By Mabel Wellman.
Normally, I am not one for Christmas markets. In fact, my first exposure to these was slowly moving between people on Above Bar Street to get through the Southampton market in 2021 and trying not to think how having less than 5 centimetres between people (rather than at least a metre) would affect covid cases in the city. However this year, on hearing about the ferris wheel adorning Guildhall Square, I knew I had to at least take the chance to see the city from a perspective I may never get the chance of again.
I had also heard many complaints from friends about the market not comparing well to Winchester. So I have now ventured to both markets as well as Gunwharf Quays to compare them.
Southampton
On a chilly Saturday evening, I ventured into the city centre after dark to “see what they had done with the place”.
The Ice Rink had made its return just by Forty Steps. This year, there are also very cozy looking chalets making up an ‘apres’ bar by the entrance of the rink, allowing people to calm their nerves and admire Arundel Tower before taking to the ice (or numbing the pain of falling afterwards).
On Bargate Street, there is now a pedestrianised area, boasting a fun house, festive pizza, refreshments, and food like fudge, with picnic benches. Behind the Bargate are children’s amusement rides, including Santa’s sleigh and some small carousels. Many of these are new additions to Southampton’s Christmas offerings.
Above Bar Street is the way it has been previously, minus the electricity in the air from knowing Santa would be flying over Bargate. The stalls here are primarily food, with a couple of bars, with bags, football paraphernalia and Christmas decorations on offer too. It does remain, unfortunately, very hard to get from one end of Above Bar Street to another in peak times. Many of the food stalls do not have dedicated waiting and queueing space, which is the main reason it was hard to get around.
After making my way past “The Big Carousel” and people selling flashing balloons and various loud moving toys they let run rampant on the pavement, we were in the home stretch to the ferris wheel. Around the base of the big wheel are a a few stalls , offering marshmallow roasting and donuts. If the ferris wheel is too slow for you, you can go on a bungee ride or an amusement ride which will happily swing towards and away from the Guildhall like a pendulum and then let you hang suspended upside down (if you are getting food, get it AFTER this ride). The ferris wheel is fairly priced at £8 for adults and £6 for children (Up to 10 years old). It takes roughly 10-15 minutes to fully finish your loops. I took my ride at night, to see Southampton in its illuminated glory all the way down to a cruise ship at the Ocean Terminal. I know that before the funfair is packed away, I must go again during the day – the views were simply breathtaking, if there is a person handcuffed to the attraction, protesting its removal, come the end of December – you might just know who it is!
Southampton is currently having what I believe to be its biggest ever Christmas market – certainly in my memory of the city. Whilst this market may have the biggest number of stalls out of all three options, Above Bar Street is again struggling to facilitate the amount of foot traffic the market is generating which is disappointing, especially for disabled people who may struggle to get about.
The ferris wheel is definitely the main attraction this year, but some people have struggled to find it. I did hear a few people ask for help in the city as to where the wheel was. Perhaps maps should be made next year to help people get about. To avoid having attractions fragmented away from the stalls, I suggest pedestrianising Above Bar Street at the Cultural Quarter – from Civic Centre Road up to Cumberland Pace and including Commercial Road. Guildhall Square and Commercial Road could take on just as many stalls as Above Bar and Bargate Street can, and even more stalls, attractions, and other festivities could extend into Watts Park and keep everything together.
I would also ask Southampton City Council, if there can be a Christmas Market on Above Bar Street, perhaps they should consider putting pressure on West Quay to let the Southampton Market return to the same place but with far less disruption to pedestrians through the year (with just as interesting stalls if not better).
Winchester
For my next seasonal outing, I went to Winchester’s Christmas Market tucked (mostly) behind Winchester Cathedral. From starting at the front of the Cathedral, I almost tricked myself into thinking the small number of stalls at the front was all there was to it. These stalls however did have some interesting stuff to them, including bottle lights and very warm looking clothes on offer.
The Cathedral Gardens are where most of the traders are to be found. A triangle of stalls make up most of the market, offering mulled wine, honey and beeswax candles, fudge, roasted nuts, gardening tools, and a centre point of food stalls with benches and a gazebo for live music. The mulled wine “stalls” were beautiful apparatuses including barrels of wine at a perfect warm temperature, as were the stalls roasting chestnuts. Adjacent to this main area is another small selection of stalls including Christmas cards, toiletries and fragrances, this part can be accessed by stairs or a slope on the far side (up to where temporary toilets and the cathedrals bookstore are located).
