please empty your brain below
I agree wholeheartedly with you here DG; not being a fan of more traditional shopping malls myself, Shepherd’s Bush’s Westfield’s layout is really quite special.

And it is a travesty that Oxford Street’s pedestrianisation has been kyboshed by Westminster Council: Shame on them!

Joe | 30.10.18 - 7:28 a.m. | #

There is also the Overground station which has the London Overground services plus Southern trains from further afield.

John | 30.10.18 - 7:35 a.m. | #

Now that Primark have opened at Westfield, Shepherds Bush/White City I thought you would have found a suitable woolly jumper!

John | 30.10.18 - 7:40 a.m. | #

Now that DG has given it the blessing, I won't feel so bad next time I'm there :-)

Happy Birthday Westfield, please do something similarly exquisite to Croydon soon ...

HansG | 30.10.18 - 7:41 a.m. | #

Having had similar problems finding woolly jumpers for Mr BW last year, I finally found suitable 'traditional' product at EWM. I still mourn the loss of BhS for jumpers.

Blue Witch | 30.10.18 - 7:49 a.m. | #

Oh that we had something similar - or even a subset of this - in our city. Our city centre mega expensive mall is also ten years old now and grim as hell, with empty shop units (guessing 10 year leases have not been renewed) and the sound of feral children making it their own.

TomH | 30.10.18 - 8:00 a.m. | #

Something for everyone there... except a bookshop, unless you can find what you need in a rather threadbare branch of WHSmith

dg writes: See paragraph 9.

James | 30.10.18 - 8:07 a.m. | #

DG seems to have mellowed towards consumerism recently - postive Icon, Coal Drops Yard and now this.

What happenned to the DG that wrote sarcastic posts about about the Dangleway, fake 'community' events and new housing developments? Has he been kidnapped by a group of furious PR assistants?

Jonathan | 30.10.18 - 8:26 a.m. | #

I could tell you the name of a retailer selling proper woollies but you won't find it in a shopping mall or high street.

B | 30.10.18 - 9:02 a.m. | #

I used to work next to Westfield Classic, then moved to working next to Eastfield - and I do prefer the original, though I've mellowed towards the latter, which is fine if you get there early enough and know the optimal route to your target shop(s).

I did find it amusing that when it first opened, the W12 mall promised a classy dining experience - the food court would all be proper plates and metal cutlery. A few months later, without much fanfare, they opened the smaller eating area by the bus station with its Burger King and unashamedly microwaved noodle bar.

martin | 30.10.18 - 9:03 a.m. | #

Scuzzier one in Stratford? How dare you!!

Boxer | 30.10.18 - 9:19 a.m. | #

All your weekly purchasing needs? But at what price? I expect your favourite branded toothpaste is cheaper in Poundland in Shepherds Bush's other shopping centre where there is also now a Lidl for another big chunk of the weekly shop at lower prices.

ap | 30.10.18 - 9:25 a.m. | #

When I feel the need, rarely, to sample the ultimate consumerist lifestyle Westfield Shepherd's Bush is good. As DG states they are keeping moving along. I usually combine a trip with a diversion to the old Shepherd's Bush Market which runs alongside the railway track between that station and Goldhawk Road. It's a good antidote to all the glitz and glamour and has a Middle Eastern flavour. It's one of the few places you are likely to be able to buy some goat meat.

Dave | 30.10.18 - 9:44 a.m. | #

I've always been of the opinion that *for a shopping mall*, it's rather pleasant. There's nearly nothing that can actually make a shopping mall pleasant, but they've tried and it's a considerably less harrowing experience going to Westfield than most other malls or High Streets.

Chz | 30.10.18 - 9:45 a.m. | #

Looks pleasing to they eye, but I'm still unlikely to visit, and even more unlikely to buy anything if I do!

Though saying that, I was also looking at my sad collection of woolly jumpers over the weekend...

