Our marvellous MARKET TOWNS

For fresh, local produce and a convivial atmosphere, where better to go?

- SALLY ROBINSON

Stamford, Lincolnshire

This beautiful market town is brimful of elegant, honey-coloured limestone buildings, over 600 of them listed. It also has great shopping, a thriving arts scene and a rich history – by the 13th century, it was one of the 10 largest towns in England. The Lincolnshire town has hosted a weekly market since Saxon times, and every Friday, Broad Street and Ironmonger Street hum with over 90 traders. visitpeterborough.com

Our beautiful market towns are often voted the best places to live in the UK, combining countryside with local amenities. The term originated in the Middle Ages, when small towns were given a historic legal right to host markets. Here are six of the many still thriving today.

Bakewell, Derbyshire

There has been a market here since at least 1330, after Henry III granted permission for a 15-day fair in the town the previous century. The town is all pretty cottages, cobbled streets and quaint courtyards. The River Wye runs right through town, with its gothic five-arched bridge and beautiful grassy banks lined with willow trees.

Now the market takes place in the centre of town every Monday (along with a livestock market), with over 150 stallholders. There’s also a popular artisanal farmers’ market on the last Saturday of the month. whatsonbakewell.co.uk