Over grassy areas in the front of the cathedral, and the centre of the Cathedral Garden stalls, there is decking to avoid walking on the grass or traipsing in mud. This can make it easier for wheelchair use, but you may find you need assistance to get onto the decking – my partner certainly did – so the markets may not be completely accessible to lone wheelchair users.
I liked how well all the stalls were placed. The gazebo for live music was a great idea too. I wasn’t fortunate enough to see anyone perform but I would definitely come back to the market at a time when a performance was on, to eat from the choice of treats (including gluten free and vegan options) and have a drink of mulled wine. Whilst there were no attractions at this market, this Christmas market looked like it could be in the Cathedral Gardens all year round and not get boring or look out of place. The cathedral is a perfect backdrop to market and the traditional and striking design of the roasted chestnut and mulled wine stalls were perfect. In terms of criticism, I can really only bring up the fact that to get on the decking used over grass, a wheelchair user may find they need someone to push them onto it.
Gunwharf Quays
For the last of my market explorations, I went to Portsmouth to see Gunwharf Quays and its Christmas market. After an eventful wait at Southampton Central train station (due to delays, platform changes, and not being sure we were on the right train) we were immediately gifted with a misty view of the river Itchen between Northam and St Denys. Mist risen from the river’s water like spirits slowly waking from a year long slumber and stretching their muscles, wishing us a Merry Christmas and celebration of the upcoming solstice.
The Christmas market at Gunwharf Quays is the smallest of the three by a long shot. From my count there were 14 stalls in the plaza. These included: Pick and Mix; an ‘apres’ bar (this time with glass pods rather than chalets); Bratwurst Sausages; hot chocolate and German chocolate, and more. There is also a carousel and a ferris wheel and a puck/curling game, although it wasn’t clear whether it was open or not.
I decided to go on the ferris wheel. From reading this you would think ferris wheel riding is a hobby of mine, but these are actually the only two times I have ever been on them. This was paid for by 1 token per person (equal to £3). This is fairly priced for the attraction, which is smaller than the one in Southampton, though it is still beautiful. This one is more traditional-looking with red seats designed to look like cushions. I would have got a photo of the market looking down from Spinnaker Tower, but the visibility would have been extremely low up there.
It was disappointing that there were not more stalls. Once I had my ride on the ferris wheel and had a hot dog there was not much else for us to do apart from look around the shopping centre. There is some space to have more stalls down the Gunwharf Quays marina on both sides and perhaps to the base of Spinnaker Tower. The prices for more of the stalls did seem fair. The Southampton Christmas Market goes right through the main shopping area, and even if there is not much that attracts you in terms of stalls being there, it does not feel like it is luring you into Southampton West Quay shopping centre. The Gunwharf Quay market absolutely feels like an accessory, to get people into the shopping centre.
At the time of visiting, we were unaware there was a Portsmouth Christmas Market on Commercial Road as well as Gunwharf Quays and its Christmas market. A future visit is almost certainly in order to explore what this has on offer.
My ranking of the three Christmas Markets I have been to is are follows (best to worst):
-
Winchester
-
Southampton
-
Gunwharf Quays
Markets of all sorts are supposed to be communities of traders working together and family, friends, and strangers sharing in the trader’s passion. Winchester market has achieved this atmosphere perfectly in its ancient city with the many unique traders sharing the space.
Southampton is coming in second. It easily has the highest number of stalls, but I feel the limited choice of bars was disappointing. Being so large, it should also have maps like Winchester Christmas Market.
In third place is Gunwharf Quays, its Christmas Market has a lovely modern backdrop, but the market feels a mere accessory for the shopping centre itself. I do wish I done my research to know of the Portsmouth Christmas Market to explore. I would love to hear anyone’s experience there and I might return to Portsmouth next week for that market!
- In Common is not for profit. We rely on donations from readers to keep the site running. Could you help to support us for as little as 25p a week? Please help us to carry on offering independent grass roots media. Visit: https://www.patreon.com/incommonsoton