Firstly they’re all selling the same items, woolly scarves, laser cut decorations, sweets, biscuits, tat etc etc. The food and drink areas are beyond packed, huge lines waiting to buy grossly overpriced average food, nowhere to stand or sit to eat the food. It’s freezing cold, damp and smokey with some very dubious smells thrown in.
The weekends must be traveller meet ups because there are lots of of traveller teenagers, some fighting, screaming and causing general mayhem and mischief in Selfridges and Harvey Nichols, they closed the doors in Selfridges it got that bad on Saturday. The traffic in and out of the city is gridlocked and the public transport is packed with half cut pensioners stinking of bratwurst.
The crowd control is non existent, the whole place feels hugely unsafe given how many people are drunk from the mulled wine. It’s just a generally abysmal experience especially for young children. Midweek early on is a quieter more calm experience but otherwise avoid them like the plague unless of course you don’t mind the madness. I live in the city so unfortunately if I need to do food shopping or nip to the shops I can not avoid them.