London's South Bank Christmas Market

South Bank's Festival Hall and Christmas Market in London

Towns around Britain are holding Christmas Markets, as I previously reported for Durham. London now has two! These are the traditional Christmas Market along the South Bank outside Festival Hall and the Angels Christmas Market in Hyde Park.

South Bank looked absolutely spectacular at dusk the other day as a canopy of lights draped over the market stalls. The stalls themselves have changed from years past: from DIY tented stalls to wooden huts there for year-round use. The huts have oodles of goods and munchies for sale, but sadly, the crowds at 4.30 in the afternoon were sparse – all the better for actually doing some shopping, and viewing the Thames at night is always a fantastic treat.

Good shopping densities at South Bank

I'm not sure whether the lack of people at the South Bank was because I visited between the daytime crowds and the nighttime crowds. But it is also possible that the Angels Christmas Market in Hyde Park is drawing off custom. We'll see when we visit on a weekday next week!