Closed Shops. I have a definite fascination with abandoned, empty or redundant business premises. Those with explanatory window notices especially appeal to my imagination. If you are a visitor or passer by you can only guess at the story behind these shops of mystery. When you peer through the dusty windows it's impossible to resist wondering what the owners were like, where they are now and did they ever get over their bout of ill health? I took the first photo in Willington and the second in Fencehouses, both Co.Durham.

Expect some more North East photographic posts as I now carry my camera wherever I travel. These spots of run-down beauty are worth preserving before they are ruined by re-development.