If you watch the news or read the national newspapers you'd be forgiven for thinking 
that every British High Street is dying a long, slow and painful death...it may be true for some places across the UK but carrying on the theme of the supporting small businesses and the #justacard campaign we wanted to give a shout out for Swanage which is loaded full of independent shops interspersed with the occassional national chain and only 1 or 2 empty spaces - a rarity in this day and age.
If you've never been to Swanage then you're in for a bit of a treat, not only do we have wonderful beaches, stunning countryside, our own steam train, which now joins onto the main line at Wareham but we're also on the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site and even if we say so ourselves, we've got some pretty good shops!
As you wend your way down and round Institute Road from the railway station you'll
see wine merchants, estate agents, coffee shops, The Swanage Bookshop , health food store, Pet Luv, banks, juice bars, The Salt Pig Too, clothes shops, a toy shop, Haymans Bakery, ice-cream parlours, The Purbeck Deli and many more. When you get to the Square - do you go left to the Pier or right to the Town Hall - decisions, decisions. Well if you go left you'll come across restaurants, pubs, fish & chip shops, Candleworld, Tilly Whims Swanage, lifestyle shops, Jurassic Outdoor Swanage, Swanage Angling Shop, arcades, High Street Cafe and if you go right you'll of course come to us, 
Winston & Potter, Love Cake etc.,more galleries, pubs, butcher, eateries, lifestyle shops, antiques & brocante - the list goes on. Now, if you stick to the main drags you'll miss some real gems hidden behind the main streets including the world famous Chococo Chocolates, florists, our fishmonger, artists like Lucy's Farm, restaurants and fab cafes like @javaindependentcoffeehouse where everything is homemade and it opens early so you can get your sugar and coffee fix!
So whether you're a local or a visitor we're pretty sure there's something for everyone and they say that for every £ spent in our local community and shops that 60p of it stays local - shop wisely folks and keep it local! #independentpurbeck #independentswanage
