The weekly market and biannual fair thrived, so much so that in 1613 complaints were received from other towns whose business was being affected!  A document dated 1632 shows that prospective buyers and sellers came from all over Merionethshire, Montgomeryshire, Cardiganshire, Carmarthenshire and Denbighshire, Flintshire, Radnorshire, Brecknockshire, Herefordshire and Shropshire.

Mach market day still remains the town’s busiest and most popular day of the week. Large numbers of locals from all of the surrounding areas, as well as visitors from all parts of Britain and  overseas, come to view and buy from the impressive range of  stalls offering a quality and variety of produce and goods not often seen. Foods and produce of all kinds, clothes and textiles, plants, china, jewellery and bric-a-brac, crafts and many unusual and specialist stalls are laid out along the town’s main streets leading from its famous clocktower. As well as the market, where any visitor would be tempted to browse the morning or afternoon away, the town boasts a distinctive array of interesting independent and specialist shops and businesses.

There are pubs and cafes where you can sit and watch the world go by. There are also many tourist attractions both within and close to the town, as well as beautiful walks in the surrounding countryside. The Wales Museum of Modern Art, MOMA, Wales, also presents talks and performances on market days. For a brief overview and thumbnail sketches of some of the stalls you will find in the market, click here