Fred Dinenage
This year's headliner. Incredible! A 45-minute set of Northern Soul, Fridays and Saturdays. He doesn't explain why, and it didn't feel like our place to ask. Doors from seven (there are no doors).
Experience a True Southampton Christmas
We're back with the same event you know and love this year. Why fix it when it isn't broken?
12 November to 27 December 2026. Closed Christmas Day, even the bratwurst needs a day off.
Plan your visit- Only 47 days till Christmas, which means Mariah Carey is already on in TK Maxx just down the road.
- Black Friday sausage deal: 10 for the price of 9 on bratwursts. Let your server know in advance.
- On advice from our accountant in the Cayman Islands, this year's market may be cash only.
- Grab your wiener and balls. We tried to phrase that so it didn't sound like a dirty joke, and failed miserably.
- Due to having wages to pay soon, we REALLY need you to come down and fill up these standing tables.
- In Southampton it's always "c-word" this, "c-word" that. Clearly people just can't wait for Christmas.
The UK's most beautiful Christmas market
We've been on Above Bar Street every December since 2004, give or take a pandemic, wedged in between the Bargate and the Marlands, taking up way more than half the precinct.
Our stallholders are out there from first light in the Southampton rain, pretending to mull wine you'll later describe to a friend as "a bit dear", and selling some stuff from Temu alongside.
Some people call it claustrophobic. We prefer cosy. Either way the pints are a tenner, and once again, Southampton has pulled Christmas out of the bag.
What's On
Live dodgy karaoke some nights, and a headline act we're still slightly processing ourselves. A bloke who does some singing is back too, same ten songs he's done for the last five years, and we've grown quite fond of it.
Click here to see the scheduleThe Stalls
Sixty-odd cabins, roughly nine of them actually occupied, selling gifts you don't want, sweets, and the sort of thing you buy in December and then find in a drawer 2 days later.
Getting Here
We're on the bit of pavement you were quite fond of, right outside Westquay and the Bargate. Essentially, we're in the way.
Gallery
A few photos of the place, most of them taken on a fairly quiet Tuesday, our photographer Keith wouldn't do any other days
A brief and completely accurate history
The market's been going since 2004, though the general idea, standing about in the cold paying too much for a sausage, is a fair bit older than that. Medieval, probably. Nobody's really looked into it.
The Bargate, which you'll see all over this website, is about 800 years old. That makes it roughly 800 years older than the market. We'd like to think it's proud of us.
Last year's big achievements
And just like that, Southampton's most impressive event gets into the bin. Here's what we managed last year.
- Less beer sales than ever before
- More online complaints than we've ever had
- An increase in trade for Hubbly Bubbly Vape Shop
Live on the main stage
We've put a proper bit of effort into the line-up this year, and we're pleased to confirm the headline act: Fred Dinenage. It's a Northern Soul set. We did check, and that's what he's doing. Full bill's below.
Fred Dinenage
The Flying Santa•Peppa Pig•Only Bjorn
One Portsmouth supporter•Royston Smith's parade•Matt Le Tissier, in a personal capacity
- 6:15amThe Flying SantaThe flying Santa returns, crossing the market on a wire at 6.15am only, a nice morning crossing. We're aware that's early. It was the slot that was going.
- AfternoonsPeppa PigPeppa Pig does a meet and greet next to Porky Pigs, the hot roast pork roll stand. She's asked twice to be moved. There's nowhere else to put her.
- One day onlyOne Portsmouth supporterOne Portsmouth supporter, attending under supervision as part of a cultural exchange. We've spent more on security for this act than we have on the act. He's been asked to be gone by three.
- SaturdaysRoyston Smith's paradeRoyston Smith, our former MP, leads the LGBT+ parade down Above Bar Street in a sequinned rainbow cape. In nine years he never once voted against the party line, so as far as we're concerned this is now official policy.
- SundaysOnly BjornAn ABBA tribute act. Only Bjorn though. They couldn't get the other ones, and have asked us not to make a thing out of it.
- Boxing DayMatt Le TissierMatt Le Tissier pops in, in a personal capacity, and will happily sign anything, except photos of Franny Benali.
Find the Golden Pineapple
Win unlimited free drinks and sausages
The Golden Pineapple is back, after a few years off following what our insurer still refers to as 'the Saturday'. There's a golden pineapple hidden somewhere in the market.
Find it first and you win free drinks and sausages for the rest of the day, though 'unlimited' now means four, and a member of staff will sit with you while you have them. Ask a stallholder if you're stuck. They've been briefed this time.
You'll need to sign something before you start looking, and something else when you find it. It runs Tuesdays only, between two and half past, when it's quieter. Not real gold, not for eating, and please don't try to eat it.
We made a video game
Leg It! Five bits of Southampton, a boss at the end of each one.
Run from Above Bar to St Mary's. Stomp the gulls, dodge Lorraine (she only needs 50p for the bus), and get past a boss in every area, including a man who really wants you on his ride.
Make it all the way to the end and there's a prize. We're keeping quiet about what it is, mostly because it's not very good.
Play Leg It!Free, on your phone or computer.
Top of the board
Find your way around
There's a few different bits to the market, all squeezed into the half of the precinct we've taken over. Have a wander. And do stop at a standing table in the bar on the way, they get a bit lonely.
