Littleport is the biggest village in England – by square miles! The population is hovering above 4,000 but with more houses being built, that number is on the increase.
It may not be conventionally beautiful and wouldn’t have appeared on any of those old-fashioned chocolate boxes, but it is, as it always has been, a vibrant functioning traditional rural community.
But with the burgeoning of out of town superstores, the shops and service providers in the village’s main thoroughfares, Main Street, Wisbech Road, High Street, Parsons Lane and tributary roads, have become more and more reliant on the goodwill of Littleport’s residents to patronise their establishments. And very good those local shops and services are too!
And if you are concerned with the impact your vehicle’s fuel consumption and exhaust fumes have on the earth’s atmosphere, why not make the shorter trip from where you live to the Littleport shops? And there is a large free car park at the end of Main Street and a public convenience.
The Bargain Centre in Main Street has been there for over a century supplying good and reasonably priced clothing and underwear, socks and handkerchiefs, stationery and toys and gifts. Next door is Erika’s Barber Shop. Run by the lady who trained with the original proprietor, Erika and Laura are first class men’s barbers who trim beards and give very sharp feminine styled haircuts for women too! From there you can pop into The Copper Cup continental style refreshment house. At the end of Main Street, Costcutter provides facilities to top up gas and electric cards and keys.
Across the road is Supermarket Cheap with a wide stock of household goods. The Codfather is the amusingly named fish and chip shop or for another kind of take away there is Ali’s Kebabs. There is a Lithuanian delicatessen that sells a variety of continental and East European produce again at reasonable prices. And when you’re in there it’s like being abroad without having to travel far! Then the All Sacred Tattoo Parlour is at 9 Main Street while if you go down Granby Street you can get a pizza at Pizza Town, tattoos at Black Dahlia, go to the dentist or the opticians, or go to YPL for a tea and chat and check out the charity department there!
Yes there are Pizza vendors and Chinese take-aways and two Coops. The newly refurbished one on Main Street is next to the historic Crown Inn, handy for a quiet drink while taking a break from shopping if that takes your fancy, the other Coop is in Wisbech Road and if you are having a dinner party or a date night at home they have a superb range of speciality, signed by the individual Chefs, home prepared gourmet meals for you to cook! Branching Out has a superb trendy charity shop in High Street next to the Methodist Church. There are two businesses that are also in Ely, Rumbles on the corner of Main Street and High Street for take-away, and Kings Barbers on Main Street who offer modern hairstyles to fashion- conscious clients.
Space precludes mentioning all of the wonderful shops and services offering a less hurried and pleasant shopping experience in Littleport. So why not take a trip to see what your local shops have to offer. You’ll be made to feel welcome as a part of the community too.
And if you take a look at the advertisers of businesses and services in our pages you may well find all you need is there!