Vintage sweetshop delights

I visited an old work chum today in the beautiful Buckinghamshire town of Amersham. It couldn’t be more perfect if it tried. Cobbled streets, boutique shops, manicured grass – it’s like being on a film set. The sort of place you wouldn’t dare utter a swear word – the very antithesis of grimy London!

We were gagging for ice-cream as a relief from the sweltering sunshine, so Sarah presented us with her local sweetshop – wow!

Old Amersham Sweetshop presents an array of Willy Wonkaesque treats in a Cath Kidston vintage style setting. The shelves are packed with jars bursting with jelly beans, flying saucers, candy necklaces – all the old fashioned classics.

I’m always on the look out for decent toppers for my cupcakes and this place has a lot of potential.

There’s an impressive array of chocolates too, including hand crafted truffles and ganaches from Prestat, Rococco and House of Sarunds, through to bars from Chococo, The Chocolate Alchemist, Chocolate Source and Bloomsberry.

So after gazing dreamily at all the wares and trying to keep Sam’s hands out of the jars, we checked out the ice cream display. Hand made by Italian artisans there were lush looking flavours like peach melba and banana and butterscotch. They change the selection every week to keep people coming back to try more!

Sam went with vanilla with a flake and I went for banana and butterscotch. Dreamy and creamy and a great cooler.

It’s great finding niche shops like these on the high street – full of delights to be explored and taking such pride in their wares, unlike all the faceless chains out there.