Meadowhall: I was enjoying my trip until the moment I knew it was time to leave

The centre seduces shoppers with its glitzy malls, endless shops, clever advertising and general spotlessness.

And it can accommodate thousands upon thousands of people. The car park alone has 12,000 spaces so maybe it can take 36,000 at capacity?

All seemed fine at first. But after a lunch stop at Caffé Massarella at the end of The Avenue - and a sublime cake - it was noticeably busier.

Suddenly there were people queuing out the door, when a few minutes before there were empty tables.

This was Black Friday and one old hand said ominously “wait until the schools kick out.”

But long before then, two families with pushchairs who stopped to chat created a bottleneck which turned the free flowing mall into something like the London Underground.

At that point all the glamour fell away and it was time to leave.

Moments like this are why Meadowhall came top for stress at Christmas. One of the worst is when, exhausted from schlepping for hours, you realise you’ve forgotten something and need to trek back to the other end of the mall.

It’s at times like this Sheffield city centre seems compact.

Another big one is congestion. It always seems to be easy getting in but, if you time it wrong, hellish getting out. Vulcan Road, exiting on to Sheffield Road, seems to be the worst spot.

But sometimes there are queues on the M1 south slip road at junction 34. And right on cue, the AA is predicting traffic jams on the M1 near Meadowhall on Friday December 20, Saturday 21st and Monday 23rd. It is among five hotspots nationally it is highlighting this week.

Or course you could cycle and there is plenty of secure parking available. But for some reason it's not that popular.

Talking of parking, visitors now need to be aware of a 14-hour weekly limit backed by a £100 charge.

I will return, but I’ll observe a new code: avoid peak times, make a shopping list and stick to it, take a break and get out early.