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I have always had to travel 100 miles to Glasgow to find my nearest music shop. There used to be one locally but they tended to cater more for traditional music and have moved online only now anyway. The last few acquisitions I have bought were bought online sadly.

I don't hanker after gear these days. Sad but true. I still enjoy looking at nice guitars, but with 8 of my own including several all-time classics and two others custom made for me (plus a very expensive bass, a fairly pricey 5-string banjo and a very old and somewhat secondhand banjolele, as well as a small-but-perfectly-formed collection of amps and pedals) I just don't feel the need any more. I always tried (with varying degrees of success to be sure) to live by the mantra of any equipment I bought being able to pay its way in terms of gig income and/or recording and/or teaching duties, but with no gigs in my foreseeable future I can't justify spending money to add to an already significant collection.

Great topic! Gallaghers Music in Grimsby is trying hard in the face of the online giants to maintain a decent stock of guitars, basses and amps. They have a decent range of PRS and some good quality budget offerings (Vintage, Cort and the like) and they always have a good supply of interesting second-hand stuff. A real old-school guitar shop and I really hope they can keep going in the face of the online competition