Winter 2010 - Shipshape Magazine Bristol

feature
market],” Bryony explains. In fact, she believes
Bristol could support a market every day
of the week in different parts of town. “For
markets to catch on, they have to be accessible.
And one farmers’ market, one morning a
week, isn’t enough for a city of Bristol’s size. I
admit that I shop in supermarkets, because I
don’t have enough access to locally produced
food to suit my schedule. I’d love to go the
farmers’ market every Wednesday but I won’t
always have time that day.”
And what would be on sale? “A varied
programme, with quality being the main
criterion. I want to offer a living, breathing,
sensory experience of all that makes living in
the South West so fantastic. And, of course, to
support local traders and provide a useful and
affordable shopping experience.”
But what’s so great about markets in the
first place? There are several tiers, Bryony
explains, to the pro-markets argument. For
one thing, they present brilliant trading
opportunities for hard-working local food
producers, who’d otherwise find their profit
margins squeezed by the supermarkets.
“For a local economy, markets are an
incredibly useful, immediate way to grow your
business – especially in a tough economic
climate like this. Markets are hard work, but
they are an immediate way to get your products
out there and test demand. Not providing those
opportunities stifles the local economy.”
But it’s not just down to economics. The
South West can also draw on huge reserves
of knowledge, expertise and natural wealth
to support its market culture. “We are lucky
enough to live in a very rich farming region,
and it seems daft not to use the amazing
produce grown here. We’re also a very well
equipped, knowledgeable city when it comes
to food. And there are huge benefits from
feeding yourself from your surrounding
countryside – it’s healthier and fresher,
it makes you much more aware of the
natural wealth of your region, and it
associates you much more closely with
where you food comes from.”
A market would also, she says, bring a muchneeded
lease of life to the ‘Waterfront’ area
– ie. Anchor and Millennium Squares, areas
that have been blighted by a concentration
of big drinking venues, somewhat forbidding
to visitors in search of a more relaxed night
out. “The Waterfront has been associated in
recent years with ‘vertical drinking’ [large chain
bars where alcohol is sold relatively cheaply].
That’s changing, though – thanks, ironically,
to the economic climate. Bars like Baja and
Chicago Rock have closed, buildings are lying
empty and the area’s desperately in need of
a new lease of life. It now needs venues that
can welcome all sorts of people.” She cites
fledgling venue The Harbourside, further along
the same Bordeaux Quay strip that houses
Watershed, as an example: as well as serving
locally sourced food, TH has a small shop
where customers can browse, an oyster bar and
sofas outside. It also acts as a ticket desk for the
Bristol Ferry Boat Company.
“That sort of animation is immediate,
relatively simple, and can bring an area to life. But
if you want to keep an area alive, you have to put
life in it. That’s especially true when businesses
are failing in a recession – empty buildings make
an area feel far less welcoming, while markets are
a brilliant way to animate a street.”
Market shopping shouldn’t be seen as a
middle-class preserve, either. “The enormous
farmers’ market in Turin [admittedly a city
with twice Bristol’s population] runs six
days a week and the whole city is there
– there is a price point for everyone,
from ultra-organic stuff downwards.
You’ll find the same in countless
European cities. Paris has 80 markets,
most of them huge on our scale." ➳
Market
forces
Grab your reusable bags and head to one
of these fabulous markets
Christmas Steps Artisan Market
Taking place on the first Saturday of the month
Eastville Market
Huge outdoor market every Friday
and Sunday
Farmers’ Market
The award-winning weekly
market on Corn Street, where
you can buy delicious produce
direct from the producers
every Wednesday
Fishponds Farmers’ Market
Small outdoor food market open for business
every second Thursday of the month
Fruit Market
Outdoor market selling more than just
fruit every Sunday in St Philips
The Nails Market
This weekly crafts market takes place
every Friday and Saturday on Corn Street
and Wine Street
Slow Food Market
Takes place the first Sunday of every
month on Corn Street
St Nicholas Market
Independent retailers sell their wares (from
records to olives) from Monday to Saturday
Tobacco Factory Market
Lovely outdoor market with around 30
traders selling food and crafts every Sunday
Westbury-on-Trym Local Produce Market
Food and crafts on offer every fourth
Saturday of the month
Whiteladies Road Farmers
and Fair Trading
Food market open for business every first and
third Saturday of the month on the corner of
Whiteladies Road and Apsley Road
Woolies Indoor Market
Find 34 stalls over two
floors at the top of
Whiteladies Road.
Open Monday to
Saturday
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