Gloucester Green vs. Covered Market: a Knock-Down Drag-Out Battle to the Death

Ok, not really. So far as we can tell, the two have co-existed for a long time without any friction between them. But we ourselves are often torn between the one and the other, so maybe this is a battle in our souls. Here’s our take on the two best, and best-known, Oxford markets. the one at Gloucester Green and the Covered Market. We worried that, like so much we had loved before the pandemic, they would either have disappeared or just be, well, shitty. Great news: they are both smaller but there is still one of each of the things you need: mongers of vegetables and fruits, fish, bread cheese and eggs, tea, and meat. The stalls selling vintage clothes and used books seem to be very much depleted, but you can’t eat them so we’re less bothered.

So who wins? Luckily, we don’t have to choose! We do a regular run to Gloucester Green every Wednesday morning for vegetables, cheese, and bread, and go to the Covered Market when we need something we can’t find there (rhubarb, most recently). We also count on the Covered Market for our fast pie fix and our tea (Oxford Breakfast) and the occasional gelato when the need comes upon us. Gloucester Green, on the other hand, has provided many a quick lunch and they have four different stalls selling dumplings, located a two-minute walk from where we live. So probably that means it wins, by a hair.