We visited the ‘best farmers market’ in Birmingham and one stall had queues down the street

I walked up to the Moseley Farmers’ Market just after it opened at 9am, expecting to get the first drinks of whatever I like for breakfast, but the market was already filling up. A few stalls even had queues already formed.

It wasn’t exactly market time, but the community event takes place on the last Saturday of every month, rain or shine. When I visited the market last summer, with £10 in my pocket, it was buzzing after having just been named the best farmers market in the whole of Britain, and although the title has since been wrested from Durham’s Castle Bernard, this award… the winning market just four miles from Birmingham city center shows no signs of letting up.

Trendy suburbs like to call themselves a village, but Moseley really feels like one on market day. Stallholders chat with shoppers like friends and people buy fresh fruit and vegetables, bread, cheese and handicrafts from corrugated-striped-roof stands that line the street on both sides.

Read more: I visited a lovely village near Birmingham for a pub lunch and I can see why the locals are concerned

There were stalls selling beautiful boxes of coffee from Kenya, Brazil and Peru, dog biscuits that looked like human treats from The Dogs Daily, fruit cider and wine from Tom Norbury’s, a double sized stall stocked with meat and more offering luxury chocolates, candles and skincare, potted plants and crated fresh vegetables. The other side of the road was dedicated to non-edible goodies – artwork, colored notebooks, jewelery and ceramics.

I made my way back to the food section, where hearty samosas were bubbling, sausages and bacon sizzling on the grill from the Pick’s Organic Farm stall, and plump pancakes were being served opposite hot pork-filled oxtails. A company in Staffordshire sold scotch eggs the size of tennis balls, one called Pip’s had bottled sauces with catchy names like Kick Ass Ketchup and Boozy BBQ, and a cheese stall at the top of the street labeled Curds & Whey proved very popular.

The street smelled incredible, and it suddenly occurred to me that the rule “don’t go shopping at the supermarket when you’re hungry” probably applies to farmers’ markets. But it was too late for all that. The longest queue, now snaking all the way through the square and onto the street, was for Hindley’s bakery – and it wasn’t hard to see why.

The table was full of floury baguettes and breads of all shapes and sizes – dough, focaccia and bloomers, some adorned with nuts, red onion, olives or cheese, plus golden pastries, thick scones, flapjacks and iced biscuits. I tried the olive and cherry tomato focaccia last time I came and it was phenomenal, but I was keen to try something different.

I dipped next door where Morecocoa served ‘real hot chocolate’ made from melted chocolate at £4 for a large. “This is the good stuff,” the guy told me as he spooned a spoonful of the steaming thick liquid into a cup, then mixed it with milk before adding pink marshmallows and another scoop of melted chocolate for good measure. It came with a spoon and I needed it as the sweet marshmallows had turned into the rich, chocolatey drink. Sky.

Sugar cravings seemingly in excess, I grabbed a few bites to take home – a black and gold brownie filled with chocolate ganache, pockets of velvety caramel and honeycomb on top for £3.50 from Bake and a sticky bun with cinnamon Kinder Bueno from Cinnabox for the same price.

I let Moseley feel warm inside – partly because of the hot chocolate, but also because it felt good to support local businesses. It wasn’t until I got home that I realized I’d been walking around with chocolate smeared on my cheek, but it was totally worth it.

The market operates on the last Saturday of every month.