London’s markets have undergone a revival in the last few years. Until recently, most of us were well and truly under the supermarkets’ spell, believing that the best shopping experience was to be found in a large, multi-aisled, brightly-lit shop that sold everything in shiny cellophane packaging. But a desire to know more about where our food comes from, a search for community, and a recognition that home-grown food might have more flavour, has led us to rediscover markets. The big supermarkets have tried to hold on to us with market-style deli counters and rotisseries, but with on-line shopping for your bulk household goods, and the proliferation of markets across London with fresh produce, there is a better experience to be had. Walk around Barnes Farmers’ Market on a Saturday morning, and you are likely to see families having fun, doing their weekly fresh food shopping together. Not really a common sight in even our favourite supermarket.

Fruit/Veg/Fruit

Borough Market
Borough High Street
London SE1
Easy parking is available in the Southwark Street Jubilee car park (£3 for 2 hours)
Nearest Tube: London Bridge
Open: Friday 12 noon to 6pm and Saturday 9am to 4pm
website

Borough Market has traded from its present site since 1756, making it London’s oldest wholesale fruit and veg market still in its original location. You are in a scene from Bridget Jones (both films have scenes shot here) as you wander around on a Saturday morning, latte in hand, choosing your lunch from the lovely produce on offer. It’s a bit like the biggest Farmers’ Market you’ve ever seen – as well as fruit and veg there are butchers, bakers, fishmongers, cheese makers, an olive stand, wine, cider, a chilli stand selling wonderful hot soups, and lots more across this 4.5 acre site. There are some permanent shops within the area (including Neal’s Yard Dairy and Wyndham House Poultry) and over 100 stalls, most of which are regular, with a few seasonal visitors or one-offs.

Little tasters of foods are being offered almost at every step – from a nutty bread to smoked eel to cheese, or a satsuma for a passing child. Of course it is a good sales technique, as you invariably end up buying some of whatever it is, because it is so delicious.

The children were very happy to follow us through the market, with a croissant and an eye out for the goriest sight at the butcher’s stalls (although quite brave about pigs and rabbits, the headless roe deer took a bit of explaining). It was busy, so quite hard work keeping an eye on everyone. Friends say it is much quieter on Fridays, but then there’s the conjestion charge – my husband’s only grizzle was that it was even more expensive to shop here than at Waitrose, but he was bought off with a large piece of delicious cheddar.

A huge selling point for children, and a good way to turn it into a day out, is the Golden Hinde, the full-sized reconstruction of Sir Francis Drake’s 16th Century galleon www.goldenhinde.co.uk. Call in advance to check that it isn’t closed for a private party (0207 403 0123). The pirate parties for children aboard the ship sound fantastic – the group of excited pirates we saw on the dock were having a great time before they even climbed aboard (call 08700 118700 for party information). Southwark Cathedral stands right next to the market, by the river, and, of course, there is a lovely river walk.

Portobello Road
For a real old fruit and veg street market, it is hard to beat Portobello Road. It is open Monday to Saturday, with a half-day on Thursday. The busiest days, with the most stalls on offer, are Fridays and Saturdays, and Mondays are quiet. It can be hard to park without a resident’s permit, but worth the effort. As well as fruit and veg, you will find meat, fish, household goods, Calvin Klein underwear, clothes, cheese and flowers, as well as people offering hot snacks – from German sausage to Thai soup. On a Saturday, you could buy the kids off with the promise of the kids’ club at the Electric – a suitable film is usually shown at 1pm, with pots of sausages and mash or fish and chips on offer for lunch (call 020 7908 9696 for details and tickets).

On Thursday, from 10am–4pm, there is a little farmers’ market under the Westway at Portobello Green. Park in Cambridge Gardens, and you will find the basics – well-presented organic meat from Wickham Manor Farm, and fresh veg. Fill up one of their huge baskets with the grubbiest, straight-from-the-ground parsnips and carrots. Also on offer on the day I went were soap, bread, plants and old books, as well as a nuts and sweets stall that I recognised from Borough.

While on street markets, Shepherd’s Bush Market is also worth a look. It is up against the railway arches between Goldhawk Road and Uxbridge Road and is open Tuesday to Saturday from 8.30am to 6pm and on Sunday from 8.30am to 3pm. Exotic fruit, Caribbean vegetables, fish and halal meat are all good buys, and as you disappear undercover into the middle of the market, you feel as if you are in a Middle-Eastern souk, surrounded by electrical goods, music, clothes and reams and reams of material.

