Markets Galore!

Programs for this blog post

Theatre Arts on London’s Stage

Authored By:

Rachael Claxton

Among the many things that London is famous for is it's plethora of street markets. Over the past week we have explored four of them, each with their own distinct feel and wares for sale. We started off the week at Leadenhall Market (see blog #2 for details on that!), and have been to a different market almost every day.

On Friday we took a boat down the Thames to the Greenwich neighborhood of London to explore a different part of the city. After a tour around the city, we headed over to Greenwich Market. Originally opened as a Royal Charter Market for the Greenwich Hospital, the market has been operational since 1700. It's sold all sorts of goods since it's inception, but now focuses mainly on arts and crafts. While walking around we saw people selling handmade notebooks, jewelry, clothes, hats, purses, homegoods, etc. There were also a few book stores and historical artifact stores mixed in as well. Some of our students even scored a deal on a few first edition Harry Potter books!

Photo for blog post Markets Galore!

Not to be outdone, on Saturday while we were in Oxford, we visited the Oxford Covered Market in the center of the city. Similar to Greenwich & Leadenhall, this market was mostly indoors. Unlike Greenwich though there was a ton of food! And it all looke absolutely delicious! Everywhere you turned there were vendors selling raw ingredients like fish, fruit, vegetables, and cheese. There were also a bunch of pastry shops, food stalls, and drink stands. A few of the students couldn't resist the Jaffa-flavored milkshakes - a hit for sure. We were also able to explore some higher-end shops as well, scratching our window-shopping itch by looking at the leather bags, purses, wallets, custom hats, dresses, shoes, and tartan that were for sale in the small, recessed shops.

Photo for blog post Markets Galore!

Last, but certainly not least, we visited Notting Hill's Portabello Road on Sunday. Being the largest antiques market in the United Kingdom, it's home to over 1,000 vendors and is divided into 5 distinct section: Secondhand Goods, Fashion, Household Essentials, Food, & Antiques. It's so large that we had to explore it in three sections, as not to get lost in all the shops. Portabello Road has everything you could possibly want. There was a store selling bespoke Harris Tweed fascinators and overcoats, as well as a stall selling only delicious vegan donuts. The students got a taste of all sorts of different foods while they explored as well.

Photo for blog post Markets Galore!

Don't think we're done exploring markets yet! Over the next two weeks we're planning to visit Brick Lane Market as well as the famous Camden Market!