ClicSargent

This is definitely the weakest of the charity shops along Cotham Hill, and it desperately needs the Mary Porter (Queen of Charity Shops) treatment. It looks a bit feeble from the outside and has very little style or sense of itself as a shop on the inside. It’s usually the shelves of knick-​knacks (always teapots, jugs and small boxes nobody ever uses) that let a charity shop down, and that’s the case here. It’s all at the back of the shop, just baskets and shelves of stuff all randomly placed, so it looks like someone’s cupboard under the stairs.
To its credit, the volunteers are some of the friendliest I’ve encountered and they make you feel very at home if you want to try things on. It’s a funny, awkward little shop, and acceptable for a rummage, but you could have more success and a more enjoyable rummage in the neighbouring shops.

Another fine little charity shop along a fully stocked street this is CLIC Sargent — with much more of a country-​living vibe about it.
The clothes are mostly tweed, waist coats and such like. The books are about healthy living and the pre-​loved crockery and kitchen items actually pretty good. I had always assumed charity shops were impartial to local trends but clearly not. This is Cotham area and even the charity shops sell tweed.
Hilarious.

With a good half a dozen charity shops on this one little stretch of road at Cotham Hill each store needs to forge a unique selling point for itself. Clic Sargent used to be one of the more sparse charity shops on the road, which is tucked behind the main Whiteladies Road, but more recently it has benefited from the inclusion of more new items. Charity shops nowadays rarely just sell second hand gear and in a way this Clic Sargent is leading the way with a selection of new (ie still in the wrappers) CDs from lesser bands such as Green Day and Dido. One can only assume they’ve been donated by a CD shop that has gone bust. Either way, CDs for £3 are absolutely fine by me. They also have accessories for CD players and sometimes even MP3 players. The books are usually pretty good in here too.

Clifton village isn’t short on charity shops, but Clic is definitely one of my favourites. Even though it does sell clothes and bric-​à-​brac, the best thing about this charity shop is the books. One look over their pristine best sellers and you’d be forgiven for thinking this is a book shop.
I don’t know whether they’re in cahoots with a bookshop that’s recently gone into administration, or their donators get given books they don’t read — but I have bought several brand new books for 75% off. The volunteers who work here are friendly and helpful, so if you’re looking for something specific — don’t hesitate to ask.