A Look at Sneinton Market in Nottingham

Back in its hay day Sneinton Market in Nottingham was considered one of the best markets in the county, a Penny Lane style market that was always busy. Chat to any member of my family and you will hear stories of how great it was.

With the rise of the supermarket though, places such as Sneinton Market became run down and a hub for vandalism and up until a few years ago it was a sad site for the most part.

But with lots of small businsses making a come back, we are now lucky enough to see the start of the regeneration of this once thriving part of Nottingham.
Blend coffee shop has become my favourite haunts for a coffee, cake and yummy toasties. It is a really family friendly place and has an outside area for those warmer days. They also serve a great selection of beers and ciders.

Blend has been host to outdoor cinemas and events and have really helped to bring the area along. Then with the opening of the Fox and Grapes it means that even more of the rundown areas of the market were being regenerated.

Now we have The Watered Garden, Neon Raptor Brewery, Luisa's Vegan Chocolates as well as lots of other small independent shops, food outlets, and popup shops. Add to that some really great street art and it is beginning to look like somewhere people will start to flock too once again.

There are lots of pop up markets both in the square and in the lanes, I purchased a beautiful ring from eLaTion Jewellery last weekend, a lovely lady who has some really beautiful items and this was a lovely way to showcase her jewellery.

In fact this weekend the lanes are host to the Nottingham Craft Beer Festival, a celebration of local beers from some of the great new breweries that have been popping up all over this county in the past few years. So if you like craft beer and are a bit lost for something to do this weekend then there are three sessions to choose from on Friday and Saturday. Plus, you’ll be supporting lots of local crafts people doing what they do best.

This area is a wonderful place to meet friends and have a wander, parking is usually relatively easy with a car park just over the road (first hour free) as well as on street parking, there is also a lovely park and even Stonebridge City Farm within easy reach too. 

Saving Money with Klean Kanteen

How much do you spend on lunches, coffees on the go and food and drink on days out with the family?

We have been challenged by the people at Klean Kanteen to see how much we can save over the course of a month using their drinks bottles and food canisters for our lunches both for work, school and days out, as well as thinking about the environment and how much packaging we can cut down on.

My husband often has hot drinks on the go during his trips to London, I often buy lunches instead of taking something to work and although we always try to take some on our days out, drinks can get expensive whether hot or cold.

The bright drinks bottles are perfect for both kids and adults alike, and with double-wall vacuum insulation it keeps your drink warm for 12 hours or cold for 24 hours, leak proof caps and stainless steel meaning no flavours are absorbed. The food canisters keep stuff warm for 4 hours and cold for 12 hours, they are BPA free and food grade stainless steel.

So how much will we save, probably spend between £3-£8 per week some weeks on food for work, my husband probably spends between £10-15 a week if he is in London for a few days, then if we go out at the weekend we might by a drink or two each, we usually take a picnic and this will make it much easier to take food in to keep cool, especially now it's summer.

So overall, over the month I anticipate we will save at least £100, so over the year we could potentially save between £670-£1170.

So keep an eye on our progress, over on Instagram and Twitter and our follow up post in a months time.

Klean Kanteen are available from selected retailers across the UK and are distributed by Whitby & Co, all products are available through them as well as a selection of other great products perfect for life's adventures.

This is a collaborative post, all words and photos are my own.