To Market... To Market...

... "to buy a fat pig, home again, home again, jiggety jig"...

One of my missions when coming to England this year was to try and get to as many markets as I could. I was quite happy that I succeeded in strolling around several amazing markets. The first market we visited was during our first week here...

Spitalfields is definitely a popular and beautiful place to live. The area is famous for its handful of cobbled streets full of rare Georgian houses and home of the famous Spitalfields market with antique dealers opening their stalls on a Thursday. We headed there on a beautiful warm Thursday morning and found several bargains. My favourite purchase was this beautiful Brexton (circa 1960) picnic hamper.

And who wouldn't want this adorable Golly?

There were at least 5 stalls with hundreds of letter press stamps, all different sizes. I picked up quite a few for my collection.

Portobello Market in West London is one of the most famous street markets in the world. It is a popular destination for Londoners and tourists alike. It takes up most of Portobello Road and stretches for approximately two miles. Portobello Road goes straight through the heart of Notting Hill, the trendy area of London made famous by the movie. It is here on a Saturday that the antique dealers open their stalls and where we headed 40 minutes by train to spend the day.

Camden Lock Market, by the canal, was the original craft market, established in 1974. Both this and the ever popular Camden Stables Market make the area well worth a visit. Thousands of stalls with everything that anyone could ever imagine. We spent the better part of our day here on a rainy London day! I bought a few pieces of jewelry and enjoyed rummaging through all the souvenir stalls.

Our last market was Saffron Walden Market Square. This is a small town market with big city appeal. Saffron Walden is a picturesque, medieval town, in north west Essex. It has a rich heritage of old buildings reflecting its wealth as a rural market town.

A market has been held here since 1141, and market days are now Tuesdays and Saturdays. I picked up a few trinkets here but my favorite would have to be this great doorstop.

I loved Spitalfields so much that I headed back there to spend the day before we headed home on Friday. All in all these markets exceeded my expectations!