Time for a mooch!
Recommendation added: 02/04/2006 23:59
By: dewberry (YSUK rating +700)dewberry has been thanked 6 times for this contribution
"Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday is Brownhills Market Day. Set just off Brownhills main shopping street, this market has just about everything crammed into a fairly small space.
I usually go on a Tuesday as the crowds tend to be smaller, Saturday market days seem to get ridiculously packed with people to the point of not being able to get near some of the stalls.
Car parking isn't good, there's a small car park at the side of the market which is shared with another building. It'll comfortably hold only around 30 cars and spaces are very tight to get into, parking is free however which is great providing you don't mind sitting in the car for half an hour waiting for someone to finish their shopping and leave! There are a few places for parking dotted around in the area, I usually grab a spot in the nearby supermarket car park and wander along the canal to the market.
My absolute favourite part of the market is the huge stall which sells discount price cosmetics. I've had some fantastic bargains from this place including my most recent acquisition of a Clarins face cream with an RRP of £23.00 for a brilliant £8.50! The ultra helpful lady who runs this stall told me they sell them at such hefty discounts as they're in 'last seasons packaging'. Who gives a stuff about that when you're saving so much money?! This stall sells most of the big brand make up and body care smellies at prices starting from a couple of quid, I'd say there's nothing here which costs more than a tenner. The only thing which lets the stall down for me are the dodgy perfumes which they don't pretend are the real thing, but they all have awful copycat names like Opiate…
Another place I have to visit each time is the fruit and veg stall. Here you've got a brilliant selection; all the produce is fresh and clean and it's very reasonably priced. Beware the guy who runs it though, he really does have the gift of the gab and he *will* talk you into buying melons or parsnips which you really don't want… I'll spend around a fiver on this stall and get two well packed carriers bags of apples, strawberries, satsumas, spuds, carrots and other bits and pieces.
The meat stall is pretty good too. OK, I've got to be honest here. I've never bought anything from this butcher as I don't buy meat from outdoor places, full stop. His place is pretty high in the air with the meat displayed at the front, I don't like this set up at all as I can't see how clean the refrigerated area is. My mum doesn't care about such things as cleanliness (ha!) and has bought steak, chicken and various joints of meat from this butcher. His prices are brilliant, and he'll usually chuck a freebie on the scales after weighing the meat out for you. Mum's favourite is the steak as she'll get a carrier bag which is half full of thick steaks for £5, she said its fresh and fantastic quality. Perhaps I'm missing out on something with my hygiene panics…?
There are loads of other stalls. The clothes stalls aren't really anything to write home about, with the exception of one of the larger places which sells some fantastic children's clothes at good prices. The rest seem to be great if you're a size 8 fifteen year old, but most of the items for sale are bad quality and not even particularly cheap. I've bought the odd pair of jeans but nothing else really, other than undies from the wonderful 'bra and knicker' stall where there are some really trendy designs. A couple of stalls sell household goods; washing powder, scourers and the like. Nothing terribly exciting, and not much cheaper than buying them in Tesco.
After a good hour walking around Brownhills market you'll want to have something to eat. There's a choice of jacket potato with a variety of fillings or the old hot dog/burger option. While you've got to commend Brownhills Market for catering for the health conscious, but the potatoes are awful. Over priced, bad service and the potatoes are either undercooked or so stewed that the insides are sloppy. The hot dog place is marginally better, it's cheaper and… well, you can't really go wrong grilling a sausage to stick in a bun can you? Personally, I'd rather walk round the corner onto the high street and grab a cone of chips from the chippy.
To get to Brownhills Market by car, you need to get into the City Centre and take the signs towards Walsall across the North of Birmingham. Brownhills is signposted as you get closer to Walsall and then it's a case of driving up and down the high street until you spot the badly signed market area on the annoyingly one way Silver Street.
I've attempted Brownhills Market on the bus once, and never again. It's impossible for me to explain directions by public transport as it requires umpteen different bus stops and awkward routes."
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