Bury Market.

The Market!

It was a smashing Saturday morning when I crossed the Pennines and dropped down into Bury, the route to the market is well sign posted and there are ample carparks in the near vicinity, as well as lots of other outlets leave a bit of time as there is a T-Kmax, I managed to pick up a few odds and ends (but then I always do). But to the market, it was smashing, tasting a bit of this and a bit of that, the variety was really fantastic, not as varied as the large French, Spanish or German weekly, but never the less just as good as most outside of the larger towns and one plus is you can even get a Sari and there are even Hallal butchers. What I did not know was that the covered market is open all week and that is only the open part that takes place on Thursday, Friday and Sunday.

As said, I parked near to T-Kmax and went down the under pass and was greeted by the wonderful sound of a folk guitarist, (I can stand and listen to street musicians for hours, if they are good, well worth the 2 quid). Coming out into the sunlight, I turned left and started to pick, sausages, cheeses, bits of cake and bread.

I was feeling a bit peckish so went inside of the covered market to have a cuppa and a bite to eat. I found this wonderful Deli (Can’t for the life of me remember its name but it does have deli in it and inside and outside seating) Roast pork, beef, lamb, sausages, and those peals and real reason for my visit the Bury Black Puddin’s, I actually just had a bacon sandwich in a oven bottom muffin (Those Lancastrians will knick anything, they have pinched wor stottie, dimple and all and called it an oven bottom muffin).

I next done a bit of a look see in this hall and then went across the way to the fish market, this also has quite a few butchers in here as well. But a fine range of wears on display “2 trays of pork chops for a fiver mate”, they even had real Finnan haddock, some of which is now in my freezer with the Craster kippers.

In all it is well worth, nay a must to visit and I enjoyed my time there. I didn’t have time to have a look around every nook and cranny, but I did buy some fantastic baby Jersey royals, carrots and some spring greens to take back with me. Got a few cakes and stuff for the girls back in Yorkshire, I took the motorway setting out of the SATNAV and set off across the Pennines by the scenic route, I stopped up on top near Rotherham and had a drink of water beside a reservoir (and ate two small custards, I know I shouldn’t but they are one of my favourites). The weather was fantastic, the bikers where out in force, now that did bring back happy memories, BSA, Matchless, Norton, James, real bikes, real noise, ok, ok, real oil under your fingers).

Returned home in time to go to my mates daughters to watch the late match.

Next morning it was across to Manchester to pick up my mate who had become stuck because of volcanic ash and needed a lift back to Gütersloh. Got back at 03:30 and was in at work at 07:30 tired and a little saddened, but besides the funeral, I had a smashing time and visited many places and haunts from down memory lane some, that I don’t wish to ever visit again, but others though changed are still recognisable and still others that time stood still. It was these that brought back the best memories because, in the most, they are well off the beaten track and are hidden from the vandals in Government, Town Halls and District Councils. This for me is the real Britain, not the inner city squalor, the grey high rise flats, the only colour being the splashes put on by Banksie and his mates, the traffic calming zones, which lead to the quad bikers turning them into a slalom track.

Thanks for bearing with me!

It will be posted on my blog with pictures, the link I will be putting on here very soon

Cheers

Dick