Cornish Cockney | 30.10.18 - 10:26 a.m. | #

As shopping malls go, Westfield Shepherd's Bush is a really good one. A great sense of space, Bluewater feels surprisingly cramped by comparison.

I really like the public transport connections too, with 3 tube/rail lines serving it, which is a massive contrast to say Brent Cross which has one distant tube station, with even the proposed Thameslink station not very near either.

Mikey C | 30.10.18 - 11:13 a.m. | #

This is a great write up.

Somewhat amazingly when it opened the car park had no motorcycle spaces whatsoever. It seemed quite the oversight.

Nick | 30.10.18 - 11:32 a.m. | #

For many years I worked in White City, and believe me we all celebrated when Westfield opened with its many excellent food options!

Andrew Bowden | Homepage | 30.10.18 - 12:19 p.m. | #

I live midway between Shepherd’s Bush and Kingston and my shopping trips that aren’t fitted in with my West End job or chasing specialists elsewhere are split about half and half. Kingston has a strong town centre atmosphere that I like even if it is a bit less metropolitan.

Sprout Eater | 30.10.18 - 1:39 p.m. | #

Agree about Kingston shops, even better- they have a EWM there which sells great woolly jumpers.
Or you could learn to knit,of course,DG! 😉😂

Jo W | 30.10.18 - 2:35 p.m. | #

At least in Kingston they have pedestrianised the shopping experience which helps a great deal.

Tones | 30.10.18 - 3:51 p.m. | #

In my eyes Westfield at White City is like Disneyland Paris, or The Tower of London, or The Dangleway. I've been to each only once, and can think of no conceivable reason to return.

Frank F | 30.10.18 - 4:57 p.m. | #

DG, point 3 is very much 'on point'. In my uni days we often made the trip to Shepherd's Bush to meet friends from other parts of London, usually only choosing where we'd eat once we got there because we could (and because student discount meant you felt a bit better about wasting your student loan on overpriced burgers!)

Marco | 30.10.18 - 5:17 p.m. | #

Actually having been to White City Westfield I can confirm that the internal layout is totally rubbish requiring you to constantly double back on yourself to visit all the wings. The eateries are pretty miserable too compared to Stratford City. One thing that did leap out about White City is their internal signage is total rubbish compared to Stratford City, its hidden away and difficult to find and anti-intuitional.

Drew | Homepage | 30.10.18 - 7:09 p.m. | #

I think Foyles were doing OK but Westfield wanted to 'rezone' their site as a restaurant so they were allows/asked/encouraged/induced to leave early. At the time there were plans for them to return somewhere else in the development, which to some extent they have, as Waterstones now own Foyles.

ActonMan | 30.10.18 - 7:36 p.m. | #

I used to have to make deliveries to a couple of places in Westfield. It was my least favourite drop in the entire order book. Behind the scenes signage is non existent, walls are bare concrete with graffiti scrawls, the goods lifts are bust half the time, and everything is a million miles away and on the wrong level. And heaven help you if you don't manage to complete your delivery in the pre-booked one-hour slot for whatever reason.

Klepsie | 30.10.18 - 8:01 p.m. | #

>>One is Nigella Lawson, appealing to the smart, older, female demographic...

You forgot the words "Coke snorting" :P

Agent X | 30.10.18 - 9:59 p.m. | #

'Multifarious' ....up there with Peerinesque in my view!

MO | 31.10.18 - 8:43 a.m. | #

Is Westfield now "the largest shopping centre in Europe"? When it opened I'm sure it was branded as "the largest indoor, city centre shopping centre in Europe" because places like the Metro cetnre in Gateshead were bigger but not city centre and Liverpool One was set to be at least as big but is partly outdoors.
Not sure how much bigger the extension has made it so it could be the biggest without qualification.

dg writes: Wikipedia, paragraph 1.

Steve Rochford | 31.10.18 - 9:51 a.m. | #











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