1
COLUMBIA ROAD
"If you don't like earwigs, don't buy dahlias." That's just one titbit of advice available at this colourful Sunday-morning market. The atmosphere is brash and buzzy with tough East End stallholders clutching bunches of delicate blooms and hollering out prices. Numerous species of flower, shrub and bush, plus gardenware and tools are for sale. Boutique style shops and cafes behind the stalls offer a respite from the madding crowds.
Where: Columbia Road, London E2.
When: Sun 8am-2pm.
2
ALFIES ANTIQUES
Behind Marylebone street market, this is a magnet for young couples and celebrity homemakers like Kate Moss and Liv Tyler. Specialisms are Fifties, Sixties and Seventies clothing, furniture, toys, jewellery and silver. The 200 stalls show remnants of an era when people aspired to truly stylish living. Choose from the exquisite Fifties shot glasses from Geoffrey Robinson's stand or the cocktail sets from The Girl Can't Help It stall on the ground floor. Upstairs in Dodo, Liz Farrow sells remarkably well-preserved linen- backed advertising posters and ephemera.
Where: 13-25 Church Street, London NW8.
When: Tue-Sat 10am-6pm, 020-7723 6066, www.ealfies.com.
3
SPITALFIELDS
Old Spitalfields' general market is known to most savvy Londoners. Less well-documented is that on Thursdays, 50 young designers set up shop with their latest cutting-edge designs. At the moment, only buyers, stylists and celebs have cottoned on - notable traders include Amy Speedwell, who creates edgy, customised men's shirts, and Alem Hailu, who sells "four- dimensional" Afro-Eastern skirts and dresses. If you're lucky, you might find yourself rubbing shoulders with Johnny Depp, Uma Thurman or Kate Moss.
Where: Brushfield Street, London E1.
When: Thur 10am-5pm, www.oldspitalfieldsmarket.com.
4
BILLINGSGATE
This is the trick to buying the best fresh fish in land-locked London. If you have a recipe involving seafood, this is where you find your missing ingredient. The market has 54 traders selling every kind of fish imaginable: salmon, trout, snapper, dogfish, catfish, crustaceans and molluscs. Stock comes in early from ports all over Britain, from Penzance to Aberdeen. Overseas species include eels from New Zealand and lobsters from Canada. This is a trade market but many sellers are happy to welcome individual customers.
Where: Trafalgar Way, London E14.
When: Tue-Sat 5-10.30am, 020-7987 1118, www.billingsgate- market.org.uk.
5
SHEPHERD'S BUSH
In some ways it would be easier to list what this unheralded, multi- ethnic market does not stock. Clothes, toys, electrical goods and CDs sell at prices that would make Del Boy blanche. Yams, plantains, pigs' trotters and cows' tongues muscle in alongside the usual fruit and veg. The range of seafood is mind-boggling. African food and difficult-to-find ingredients for Caribbean cookery are well- represented, too. Another specialism is fabric - African wax-prints, Indian sari cloth and masses of voluminous cotton nighties are available at knockdown prices. The locals love it and so will you.
Where: Uxbridge Road and Goldhawk Road, London W12.
When: Tue-Wed, Fri-Sat 8.30am-6pm, Thur 8.30am-1pm.
6
NEW COVENT GARDEN
The advantage of arriving at 3am, when this flower hypermarket opens for business, is to experience the spectacle and scent of thousands upon thousands of fresh blooms. The range is vast - plants come from every country in the world - and seasonality is not an issue. One stallholder says: "Columbia Road has got English peonies now, we'll still be selling them at Christmas from China." Everything, in fact, is here from arty flowers for ad-agency foyers to cheap and cheerful garage forecourt bunches. Non-trade buyers are welcome after the first rush of business and can buy at trade prices.
Where: Nine Elms Lane, London SW8.
When: Mon-Fri 3-11am, Sat 4-10am.
7
BERMONDSEY
This pre-dawn market is the capital's cheapest source of antiques. For some people it still has a faint reputation for dodgy dealing but visitors hoping to see a wide boys' dealing den will be disappointed as this is a serious dealers' market. Well-informed, focused buyers scrutinise the enormous range of silver, jewellery, clocks, glass, prints and tableware. Prices vary and shopping around is advised. One of the charms of Bermondsey is the chance to see curiosities sitting alongside the generic antiques; voodoo dolls and Fifties iron-and- spit-out tie presses.