Flowers

Columbia Road
E2
Nearest Tube: Old Street
This is a great family outing. The flower market is open every Sunday morning. It’s an early start (nothing new there) but instead of the usual lie-around-in-pyjamas, we get everyone up and out. It’s an easy drive across London on a Sunday morning, but quite hard to park when you get there if you are after about 9am. Absolutely ferocious traffic wardens find it worth their while to be up early on a Sunday, too. Be warned. There are usually some spaces round the back of the market – try Quilter Street.

It’s not a huge place, but there is quite a lot on offer: cut flowers, plants, trees and shrubs, as well as gardening paraphenalia available from little shops. The permanent shops behind the market – vintage clothes, antiques and garden furniture – are worth dipping into and many of them are open on Sundays, but the biggest treats are from the wonderful bagel shops. A bacon and egg or smoked salmon bagel and a coffee for a late breakfast make the morning complete for everyone.

New Covent Garden
Nine Elms Lane, SE1
Nearest Tube: Vauxhall
By the river at Nine Elms, this is a completely different experience to any other market we feature. A wholesalers’ rather than a retailers’ market, which is open to the public, it kicks off at 2am and shuts up around 9am, so this really is for early risers. Of course you don’t have to be there in the middle of the night, but go early for a sense of the atmosphere and the best selection. It costs £3 to drive in and there are designated parking areas – pick up a map at the gate.

The first buildings house the fruit and veg wholesalers. Drive on round to the flower market, where you will find incredibly friendly dealers and very low prices compared to florists and flower market stands. The flowers are mostly from Holland, and the busiest days are Monday and Thursday, as these are the delivery days. If you are buying for a wedding or a party, go in advance and pre-order with one of the stallholders, who will give you good advice about when to buy so the flowers will look their best.

We bought an enormous bunch of peonies for £10, and the children, who were being momentarily sweet, were presented with bunches of orchids to take home. We had fun and want to go again, though George (age 3) said the loos were smelly. There are cafes for teas and breakfasts, open from 11pm to 11am. This felt like the real article.

Farmers' markets

Notting Hill Gate
This classic, small farmers’ market is held behind Waterstone’s and Kensington Place every Saturday morning from 9am to 1pm. You will find bread, cheese, meat and fish, the freshest fruit and vegetables and homemade pies of all kinds. A mid-morning snack (delicious blueberry cookies and freshly pressed apple juice) or lunch (aromatic freshly-cooked mushroom ciabatta and carrot juice) makes this a successful outing for the whole family.

Barnes
This is a bit bigger than Notting Hill, and the setting around Essex House, up by the pond, makes it feel a little bit like being in the country. It is open on Saturdays 11am–4pm. You will find lovely vegetables, meat, fish, cheese, pies, bread and a big bag of child-sized apples for £1. Enterprising stalls cooking sausages and bacon sandwiches are dotted around; the cooking smells make it impossible to resist.

Marylebone High Street
The King of Farmers’ Markets in London is this one, held on Sundays in Moxon Street, off Marylebone High Street. The market is held in an outdoor car park, on an old bomb site. You can park for free in the surrounding streets. The market is open from 10am-2pm. Fresh lobster from Norfolk, juicy sausages from Sussex and the most sensational Italian chocolate cake from Caffe Caldesi – what could be better? You will also find organic fruit and straight-from-the-ground veg from Hertfordshire and can reserve duck eggs for the following week; cheese from Lincolnshire; and bread from Flowerpowercity organic bakery (also at Hammersmith on Thursdays). The Blakeney fish man (Weston and Long) brings dressed crabs, potted shrimp and skate along with his lobster and oysters. If you don’t feel inspired to cook with all this fresh produce, let Purefood do it for you – they come with freshly prepared lasagnes and pies to pop straight in the oven or freezer.

Orange Square
The setting of this market, on the pretty pedestrianised square on the corner of Ebury Street and Pimlico Road, is delightful. On Saturday mornings between 9am and 1pm, you will find heaps of Chelsea families laden with vine tomatoes, curly kale and cox’s orange pippins. The cheeses are particularly good – try the goat’s cheese from Nut Knowle. The poacher’s pies looked scrumptious and there are two fishmongers. There are fresh Colchester native oysters to keep you going and bread and pastries for little ones. The only thing missing is someone selling coffee. Most punters are clutching Starbucks’ lattes from across the road which doesn’t seem in the spirit of the place!