As the days get shorter, there’s no need to make your way home when the daylight starts to disappear.
Autumn and the run-up to Christmas are a great time to discover a different side of Market Drayton. Come for the afternoon, explore the town, find somewhere good to eat and stay around as the lights come on and the evening begins.
Come for the afternoon
Give yourself time to have a proper wander.
Start around the town centre and the Buttercross, explore some of the streets leading away from it and take a look at the independent businesses you discover along the way.
Market Drayton has plenty of history to uncover too. This is a market town with stories of gingerbread, cheese, canals and markets stretching back through the centuries.
If you fancy stretching your legs, head down towards the Shropshire Union Canal and enjoy a walk before returning to town as the evening draws in.
Stay for something to eat
Don’t rush home for dinner.
As afternoon turns into evening, there are plenty of places around Market Drayton to stop for something good to eat.
Settle in for a curry at one of the town’s Indian restaurants, find a cosy pub for dinner, choose a restaurant or café, or pick up a takeaway to enjoy later.
Pizza, fish and chips, Chinese, Indian and other takeaway choices mean there are plenty of options if you want something quick, while an evening meal gives you an excuse to sit down, relax and make a little more of your visit.
And while you’re here, look out for some of the flavours associated with Market Drayton itself. This is, after all, a town famous for its gingerbread and with a long connection to cheese.
Watch Market Drayton change as the lights come on
There is something rather lovely about a market town at dusk.
The shop windows begin to glow, lights appear in pubs and restaurants and familiar streets start to feel a little different.
As we get closer to Christmas, there will be even more reason to stay into the evening as the town takes on its festive feel.
So instead of seeing the fading daylight as the end of your visit, make it part of the experience.
Catch a film or a show
You can make a whole evening of it with a visit to the Festival Drayton Centre.
Take a look at what’s on, choose a film or live performance and combine it with something to eat or drink in town.
It’s an easy way to turn a simple trip into a proper afternoon and evening out.
Or just find a good pub
Not every visit needs an itinerary.
Sometimes it’s enough to spend the evening exploring, find somewhere for dinner and then settle into one of Market Drayton’s pubs for a drink.
Bring friends, meet someone in town or simply find somewhere warm after an autumn walk.
There’s more happening as Christmas approaches
The next few months will bring events, activities and plenty of reasons to return to Market Drayton.
Keep an eye on the Make it Market Drayton What’s On listings to see what’s happening and build an afternoon or evening around something that catches your eye.
You don’t always need to travel to a city for an evening out. Sometimes a market town, good food, a film or show, a pub and a wander under the lights are just what you need.
Come in the afternoon. Stay for dinner. See what’s on. Enjoy the evening.
Discover Market Drayton after dark.
