Oxford Covered Market

Oxford

A wander and a lunch stop in the heart of Oxford

When we take a day out in Oxford from the cottage, the Covered Market is almost always where we end up drifting. It sits right in the centre, tucked between the High Street and Market Street with entrances on both, and it has been trading on the same spot since 1774, when the city first moved its butchers and grocers in off the streets. Step through one of the arched doorways and you're in a labyrinth of narrow avenues under a high glass-and-timber roof, with more than fifty independent traders packed in around you. It's free to wander, so there's no pressure to buy anything; we'll happily lose half an hour just looking before we decide what to eat.

The range is genuinely surprising for somewhere so compact. There are old-fashioned butchers still trimming cuts to order, a proper florist, a fishmonger, cheese and charcuterie counters, chocolatiers and a sweet shop or two, alongside barbers, cobblers and independent clothing stalls. The market has become a bit of a foodie destination over the years, and for good reason: this is where you'll find the famous cookie and coffee spots that get talked about online, plus cafés and hot-food traders doing everything from a slow brunch to a quick lunch on the hoof. We usually treat it as our midday stop on a bigger Oxford day, then carry on to the colleges and museums with a coffee in hand.

How we tend to do it

Here's roughly how a visit shakes out for us, whether we're after lunch, a picnic to take back, or just a browse between other stops.

• Lunch on the spotThe hot-food traders and cafés are the easiest win: grab a table, or eat standing at one of the counters. It's relaxed, quick and a world away from a fussy sit-down restaurant.
• A picnic for the gardenBread, cheese, charcuterie and some fruit from the market travel beautifully back to the cottage. Assemble it in the garden and you've a properly good afternoon for very little effort.
• The sweet stuffThe cookie and confectionery stalls are non-negotiable with children in tow, and the milkshakes keep everyone moving between colleges without complaint.
• Just a browseSome days we buy nothing at all and simply wander the avenues, watching the traders work. That's a perfectly good use of the market too.

When to go, and getting there

The market is open through the week, with individual traders keeping their own hours, so it's worth arriving mid-morning when everything is up and running. Thursday to Saturday it stays open into the evening, which turns the place into something closer to a Continental night market, with street food and a livelier crowd. Saturdays around late morning are our favourite for atmosphere; a weekday is calmer if you'd rather take your time. Do check ahead if you're making a special trip for one particular trader, as opening times shift.

From the cottage it's about forty minutes by car into central Oxford. Parking in the middle of the city is tight and expensive, so we almost always use one of the park-and-rides on the ring road and let the bus drop us a short walk from the market. Once you're there everything worth seeing is within a few streets: the Ashmolean Museum, the Bodleian and Radcliffe Square, and plenty of good pubs. When we want a proper lunch rather than a market bite, The Bear Inn is one of the oldest pubs in the city and only minutes away. For the wider picture, our guide to things to do and see pulls together the rest of an Oxford day.

“Pick up a sourdough loaf, some local cheese and charcuterie from the market, then bring it all back to the cottage garden for lunch. That's a properly good afternoon.”

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Also nearby

• Ashmolean Museum · Museum · Oxford
• The Bear Inn · Pub · Oxford
• Oxford · City · Oxfordshire