CAR parks at Bicester Village were reportedly full by 9am this morning as the annual rush to grab Boxing Day bargains began.
In a now annual tradition for December 26, thousands of bargain hunters from across the country have flocked to the outlet centre to get post-Christmas deals.
And, in a parallel tradition, shoppers have taken to social media to share their experiences of the surreal ritual.
Will Tucker tweeted to say that at 7am this morning, he saw more than 30 people queueing outside the then-locked gates of Marylebone Station in London waiting to catch the 8am train to Bicester Village to go shopping.
Boxing Day, 07:00:
— Will Tucker (@wmtucker) December 26, 2018
- 30+ people waiting outside locked gates of Marylebone for @chilternrailway 08:00 to Bicester Village
- Security Guards and cattle fences outside @Selfridges for sales crowds
- 20 people waiting outside @footlocker Marble Arch
- buses busy into central London
Shortly after 8.30am Stephen Higgs tweeted that he had just dropped his wife off and the centre was already busy:
Just dropped the mrs off at Bicester Village....already starting to get crazy busy up there! #BoxingDay
— Higgsy (@StephenHiggs) December 26, 2018
Twitter user Cagla Ayik shared this surreal photograph of illuminated shop windows against a dark sky as the rush began before the sun had even risen:
#BicesterVillage pic.twitter.com/c9JuB5HVkV
— cagla ayik (@CaglaAyik) December 26, 2018
And shortly afterwards, Oxfordshire County Council leader Ian Hudspeth tweeted that the car parks were already full, and urged people to use the town's park and ride bus service:
The car parks @bicestervillage are full all ready with people queuing outside the shops. Use the Park & Ride @BBCOxTravel @OxfordshireCC ( no I’m not shopping )
— Ian Hudspeth (@ianhudspeth) December 26, 2018
Among those businesses urging people to come along today is the relatively-new Cafe Wolseley, which tweeted about its Boxing Day special offers:
Visit #TheWolseleyShop from today until Sunday 6th January and enjoy 40% off all #WolseleyCollection items. Visit our shop in Bicester Village to discover our full range pic.twitter.com/pwH1bLGlYX
— CafeWolseley (@CafeWolseley) December 26, 2018
Aamir Idrees said he had already spent an hour queueing at Prada at Bicester Village this morning, only to discover there was a fault with the tills:
@bicestervillage just queued up at Prada Bicester village for over an hour only to find out their tills are not working and so they’ve not been letting anyone in for past 45 minutes, only told us when one gentleman went and enquired, complete joke! #pradaBicesterPoorManagement
— Aamir Idrees (@Aamirio) December 26, 2018
Meanwhile Will McCallum realised too late the effect the Boxing Day bonanza would have on his train journey (one assumes he meant to say 'Chiltern Railways'):
Now I see why children railways are only train service running today. Hoards of sales-shoppers heading to Bicester Village. I found this out too late and am squatting in the luggage compartment.
— will mccallum (@artofactivism) December 26, 2018
Ewan Devney possibly summarised how many feel about the busy rush to grab bargains the day after Christmas with this simple tweet:
BICESTER VILLAGE SALES ARE DEADLY I STG , everyone come to ted baker though ;) https://t.co/XdiDcSmRpM
— Ewan Devenay (@ewandevenay) December 26, 2018
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