Europe's Largest Covered Market - Kirkgate Markets, Leeds

I am currently house and cat sitting in a small residential community that is almost equidistant to Leeds, Harrogate, and York. There is excellent bus service so although I’m in a small village overlooking pastures and hedgerows, there are lots of places to visit.

I spent a day in Leeds yesterday and my first stop (obviously!) was at the market.

I walked out of the bus station and straight into an immense covered market selling everything you could possibly imagine! At 10,000 square feet with large outdoor and indoor areas, there are 800 stalls where you can buy everything from fruit and vegetables to mattresses and furniture.

There are also numerous small cafés as well as a news agent, a florist, and a hair salon.

The cafés seemed to be popular with construction crews and other labourers.

Rambling from one hall to another brought to mind a similar maze of stalls and goods in Middle-Eastern souqs. I found the variety of goods amusing but did notice some stands, bakeries in particular, selling what looked like decent food products.

What really dazzles, however, is the architecture. The outdoor market was first in 1822 followed by numerous covered halls from 1850 to 1875.

A new, very elaborate hall opened at the front of the market in 1904.

Marks & Spencer opened its first location as a penny bazaar in Kirkgate in 1884.

Judging by the façade, markets had a much higher community value in the past than they do nowadays.