London Markets

One of my favorite hobbies is visiting the markets in and around London.  

Markets in London have their origins in the middle ages.  Originally, they were set up in the city of London. but with an expanding metropolis in the 18th and 19th centuries, they extended to the suburbs.  With modern traffic emerging on the streets of London, former street markets were moved into neighbouring side streets or new covered markets.

A Market Town is a legal term for a town that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city. Kingston-Upon Thames is a market town about 15 minutes from our house that I visit frequently.  They sell vegetables, meat, fish, cheese, candy, flowers and other household goods in the stalls. 

Kingston Upon Thames market

The Sunbury market starts bright and early
at 6:30am - flashlights are a must!

Another type of market that I enjoy visiting are the antique markets.  About 10 minutes from our house is the Sunbury Antiques Market, held at the Kempton horse race track.  Every two weeks, it has about 700 stallholders offering a variety of furniture, silverware, paintings, ceramics and other knick-knackery.

Half the fun is watching what other people buy - this woman is looking for desks for her new business

The sun rises over the race track

Pretty knick-knackery

This is where you would come to buy
a seven foot wooden giraffe

Push toys for the little ones

Linda bringing home one of her purchases
in the Mini convertible with the top down
- yes, it was snowing

What fun!!

Linda