Top 10 Christmas markets in Britain

Don’t think you have to go abroad to find a cracking Christmas market. Britain’s cities have started to fill their streets with festive stalls brimming with goodies and tasty fare from artists and producers at home and throughout Europe. Here YourHols brings you the Top 10 Christmas markets in Britain… if you’ve visited another good one, share it with our readers in the comment box below.

Lincoln
The famous Lincoln Christmas Market from December 4-7 is the biggest of its type in Europe and draws shoppers from all over the world thanks to its 300 stalls. You’ll be spoilt for choice with hand-crafted goods, gifts, locally produced specialist foods, not to mention Victorian dressed carollers, brass bands and twinkling Christmas lights.
www.visitlincoln.com

Plymouth
Handmade jewellery and decorations, festive treats and mulled wine on stalls lining the route from the Big Screen on the Piazza to the glass bubble Christmas tree in the Place de Brest garden until December 14. You can also taste mouth-watering dishes from all over Europe including German sausages, Polish stews, grilled gammon joints and bacon-fried potatoes. An array of eastern European sweet cakes and Baklavas is also on offer to fuel late-night shopping sprees.
www.visitplymouth.co.uk/events

Kingston Upon Thames
The Ancient Market is transformed into a winter wonderland with all the sights, sounds and smells of a traditional Christmas. The market, until December 24, is offering a host of festive treats such as mulled wine, carols from local choirs and live bands playing festive tunes. It also features a huge array of beautifully lit and decorated white wooden chalets providing culinary delights, handmade arts and crafts and creative gifts for all the family.
www.kingstonfirst.co.uk

Exeter
Cathedral Green, is brought to life by the market until December 20, with stalls offering unique, handmade and unusual gifts, decorations and food items – everything needed for a perfect Christmas celebration and creating a real buzz at the heart of the city. The market represents the best of what Britain, the South West and the rest of Europe has to offer – with a mix of great food, excellent crafts, unique gifts and decorations.
www.visitdevon.co.uk

Glasgow
The market, running until December 21, has moved to a new home in Argyle Street. A variety of colourful stalls offer a selection of gifts, artisan products and global cuisine set in a festive village of rustic cabins. There’s something for everyone, from scarves, jewellery, hats and purses, to chutneys, cheeses and waffles. Browse round the stalls and fill your senses with the smells and sounds of Christmas as you sip Gluhweine or a warming hot chocolate. Edinburgh also has three Christmas markets running from November 23 until January 4.
www.visitscotland.com

St Alban’s
The Cathedral city of St Albans’ European Christmas Market is just 20 minutes from London St Pancras station, meaning you don’t have to leave the country to enjoy a traditional German-style Christmas Market. This year it is doubling the number of traders to nearly 100, from November 27 to December 21. Goods include wooden toys from Slovakia, Spanish cookware and Polish pottery, stylish home, clothing and fashion accessories.
A huge selection of fare from German-style bratwurst and black forest ham to pulled-pork sandwiches, brownies and luxurious hot chocolate. Mulled wine and locally brewed beer will be served from an outdoor bar and carts dotted about the site.
www.enjoystalbans.com

Bath
The 18-day Christmas shopping extravaganza from November 27 to December 14 is the biggest Christmas shopping event in the South West and has more than 170 beautifully decorated wooden chalets in the heart of Bath’s World Heritage Site. More than 70% of stallholders are businesses from Bath and the surrounding region. Products include handmade Christmas decorations, personalised gifts, hand-made toys, festive food and drink, local artwork and designer jewellery.
www.visitbath.co.uk

York
The popular St Nicholas Market runs from November 27 to December 21st. There is a sense of stepping into a Dicken’s tale with bustling Victorian market stalls selling everything from local produce to traditional gifts and crafts, all accompanied by the smell of roasting chestnuts and the sound of carol singers. 
For unique presents from a different era head to the Medieval Market at Barley Hall. Be sure to try a pint of traditional ale or a glass of mulled wine at the Medieval bar!
www.visityork.org

Newcastle
There’s nothing more festive than warming your hands around a mug of mulled wine and browsing the stalls of  Newcastle’s market between December 4 and 8th at Grey’s Monument, Grey Street, Grainger Street. There are beers from local microbreweries, home-made jams, delicious cakes and handmade chocolates. And once you’ve bought something scrumptious to eat, you can find special gifts such as scarves, leather bags, hand thrown pottery, woolly hats and jewellery.
www.newcastlegateshead.com

Cardiff
The market until December 23 is in the heart of the pedestrian area of Cardiff City Centre in the Hayes, Trinity Street, Working Street and St John’s Church. More than 120 individual businesses are taking part with a diverse range of products such as pewter work, heritage images of Wales and Welsh slate products, carved Welsh lovespoons, metalwork, photography, hand built and thrown pottery, silver and precious stone jewellery, original textiles, traditional wooden items and toys and superb crafts.
www.cardiffchristmasmarket.com and www.visitwales.com