Where: Cnr Long Lane and Bermondsey Street, London SE1.
When: Fri 5am-2pm, 020-7351 5353.
8
CRAFT IN FOCUS
Exciting crafts? An oxymoron surely? It seems that things have come a surprisingly long way since the days of macrame and tie-dye. Craft in Focus is a series of modern craft fairs staged by the artists and makers themselves. Stunning examples of batik, ceramics, fashion, furniture, jewellery, sculpture, textiles, wood-carving are on sale. Exhibitors include Clothes without Chemicals, Cardilicious Handmade Cards and It's a Blast glass design. The photos on the website of the designs will have you reaching for your credit card.
Where: Rugby stadium, Twickenham.
When: 10-12 October, Fri 12-5pm, Sat-Sun 10am-5pm, www.craftinfocus.com.
9
LUDLOW MARCHES FOOD AND DRINK FESTIVAL
It is the ninth year of this very jolly three-day foodie festival held in the grounds of Ludlow Castle in Wales. The event, now the biggest of its kind in the UK, was originally set up to celebrate the many independent food and drink producers from Ludlow and the Marches. Competitions, cookery demonstrations and a sausage trail add to the fun, but the happy, friendly atmosphere is down to the copious free samples of real ale, cider and perry being handed out. Rare breeds of meat and gourmet sausages are among the foods available to try and buy.
Where: Ludlow Castle, Ludlow, Wales.
When: 12-14 September, www.foodfestival.co.uk.
10
WALTHAMSTOW
Locals grandly claim that this is Britain's longest market. More than 500 stalls vie for space and your cash on this glorious half- mile, hawking shoes, clothes, bags, CDs, fashion seconds from high- street shops, fabrics, fruit and veg. Despite its length, Walthamstow is crammed of a Saturday when the entire population of north-east London seemingly descends upon it. The market itself is complimented by some of the best butchers and fishmongers in the capital. Patrick Williams, chef and author of The Caribbean Cook, is a regular here.
Where: Walthamstow High Street, London E17.
When: Mon-Fri 9am-4pm, Sat 9am-5pm.
11
CAMDEN LOCK
Scattered music stalls, pumping out everything from reggae to rap, heighten what is already an extreme experience. A global, youthful and touristy crowd with a strangely uniform "alternative" dress code tend to strike poses along the high street rather than dip into their pockets. There is Gothic fashion, up-to-date clubbing wear, futuristic fashion and vintage retro wear. It is worth searching through the 200 stalls for the independent designers selling their clothes and jewellery. Temporary tattoos and assorted cheap jewellery make inexpensive, if mildly regrettable, purchases. Don't miss a trip into Cyberdog, an outlandish clubbing-wear shop with half-human, half- robot mannequins.
Where: Buck Street, London NW1.
When: Thur-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat-Sun 10am-6pm.
12
GLASGOW PARTICK MARKET
If you thought that Aberdeen Angus beef was the extent of Scotland's fine food output, think again. There are up to 40 stalls of fresh produce from Scottish Farmers. The local and organic produce on sale includes beef, pork, lamb, venison, poultry, wild boar, seafood, trout, fruit and vegetables, home-baked bread and cakes, wines and liqueurs.
Where: Mansfield Park, Partick, Glasgow.
When: 2nd and 4th Saturdays of the month, 10am-3pm, 0141-287 2500.
13
PAPERBACK AND PULP BOOK FAIR, LONDON
Ever wondered how you might get your hands on pulp fiction classics such as Revolt of the Triffids and She Couldn't Be Good? Forty UK and overseas dealers will be descending on London this October to hawk thousands of paperbacks, pulps, UK comics and annuals. Categories include crime, sci-fi, horror, Western, war, hero, good-girl art and vintage paperbacks. For those in the know, signing guests include Stephen Laws, Stephen Gallagher, George C Gilman, Phillip E High, Ernest Dudley, Syd Bounds, Sam Peffer and Frederick Nolan.
Where: The Park Plaza Hotel, 239 Vauxhall Bridge Road, next to London Victoria Station, London SW1.
When: 19 October, 10am-4pm.
14
GRAY'S ANTIQUES
