My Favourite Places to Treasure Hunt Outside London
Some of my go-to vintage treasure hunting spots outside of London 🔍💫
A little glimpse at the jewellery heaven that is Sunbury Antiques Market
Pretty much whenever I’m visiting uni friends, on a hen do or on holiday with my family, best believe I’m Googling ‘antiques near me’.
After a few years of some major hits and plenty of misses, these are my tried and tested favourites. I’m obviously mainly there to hunt down jewellery, but I always end up finding plenty of other treasures along the way.
Just a tiny selection of the MANY jewellery cabinets I’ve rummaged through at Battlesbridge
Battlesbridge Antiques Centre, Essex
One of my longest-running haunts is the amazing Battlesbridge. I first discovered it when I was temporarily living in Essex after a break-up, long story, and I’ve been going back multiple times a year ever since.
I would describe it as a mini village of heaven, made up of multiple buildings and courtyards housing more than 80 dealers. They also host events throughout the year, including jumble sales, antiques fairs and craft markets.
As one of the largest antiques centres in the South East, it’s an absolute whopper and I’d recommend giving yourself a full day or at least an afternoon to properly explore. I’ve genuinely never left empty-handed, so this one is very much worth a visit.
Make sure you head to the café at the top of the main building.
Some of Yoxford’s jewellery cabinets + two 9ct gold garnet beauties I picked up on my visit
Yoxford Antiques Centre, Suffolk
I visited Yoxford last summer while on holiday in Suffolk and managed to find some beautiful vintage jewellery.
It’s a big space with over 70 dealers and is filled with literally a bit of everything. They had an insane collection of jewellery boxes, trinket tins and old perfume bottles that I was obsessed with.
It’s the perfect spot for an afternoon mooch and there’s a café out the back which did the perfect sausage sandwich.
I often find that antiques centres, understandably being housed in old and listed buildings, aren’t always the most accessible, but this one has great wheelchair accessibility.
Silver charms, SO many cherub jewels and a ring I might have treated myself to…
Sunbury Antiques Market, Surrey
I feel like I was very late to the party with Sunbury Antiques Market, but I’m very glad I finally jumped on the bandwagon.
Held at Kempton Park Racecourse every second Tuesday, it’s technically in Surrey but conveniently only around 30 minutes on the train from Waterloo. Most importantly, it is antique jewellery heaven.
This is a proper early doors market, opening at 6:30am, but I’ve visited a few times and arrived as late as 9am and still come home with so many gorgeous pieces. If you’re looking for a specific type of jewellery, this is the place I’d go. You’ll find everything from loose charms and silver rings to higher-end antique pieces.
This place is HUGE, as in hundreds of traders huge, so if you’re mainly there for jewellery, make sure you head inside first as that’s where I’ve found most of the jewellery dealers.
Find them: Instagram, Website
A few Malvern finds + just some of the MANY rings that came home with me
Malvern Flea & Collectors Fair, Worcestershire
This summer I finally had the chance to go to Malvern Flea and it was everything I hoped for.
Held at the Three Counties Showground, it’s absolutely massive. Similarly to Sunbury, if you’re there for jewellery, make sure you head into the big sheds as that’s where I found most of the jewellery dealers.
One thing I loved, which I haven’t seen at many other fairs, was the number of bulk silver sellers. Some sell silver by weight, so you can have a proper rummage and hunt out the best pieces for a really good price. Basically my idea of heaven.
One tip: get your cash before you go! When I visited, the cash machines were very temperamental and it’s a bit in the middle of nowhere, so come prepared.
An essential treasure hunting ice cream break + some of the jewellery inside Uzella Court Antiques
Lostwithiel, Cornwall
Having grown up on the Devon and Cornwall border, I’ve visited Lostwithiel, also known as the antiques capital of Cornwall, many times and it is magical.
The town is filled with gorgeous antique shops and if you’re looking for more Cornwall-specific treasures, like Cornish pixies and vintage glass, this is the place to go.
There are also some great independent shops selling crafts and local art, plus plenty of lovely cafés where you can sit and admire whatever you’ve just bought over a coffee. It’s the perfect place to spend a day mooching.
Lostwithiel also hosts an antiques and collectors fair on the second Sunday of every month. I haven’t been yet, I WILL be going, but I’ve heard very good things and can’t wait to visit.
Find them: Website
The Antique Village has an entire room dedicated to jewellery which is a dangerous game
The Antique Village, Exeter
Another one close to home for me is The Antique Village in Hele. It was originally a cider factory, so, you guessed it, it’s massive.
There are three floors and over 90 independent dealers selling everything from furniture and homeware to, of course, jewellery.
If you can’t already tell, I love a café, and this antiques centre has a great one. It’s almost built into the antiques centre itself, so even the furniture you end up sitting on or looking at can be for sale.
Most importantly, make sure you head downstairs into the basement because there’s an insane collection of vintage gold charms down there.
Just a few treasures and snaps from my many jewellery finding missions
Where to next?
Even if you’re not a jewellery person, all of these places are packed with amazing homeware, ceramics, art, furniture, toys and pretty much anything else you can think of.
The list of places I want to visit is ever-growing, and I realise my recommendations are currently very South of England and Midlands-heavy. That’s mainly because of where I grew up and where my friends and family are based, but I’m planning a few weekends away so I can take my treasure hunting further afield and hopefully find even more gems to share with you guys.
Save this for your next treasure-hunting mission and let me know your favourite spots in the comments. I’m always looking for an excuse to add another antiques centre to my list.