Meet Your Winner | Love Your High Street Awards 2025

The inagural Love Your High Street Awards featured hundreds of brilliant nominated independent retailers, with the final contested by eight amazing shops.

After a public vote it was Headhunters, a truly unique barber shop in Enniskellen, Northern Ireland, that won the top prize. Let's get to know them a little better...

A tradition with a twist: Blending classic barbering and heritage

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Founded in 1981 by brothers Gordon and Nigel Johnston, Headhunters Barber Shop has been a fixture of Enniskillen’s high street for over four decades. From the outset, it became more than just a place for a trim – every “wee man” or gent is welcomed with warmth and familiarity. Generations of families have passed through its doors, with fathers, sons and now grandsons keeping the tradition alive.

What makes Headhunters truly unique, however, is its remarkable blend of classic barbering and heritage. While waiting for a haircut, visitors can step next door into a lovingly curated railway museum – a place where stories of steam and steel come alive, and where the buzz of clippers mingles with the echoes of a bygone era.

Heritage on the High Street: The adoption of the Fermanagh Railway Heritage Group

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The Fermanagh Railway Heritage Group was established in 1997, bringing together former railway employees and enthusiasts determined to preserve the county’s lost railways. By 2002, Headhunters Barber Shop provided a permanent home for the growing collection, transforming spare rooms into one of Ireland’s most unusual cultural attractions.

Today, the museum houses one of the largest collections of small Irish railway artefacts, from uniforms and tickets to signalling instruments and timetables. Recognised with the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, and twice runner-up in the UK Heritage Railway Association Awards, it has become a hub for talks, exhibitions and school visits. With free admission – and haircuts strictly optional – it attracts visitors from across the world who marvel at its quirky combination of scissors and steam.

Community, Continuity and Care: Playing a vital role in the community

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At its heart, Headhunters remains about people. Loyal clients return year after year, some since 1981, not only for a haircut but for the sense of belonging the Johnstons foster. The museum has become a welcoming distraction for children, particularly those with autism, helping to ease anxieties about visiting the barber. Its large model railway layout delights both young visitors and lifelong enthusiasts, sparking memories and conversations across generations.

Alongside everyday barbering, Headhunters plays a vital role in the community: organising events, commemorations and educational activities, while offering a space where history and personal connection meet. In an age of rapid change, Headhunters Barber Shop & Railway Museum stands as proof that tradition, heritage and human warmth can thrive together – an attraction like no other, and a much-loved part of Fermanagh’s story.