable, loveable, huggable (toys), wearable (clothes) and just generally beautiful things.  Go on, why wouldn’t you?

7 Stanley Street, Leek, ST13 5HG

Tel 01538 383452

email sales@bo-belles.co.uk

This really IS a hidden gem, with no shop window at all!  You would never know it was there.  It used to be known as Johnsons Antiques but if you didn’t find it then (what a shame!) now’s the time to hunt it out.  Pete and Jo have been ‘in the trade’ (as they say in the antiquey world) for over 20 years …and boy does it show!   Once you find the door and pick your way through the masses of lovely stuff that greets you, a feast of  original antiques awaits you.  English, French, European…..who knows what you’ll find in here? And everything’s skilfully restored and either polished or paint finished.   Pete and Jo are always on sourcing trips in Europe, spying out and nabbing the best,  and they supply their antiquey goodies to other local hidden gems too,  ones with windows and everything.  But who needs windows?  Beats us why you wouldn’t go straight there and have a happy hour or two…or three…mooching.

Chorley Mill, 1 West Street, Leek, ST13 7AF.

http://www.pandjantiques.co.uk/

Mon – Fri 9am – 5pm.  Weekends by appointment. Tel : 01538 386745

Well, what a shop!  Anything alphabet.  Sarah, the owner, says The Alphabet Store has the A-Z of everything you need but can never find. We say it also has things you didn’t know you needed and hadn’t looked for.   And we also say that if you can’t find the perfect gift here, you’re not looking hard enough, and should ask for Sarah’s expert help.

Lots of the stuff here can be personalised, too – a framed scrabble board holding your own special message?   A personalised clock? An alphabet chalkboard?  Your own combination of letters – floral?  Hanging from ribbon? Classic white?  Or fat ones made of errrmmm…mango wood?  Find them here.  Find anything with letters on.  Find lovely sentiments written on lovely objects.  Find the perfect present for anyone who can read ….or even just likes the shape of letters!  Our favourite is definitely ‘W’.

The Alphabet Store, 15 Sheepmarket, Leek.

Tel 01538 8388554

http://www.thealphabetstore.co.uk/

WOW! The only word that goes just half way towards describing this shop! From the amazingly colourful fruit and veg piled up on tables outside, to the inside, oh the inside! (more…)

A shop that does exactly what it says on the tin- a trip here will have you feeling calm, tranquil and restored!

Owner Kate is all about giving the best possible service to her customers, from the beautiful products to her wellbeing treatments on offer upstairs, she truly cares about everyone who comes in. She assures us that she will be able to find a treatment or product along with a friendly bit of advice about any skin problem that any of her customers might have; and she knows what she’s talking about! (more…)

A family business that has been going since 1888, and still going strong today- they are certainly doing something right! They are doing everything right in fact, as Rob and Ian are so passionate about what they do it’s no wonder their business is so blooming good! (more…)

 
“I love Leek” – a statement worth shouting from the rooftops, and this is something Marc and Julie at Colloco have been doing with a nice big dollop of passion and enthusiasm!

As exclusive stockists of I Love Leek products, they are seriously biggin’ up the homeland! Marc is the man who approached Totally Locally about setting up in Leek, and he has continued to be an absolute star with getting things done, the kind of person Totally Locally loves! (more…)

Having being open a mere 9 weeks, you’d expect any café to have a lot of impressing to do with the locals, but it seems Café Clique are well on their way to success, with happy customers already sending their praise to Totally Locally Towers (that’s what we like to see!). (more…)

Jane Powell is a big kid. She’s always worked in retail but she has always dreamed of owning her own toy shop so that she could (and I quote) “play all day!” And are the children of Leek glad she followed her dream! (more…)

This is a shop with a very modest name indeed, because when you consider the fine wines and whiskies stacked up inside it seems that a name down the lines of “The Best Wine and Whisky Shop You Might Ever Step Foot In, Oh, and We Sell Continental Beers too”  might be a little more fitting- bit too long? Ok then, “The Wine Shop” it is. (more…)

When asked what they like most about their job, Peter and Jackie Duffield claim “Keeping customer’s happy” is what makes them tick, an answer that speaks a million words (well 3 actually, but you know what I mean). And Keeping people happy is what they do best, on the inside as well as the outside, because they provide the lovely people of Leek with all the nutritional goodies they could possibly need: alternative medicines, vegetarian diet and wholefood supplies and supplements. (more…)

A move from financial services to fish and chips might sound like a big step, but that’s exactly what Keith Montgomery did 8 years ago, and it seems it was a move well made! (more…)

When sisters Sophie and Liz Cox opened up shop 2 years ago, they couldn’t possibly have foreseen what a success it has become today. With a background in fine art, their business has been a truly organic progression, from selling their own handmade products at fairs and online, moving onto sourcing other products to sell alongside their own on a market stand, 7 months before realising they needed more space and moved into their current shop- the prettiest little shop you’ve ever seen, with every nook and cranny jam packed with beautiful vintage inspired home ware, children’s toys and gifts as well as original vintage items. The shop is now becoming so jam packed in fact, that they are moving to a bigger premises in a few months! Now that’s a business that is well and truly organically grown- no pesticides or additives here! (more…)

Really good independent bookshops that are well stocked and have knowledgeable staff are few and far between in this day and age (no “back in my day” rants, promise!), but we’re lucky in Leek to have Picture Book right on our doorstep. Specialising in local history and bird books, they also have a pretty good range of second hand books as well as all the usual suspects you might wish to find in such a shop. (more…)

To say Ivan Sherratt and Nicola Reece frame pictures is like saying Alan Sugar has a bit of money: its somewhat of an understatement, and understatements ain’t what they deal in. They source and sell beautiful, interesting quirky prints, all strictly antique or vintage – from the early 1700’s to 1970’s. Understatement? Ney, these are statement pieces to adorn the walls of all sorts of people.  This Hidden Gem is especially for those of us with walls (that’s all of us then). (more…)

This is a true gem of a shop- a real unique little place with a quaint combination of a tea rooms that has some of the most scrummy home baked cakes courtesy of the lovely Janet, teamed up with her husband Roger’s contribution of an antique clock “department” where you can buy some really wonderful timepieces. Sound like a strange combination? Well clocks and cakes, just like peaches and cream or Ant and Dec (hmm) really are a match made in heaven! This is due, on most part, to the fact that Janet and Roger are just so bloomin’ passionate about their respective trades. (more…)