Bristol Vintage Fair

Last weekend three of my housemates were away seeing boyfriends and one had an essay tying her down, so the house was left feeling a little empty. Becca and I are a bit like toddlers in that we can rarely sit still for long periods of time and both need regular entertaining, so we were left twiddling our thumbs at what to do with such a lonely Saturday. However, this is Bristol and there is always something interesting happening to alleviate boredom for the likes of Becca and me.

It was a beauty of a day, the sun was shining and the air was clear and cold, so we wrapped up warm and strolled down to the Passenger Shed, smack bang next to Temple Meads station, to hit up the Bristol Vintage Fair. The Vintage Fair comes to Bristol 4 times a year, as well as many other cities, and is a haven for vintage goods, from beautiful fur coats to intricate jewellery, sweet little knick knacks and old vinyls. Big buckets overspilled with silk scarves in front of rails bursting with old shirts, jackets and jewels. There were a maze of stalls sprawled out underneath the beautiful vaulted ceiling, while a live band pumped out tunes from the 50s and 60s. It's hard to know where to begin, but with these kind of things you need to just dive in and see where the rails take you!

With such a huge variety, you are bound to find something that takes your fancy. I found this very sweet delicate silver cross bracelet at a jewellery stand swimming with quirky little pieces. I've been admiring ones similar to this for awhile and, at £5, this one was a fraction of the price of those I've been eyeing up.

Inevitably, Becca and I were drawn to the back wall where Sam's Jams were offering a selection of their finest homemade jams and chutneys, including free samples. Needless to say, we struggled to decide on which one we liked the most, so simply had to try them all until they ran out of dipping croutons. In the end we went for an apple and sage chutney, all wrapped up in its cute little packaging.

It is delish and, at a mere £2, worth every dime. (We may or may not have demolished half the jar in a bout of drunken munchies later that night, but that's beside the point)

As all good vintage fairs should, it promised a mouthwatering array of tea and cakes and so after a good hunt through the vintage maze we turned our sights on the cafe. Crushingly, by the time we got there they had completely sold out of all sweet treats- not a scone or cupcake in sight. Sob. Nevertheless, a good cup of tea will never go amiss with me, especially when it is served in tea cups as pretty as these:

My advice would definitely be to go in the morning. We ambled down at about 2pm and, although there were still masses of beautiful clothes, a lot of the cheaper gems had been snapped up in the morning. A few friends of mine went before lunch and came back with armfuls and armfuls of clothes all for under £50. Whilst the clothes we saw were not expensive, they were not that different price-wise from high street shops (although here you will be getting one of a kind vintage pieces which you can't put a price on for their authenticity). Also the lack of cake was truly upsetting (ever the foodie).

They haven't yet specified when the next fair will be, but when it does come back around make sure you head down. There's a lovely atmosphere aside from anything else and you are most likely to bump into a friendly face.

Fortunately for Becca and I, the German Christmas market was only a short stroll away so we made up for our lack of cake with copious amounts of roast chestnuts and massive German sausages. That is one thing you can always rely on Bristol for: a full stomach by the end of the day.

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