Short answer: A pannier market is a covered Victorian market hall, and Devon has the best of them. Barnstaple and Tavistock both run Tuesday to Saturday, 9am to 4pm; South Molton is Thursday and Saturday mornings only; Holsworthy is currently closed.
A covered market hall, usually Victorian, where traders sold from panniers carried in by packhorse. Devon has several of the best surviving examples, and they matter more than they sound: they are properly indoors, which in a Devon winter makes them the answer to a wet day.
Days and times below were confirmed with each market or its council in late October 2026, rather than copied from a listings site. That turned out to matter — see Holsworthy.
Tuesday to Saturday, 9am to 4pm. The biggest of them: a vast covered Victorian hall in the middle of town with independent stalls covering crafts, plants, books, clothes and food. Dog friendly and level underfoot. Barnstaple is the end of the Tarka Line from Exeter, which makes it the easiest market in the county to reach without a car.
Tuesday to Saturday, 9am to 4pm, with a different market each day:
Closed Mondays and Sundays for most of the year, but it opens through the Christmas run-up: Sunday 7, 14 and 21 December and Monday 15 and 22 December. Tavistock has been voted the best market town in Britain, and the hall is the reason.
Thursday and Saturday, 8.30am to 1pm, all year. Note the early finish — this is a morning market, and turning up at two means an empty hall. It also runs a full calendar of one-off events: a salvage fair on 15 November and 20 December, a flea market on 1 November, a Festival of Food and Drink on 29 November, Winter Wonderland on 4 December and the Fatstock Show on 6 December. The Christmas lights switch on there on Saturday 21 November, 5pm to 9pm, with the switch-on itself at 7pm.
Friday and Saturday, general market, in the Pannier Market hall off the square. Torridge District Council lists the days but not the times, so treat it as market-morning hours and go early.
Run by Bideford Town Council, and the one market here that does not publish a fixed weekly timetable online. The hall hosts ad hoc markets — arts and crafts among them — alongside regular themed events, with French markets and farmers' fairs in the town at weekends. If you are making a trip of it, ring the town council on 01237 428817 or check their Facebook page first rather than assuming it is open.
Saturday, a mini market. Small, and worth combining with Bideford or Appledore rather than driving for on its own.
Torridge District Council lists Holsworthy Pannier Market as currently closed. Several widely shared guides still say it opens on Wednesdays. It does not, and a wet Wednesday in Holsworthy with children in the car is a bad way to find that out.
Tiverton, Honiton, Axminster, Totnes and Okehampton all appear on listings sites with confident opening days attached. We could not confirm any of them against the market or its council, so they are not listed above with days we cannot stand behind. Check directly before travelling, and we will add them here once they are confirmed.
This is the thing that catches people out. Most run Tuesday to Saturday, which means Sunday and Monday visitors find the hall shut. Check the town council listing before building a day around one.
Barnstaple has a free museum by the Long Bridge, closed Sundays. Tavistock has the Meadows park and Dartmoor on its doorstep.
Pick a town and plan the day around who's with you.
Browse all Devon town guides →