Inspired by the home of the 1851 Great Exhibition, and not a million miles away from our own Brotherton, the green girders of Kirkgate Market house a veritable feast for your eyes, ears and pocket. As the largest covered market in Europe, it bustles with the kind of activity a fluorescent, bleached supermarket could only dream of. Yet unlike these sprawling supermarkets, Kirkgate is in decline and needs your help. In return it offers better prices, better variety and better fun…which is surely a deal even Del Boy couldn’t refuse.
It’s got ATMOSPHERE and it’s LOCAL
There’s banter, bartering and bellowing yet it’s far from brutal or chaotic. One vendor pointed me in the direction of
“washing up liquid so cheap I’d even get bathed in it, ooooh I love them bubbles”
before he minced away. Quite a far cry from removing yet another item from the bagging area elsewhere.
Really it’s about being Made in Yorkshire rather than feeding fat cats elsewhere – even if it is just for grabbing material for fancy dress or for the occasional big roast dinner.
It’s NOT so far away
There’s a misconception that Kirkgate is miles away when actually it’s about a five minute walk from Primark or Debenhams, just at the bottom of town.
The 50p CityBus from outside the Uni stops right outside, or the no.56 will take you back to Hyde Park from outside Tiger Tiger.
A group trip in a full taxi will also only cost about £1 which you can easily make back.
It’s CHEAP as chips
Go compare, go compare…
Meerkats and overweight ear-bending Italians are thankfully not necessary if you simply have a butchers at the butchers.
Meat, fish, fruit and veg especially are fresh as well as cheap, and there is a huge variety to choose from. You can eat a rainbow and a menagerie if you should so fancy.
As a brief and eclectic comparison:
6 jumbo eggs
£1.30 Kirkgate
£1.85 (large) Sainsburys
3 mixed peppers
99p Kirkgate
80p EACH Sainsburys
500g mince
£3.20 Kirkgate
£3.60 Sainsburys
Quirk chocolate biscuits
50p Kirkgate
£1.39 Sainsburys
Grapes
99p/lb Kirkgate
at least £2/lb Sainsburys
Strawberries
50p a punnet Kirkgate
£2 Sainsburys
£10 student meat pack: 2 sirloin steaks, 1lb mince, 2 chicken fillets, 1lb sausages, 2 steak burgers and 4 slices of bacon
and other bargains…36 toilet rolls for £4, a 20p tape measure and four free scouring pads when we bought a kitchen bin…
The PARTY carries on out the BACK
The outdoor market has a different theme depending on the days and is well worth a visit, weather permitting.
MONDAY – CLOTHES
WEDNESDAY – ASIAN (enough incense, music, sweets and fabric to transport you away from the rainiest day)
THURSDAY – FLEA!
Opening times…
8am to 5:30pm
Every day except Sunday and early close Wednesday
Author: Anna Foster
Photography: Becki Bateman, Leo Garbutt