Sooo where can you spoil yourself in Bristol for under a fiver? Well for the sweet toothed out there I beckon you to St Nicholas covered market. Situated off Corn Street in town, I discovered this badly kept secret after a morning spent exploring the market one Saturday. The urge came on strongly for some kind of pick me up and this is what I stumbled upon.

Nestled amongst bookshops and pet shops towards the back of the market ‘Treasure Island’ reveals itself in its window display; row upon row of brightly coloured sugar coated confectionary glitter tauntingly back at you. Once inside it is easy to be taken aback by the sheer number of things crammed into the tiny square footage. The eye is almost assaulted by walls lined with jars of sweets form yesteryear. Novelty sweets, boiled sweets, bonbons, chocolate, special occasion sweets in every shape, sort, size and description surround you. From Acid Drops to Fizzy Fish and from Pear drops to Candy Canes the list is endless! For under a pound you can buy 100g of whatever you choose. Some of my favourites such as Rhubarb and Custard sweets and Sherbet Fountains I thought had long disappeared but are among the best sellers here.

Perhaps boringly I chose Flying Saucers on my first visit due to being almost befuddled by choice, but each subsequent trip has concluded with more adventurous purchases. It really is the price as mentioned earlier that makes Treasure Island so attractive; you really can spoil yourself for just a few quid.

So, if you looking for a change from the standard sweets available everywhere then check this out. In the case of Treasure Island the clichéd saying ‘like a kid in a sweet shop’ has never been more precedent.

Lucinda Dunseath