Times are rough guides. If a cabin looks shut, we probably just couldn't sell it.
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The Bratwurst Quarter
Best valueDaily, 11am til the grill goes cold, or we can't be arsedA line of grills doing bratwurst, currywurst, and a couple of things ending in "wurst" that we're a bit less sure about. You can get ten for the price of nine, and the bun just about fits about a third of the sausage in. People do still ask for a 'giant wiener', and no, the staff don't react anymore.
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The Fairground
Midday til too lateMore rides than you'd strictly expect for the space, and priced to match. Pay the cost of a short holiday if you've got the kids with you. Absolutely nothing to do with Christmas, and all the rides are balanced on wooden stilts, perfect.
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The Bar
Open 11am til it all gets a bit muchA tenner just about gets you a pint and a quiet moment to reflect on that. There's meant to be a proper German bar in here somewhere, we're told it's happening, and we've been told that for a fair while now tbh. We have no idea if it's Fosters or Carling we're serving this year.
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Kingdom of Sweets
Open 10am til the kids come down off the sugarA big shiny chalet selling American sweets and fizzy drinks by weight, which is a bold pricing choice. It's set up directly in front of Poundland, so if you fancy a quick price comparison, it's right there, and it's brutal.
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Dick and Dom in da Bungalow
New for 2026Most days, til something gets brokenSanta's Grotto has been handed to Dick and Dom this year. Same building, same queue, same photos. Bogies is on the half hour, creamy muck goes over whoever's nearest, and the grotto's been signed off as load bearing, which is more than it was before. Santa's still about. He's been moved to the bar, which suits him.
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Keith
Not bookableMost days, from whenever Keith turns upKeith is somewhere in the market. He's not a stall, he's not staff, and nobody's entirely sure who invited him. He's here most days, and to be honest the place looks a bit off when he isn't.
Have a
look round
A few from recent years, straight off the Samsung Galaxy S8 Edge Linda has. Make your own mind up.
Some of the lovely things people say
Some kind words, and even a couple of lovely gold stars, from last year's market. 84% of you would recommend us, which we think is lovely. All of these are completely real, and all given five stars by us, because we're generous like that.
“PossiblythebestChristmasMarketinSouthamptonCityCentre!”
Tenner for a pint, plus a free guilt trip about your personal finances. Can't imagine why you're not packed.
Karen, PortswoodVerified pint purchase
Can't wait for a £10 hotdog and an £8 glass of Aldi wine while I get soaking wet looking at Temu tat in garden sheds.
Gary, MillbrookAlready soaking wet
Germans did a better job of the market.
Sandra, BitterneBeen to Germany once
Buckfast, vomit and fighting? Yeeeeessss.
Dazza, WoolstonVerified Saturday night
It looks finished to me! Can't wait to visit tomorrow, I've borrowed £75 from my kids' money box to buy a beer.
Steve, LordshillBudgeted accordingly
Why oh why, at the busiest time of the year for shopping, do we obstruct more than half the pedestrian precinct with this horrendous market? All it sells is crap tat and unhealthy food.
Trevor, ShirleyWalked the whole precinct
Ordered a baguette. Received a finger roll. Round here, we just call them baguettes.
Malcolm, SholingDisputes our labelling
Hello pavement space, I've missed you.
Janet, FreemantlePosted the morning after pack-down
Questions we get a lot
Mostly the same handful, to be fair. Here they are, along with roughly what we tend to tell people.
Is there parking?
There's the Westquay car parks, and there's the park and ride. The park and ride is lovely, right up until the moment you actually need to get home, at which point it quietly becomes a rumour.
Is there actually a German bar?
Yes. Maybe. Depends what you count as 'German'. I met a German guy once, he couldn't say the word 'kangaroo', maybe that's what makes them German.
Are the rides safe?
They're technically checked over by Mark, a guy in our office. Each morning he has a good look at them for a bit, gives a nod, and wanders off. We're not entirely sure what the nod means, but he seems happy enough.
How much is a pint?
Let's just say it's a bargain. We've had a lot of feedback on this, we've read all of it. You love it.
Is it any good for kids?
They'll love it, for no real reason. Just bring a bit more money than you've mentally set aside, and be ready to explain why they can't go on every single ride. You will lose that conversation, by the way.
Do you take card?
Some stalls do, the street beggars don't though. There's a cashpoint by the Poundland, so it's worth getting a bit of cash out before you start, for Lisa.
Will Keith be there?
Yes.
Take the market home with you
Stick the app on your phone for the occasional update, opening dates, the odd ride being shut, that sort of thing. Remember that annoying government warning you got about not starting fires? This lets us do that, you'll love it!
It's about the only reliable way to find out if Santa is or isn't on a smoke break.
Questions, complaints, strong opinions
We read everything, eventually. There's 9,000 of you following along on Facebook, and a fair few are only there to argue with us in the comments, which is fine, that's half the fun. Complaints about the price of a pint go in a special folder. It's a big folder now.
Opening times
Monday to Wednesday, 11am to 10pm
Thursday to Saturday, 10am to 10pm
Sunday, 11am to 7pm
Find us, if you must
Above Bar Street, Southampton, SO14 7. You'll walk through us whether you meant to or not. We judge you if you can't find us.
