Good Christmas market in uk and a recommendation of where to stay?

[Booksandflowers]

I’ve seen bath and Winchester are supposed to be good. Anyone been to either?

I used to love a Christmas market but they're all the same now. The stalls all seem to be the same, I assume it's more of a franchise thing these days and there are only actually 20 stalls which are repeated.

I think just pick a city with Christmassy architecture - to British people that usually means lots of Victorian buildings or anything that evokes Dickens Christmas carol. Pick a freezing cold weekday and plan to sightsee and browse the stalls.

We’ve been to York one twice, once on a weekday and once on a Saturday, we will never go on a Saturday again, it was so packed we couldn’t get near any stalls and all the eating places we like were full, so skip York if you can only go in a weekend.

Chatsworth. The house is usually worth a look too but the market is mostly local produce and makers. Refreshing!

What are the prices like? I want to go somewhere where I can some some lovely traditional Christmas items and decorations?

@Waitformetoarrive I am pretty sure you can go just to the market and not go in the house for free but pay for parking or park nearby.

Otherwise it's here to do both:

www.chatsworth.org/events/christmas/

Birmingham is pretty good in that it has two within quite close proximity to each other. The German one, which is a bit overpriced, overcrowded and repetitive, but very lively and with much of what you'd expect. And then the cathedral one which focuses on local suppliers and has a range of food stalls too, plus a helter skelter. And then there's been an ice rink up near the library too and a Christmas sculpture trail. Then in Jewellery Quarter they have a Christmas window trail too. So a bit of a mix, some hit and miss.

Greenwich had a cute Christmas market last year and it's a good location for trains to do a few London markets.. Spitalfields looks good and only 20 minutes away.
Lots of premier inn/travel lodges dotted around.

Thanks. Just been looking, tickets for the market go on sale on the 1st October.

I've been to Tatton park, it was very much like Chatsworth, maybe that's the way to do Christmas markets in this country.

Skipton
or Prague

Bath is near where we live and it's nice but avoid it on the first weekend it opens as it's claustrophobic and crazy busy. Any other time is fine though.

I'm planning to go to the Birmingham one this year but some of the previous comments have put me off....

Exeter is good, if you're staying in the area then you could also head to totnes which is on a Tuesday evening.

Manchester i think is the best

Wouldn't bother with Bath if you have to pay for a hotel, it's fine if you can day trip but I wouldn't go more than 50 miles

Bath is my home city and the market used to be really nice - think it's been a victim of its own success as last time I went it was soooo crowded and overpriced. Even more so than others I've been to!

I went to Hyde Park Winter Wonderland a couple of years back for our work Xmas party and hated it. We were all even given tokens for the rides and games and stuff but I (and others) ended up leaving before we'd used them all. It was just like a very expensive fairground so far as I could tell - the only good thing was the free drinks we had provided for us!

Bristol is terrible (just in case you were considering it!).

I went to the one in Prague when I lived there and loved it but that was ages ago. Same with Amsterdam. If you can stretch to a city break I'd head to Vienna or one of the German ones as suggested by PP - UK markets are all a bit crap tbh.

Go to Vienna!

I love Bath. I don't know about accommodation in the city, but the next train stop is only 10 minutes away, so you could just stay a little further out.

I think it's nicer to go to a market with local crafters and makers than the big ones in cities which are a bit bobbins.

We have been to Haddon Hall in Derbyshire a couple of times – after a few visits it gets a bit samey but the first time is pretty good and the setting is lovely. You could always stay over and pop to Chatsworth as well!

https://www.haddonhall.co.uk/eventcategory/mercatum/

As others have said Bath is insanely busy at the weekend. You can’t even get close to the stalls to see anything. Maybe ok on a weekday evening. Winchester is cute but small. We live close enough to pop in on a less busy weekday evening in Winchester so go most years. Birmingham is good and big, but again, crazy busy at weekends. Oxford is tiny, not worth a special trip unless you’re going there anyway.
Winter Wonderland in London is shite, a rip off and super busy. I guess that’s the story with most of them.

I'm still recovering from Birmingham!

Birmingham German Market is awful - the same dozen stalls repeated over and over. Everything is also very expensive; a rip off. Some of the stalls sell the same products that they sell in Lidl at Christmas but for four or five times the price. I actually think Lidl is where some of the stall holders are buying their stock from. It gets crowded especially in the evening. Tbh I avoid the city centre when the market is there.

This may be helpful to weigh up the choices

www.instagram.com/reel/C0sEW8SIK6j/?igsh=bGNzNGhhaHcxdjMw

Check out Hamburg OP.

I've been to Bath a few times and loved it. The cathedral holds a carol service periodically across the day

Lovely atmosphere but yes, busy.

If Europe though, Krakow has a lovely market and is well spaced out so didn't feel crowded