Nottingham Christmas Market
I was so exited to be asked to take a look at Nottingham Christmas Market on behalf of Travel Supermarket.com. I live in Nottingham but rarely make it into the city centre. I was delighted to go and explore.
The actual name for the Christmas Market in Nottingham is Winter Wonderland, so called because as well as all the craft and gift and food stalls there are rides and entertainment too. In fact a wonderland!
Getting there
Nottingham Midland station is a mere 10 minute walk from the old market square where The Christmas market is held. Public transport in Nottingham is amazing with both regular trams and buses into the city centre and parking abounds. There are also several very useful park and ride sites but as the market is on for such a long period it should not ever get too congested, (perhaps on Saturdays?) You can find information here on Parking In Nottingham.
Foodie heaven
Food stalls…wow the food stalls. These were very special and I think the very best thing about this market. There was gorgeous Indian food, dutch pancakes and snowflakes a bubbling tea stall , a hot choc stall, fudge stalls, cheese stalls, sweetie stalls and lots of gingerbread hearts. You could get sausages cooked over a fire, candy floss, waffles, frites with mayonnaise , hot mushy peas and cheesy chips and luxury chocolates. I was in a foodies heaven.
Gingerbread hearts were part of my childhood Christmas’s
I had to try the dutch pancakes with maple syrup (poffertjes) Well it would have been rude not too and these were cooked fresh for me. They cost about £2.50. Food prices were about what I would expect, a couple of pounds per dish was about average . I did pay an awful lot for a bag of fudge which I filled myself though…beware not to get too carried away at the fudge stall!!
Divine!
I loved that Nottingham and her neighbours really showcased themselves at this market in terms of food and in many other ways. Hot mushy peas remind me of Nottingham Goose fair and there was Lincolnshire cheese too. The 2 story mock Tudor bar in the middle of the square was named after one of Nottingham’s most lovable characters and it served all sorts of grills as well as beers.
I would strongly advise you go on an empty tummy and fill up on the fab food there.
Attractions
There was a giant snowman singing in a bubble which the kids adored, big soldiers and Santa’s stood about. There was a reindeer ride, a horse merry go round and a hook a Rudolph stall. These were all very cute and lovely for the younger market going members. But the North Star really stole the show. It is a huge and scary looking ride seemed very popular . Personally I thought it looked very odd amongst the Tudor buildings and the very old market square however it was a busy ride and obviously a big attraction so what do I know!
The gift stalls
There were hats and gloves and scarves a-plenty and I manged to pick up a very cute owl hand warmer and some thermal socks. It was the most freezing day when I went and the winter warmers were selling really well!
It seemed a shame that a few stall were almost exact replicas of each other with the same hats sets (the vintage Miss Marple look is definitely in) and so on. However there were other stalls that were original, rather fabulous and quirky.
One of my favourite stalls sold wooden handmade catapults (no my son did not get one they were HUGE!) and bows and arrows and rather fabulous toys. Another stall sold art pieces from Nottingham artists and were called ‘Handmade Nottingham’ and these were astonishingly good and well priced for original work. Their were jewellery stalls, a lovely pashmina stall and even a basket stall where the wooden baskets then became fruit bowls!
My favourite stalls though were without doubt the more Christmassy ones and I indulged rather heavily in buying decorations and little gifts and oh there was a lovely selection.
Prices were reasonable throughout the market nothing too expensive and I thought there were some good deals.
Here’s what I bought…
I bought a gorgeous fruit and cinnamon laden room scenter for £10, a peace sign for £5, thermal socks and a hand warmer for £5 each , a selection of decorations from £2, a gorgeous little sweet heart bag for my daughter for £3, a hand sewn reading fairy book mark for £5 a tiny bag of fudge £5 and lovely Samosas for tea £4. I ate a variety of food ! (and quite a lots of it ) and all in all I probably spent about £50.
For Christmas market day out Nottignham has a lot to offer but the actual market will take you no more than 2 hours to have a really good browse. Less if you dont keep stopping to eat as I did. It is set right in the heart of Nottingham houwever int he old Market Square ( home of the famous Nottignham stone lions and the vounil house. So the market is surrounded by fabulous shops and arcades and there is a great deal to see Even a quick trip to Nottiongham Castle is only a ten minute wallk away.
I had a truly lovely time at Nottingham Christmas Market.
Travel supermarket gave me some spendies for the market in return for sharing what I thought of it on their hub
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What a lovely review. I didn’t realise it was so diverse this year, I will definitely be giving it a visit!
The food amanda is FAB!!!