Litdog - just re-read your post.
Reckon Cotswold Outoors would sort you out - obviously it's not specifically a runners' store but it's a big outdoor store and I would expect it to store running packs. It's opposite the Ritz more or less, on Piccadilly.
I tried to find a running pack for to-and-from work purposes a bit back and came up against a volume problem: most of the specialised ones are just too small (like, 5-10ltr). If all you've got in it each day is a shirt, boxers and socks, fine.
I ended up with a 15l Karrimor Silhouette daypack: it has a waist-strap and a chest-strap and does me well.