The Market Hall
Traders, not tenants
Everyone behind a counter in here owns what they are selling.
The hall was a bonded warehouse and then nothing at all for a long stretch, which is why the glass roof had to be rebuilt before anybody could trade under it. Stalls are let on a short agreement so a trader can leave at the end of a season without losing a deposit, and the pitch rent is the same whether you are on the door or at the back. What is on the counter, and what it costs, is the trader's business and not ours.
From the stalls
On the counters this week
A few things the traders have put forward. It changes with what they can get hold of, so read it as a sample rather than a list.
Practical
Getting in, paying, and getting home again
Coming in
Two ways in: the arch off Ravensworth Street, and the wharf side by the water.
The wharf side is level all the way from the car park. The arch has three steps and a handrail, so take the other one if you are pushing anything.
Paying
Every counter takes cards. A few of the older traders would still rather have cash and will say so, politely, and then take the card anyway.
If a machine goes down mid-morning the market office will run a payment through for them, so nobody has to send you to a cash point.
Carrying it
There are crates by both doors and a trolley you can borrow from the office against a returned deposit.
Fish and meat go into an ice bag at the counter if you ask, which is worth doing before you walk round the rest of the hall rather than after.