Held every Sunday in the grounds of the Harris Academy and allowing for a decent Sunday morning lie-in with its opening time of 11.30am, the boot has been run since 1999 by the Hobson family, Tracey, Martyn and their sons Jak and Harry.
Tracey says: “We have a maximum capacity for 130 vehicles plus we get walk-in sellers in varying numbers. We have some 150-160 sellers and 1500-2000 buyers.’’
This boot is highly organised and operates a staggered price and time arrival for both buyers and sellers.
“For sellers, this came about because we were so in demand and queues got silly at six hours or more, so we now book and guarantee pitches for our sellers,’’ said Tracey.
There’s also the option of a premium pitch which costs more. The 11am slot is popular with a car pitch costing £30 and all bookings go live every Monday for the following Sunday.
For buyers, there’s a three-tiered entry/price system starting at £5 for 11.30am entry with some premium pitch sellers already on site who usually have the higher-quality goods.
Large queues form for the 1.30pm entry at 50p.
Admission is free for small children, with the site saying: “We no longer set an age limit for children as many people will happily hold up the queue to argue that their 6ft tall son with a moustache is only nine so they don’t have to pay for him!”
Week in, week out, the Battersea Boot, especially since it really took off in 2003-04, is a big pull with sellers and buyers.
