Yup, I've bought beads in the not too distant past from the ever-shrinking fabric, yarn and craft section in John Lewis (always an experience as it's over the scary glass bridge).

The bead shop behind the Grafton which I remember using as a student is also long gone :-(

Hobbycraft is the far end of the Beehive centre conveniently for me next to the pet store. It can be a dangerously expensive experience going in there if you have even one hobby/craft to spend on.

I tend to buy mail order, but that can lead to non-matching colours.