It was another sunny Saturday last weekend, so Jorge and I ventured East for the second time in two days. Last Friday night we went to the pop up night market in Haggerston called Street Feast, which I didn’t take any photos of, but it was fun until it got too chilly in the late night air. We had New York style hot dogs (which weren’t really…) and I enjoyed a “mahoosive mojito” (which had mahoosive price of £10 and was a normal sized drink).
I haven’t been to Broadway Market in ages, so since we had a long and sunny Saturday stretched ahead of us, we decided to explore the natural habitat of London’s urban hipster. It’s prime street art territory around there as well, so without even looking for it, I ended up taking a few photos on the way.
Photo: C215
Photo: D7606
Photo: Mr Penfold & Sweet Toof
Also along the way, across from rows of condensed housing is the creepy looking God Worshipers Ministry. The Love Renewal Centre.
And then the two giant bird pieces, a collaboration between by Irony and Boe, one right outside the market and one on the edge. They also recently created this amazing fox on Waldegrave Road in Turnpike Lane not long ago.
Photo: Irony & Boe
Photo: Irony & Boe
The market was pretty crowded but nowhere near as packed as Portobello or Brick Lane. It’s much smaller anyway. Plus, for the moment anyway, it tends to draw Londoners rather than tourists.
There was a bit of live music.
And more on the other end.
We walked by the shop that is something of an institution, F. Cooke which has been selling traditional pies, mash and jellied eels for well over 100 years.
I love it when shops use their signs for quotes and poetry or a bit of humour rather than advertising or boring menus.
We spent some time in one of the best art and design bookshops in the area – Artwords (which made my list of favourite independent shops in London a while ago). We left with two new piece of inspiration for our bookshelf. The first was Creative Space: The Urban Homes of Artists and Creatives which shares images and interviews with people in Barcelona, Berlin, London, New York, Paris and Toyko. The other one is a London Design Guide which I haven’t looked through yet but seems to have a lot of good suggestions in it for food, shopping, etc. split by some popular areas of the city.
Outside again, the sun was beaming down and people were making the most of it, coats off, sunglasses on, lounging around.
There are bikes everywhere around here.
Wandering through the market, the food looked and smelled pretty delicious. There seemed to be quite a few free samples passed out as well.
There was roasted hog.
Fresh Salmon folded onto slices of home baked bread.
Buckets full of olives.
Fresh bread.
Stacks of cheese.
Veggies.
Dried meat.
Takeaway lunch.
Or find a table nearby.
Wash it down with some juice, or there are plenty of pubs in the area. Take your pick from the Cat and Mutton, the Dove Freehouse & Kitchen or Broadway Market.
Photo: Entrance to The Cat & Mutton pub
Lots of coffee shops too. Climpson & Sons is rumoured to be one of the best but it was packed so we didn’t go in. Also Wilton’s on Wilton’s Way nearby has a good reputation, uses beans roasted at Climpson & Sons and has fewer crowds.
There’s racks of £5 vintage dresses, and lining the street behind the market are other trendy clothing shops, second hand shops and vintage shops. Hipster fashion galore and plenty of sartorial inspiration in the streets as well. People watching is brilliant around here.
And of course there’s flower stalls.
Jewellery.
We had lunch in the Turkish Solche Grill and Meze Bar on the corner near the canal.
Food was good, prices were cheap and we sat under a giant skylight where we could feel the sun, but the service was slow and scattered and I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it for that reason. The had some fun drippy candles though.
Interestingly, while trying to remember the name of the place I read this article about shots being into the restaurant in August last year. A little reminder that despite the relatively recent gentrification of this area, it still has another side to it!
After lunch, the sun beckoned and we took a two-mile walk down Regents Canal to Islington.
There were flowers in bloom and people sat along the water watching the canal boats pass, many of them on phones, of course…
We followed one boat floating along at walking pace for quite a while.
The architecture along the trail is a strange mix of modern and crumbling, council flats, cottages and office blocks as well as some newly developed buildings with retail space.
There was a stretch with some beautiful prunus trees in blossom.
Bikes everywhere, people running, dogs on walks and babies in prams, there was plenty of traffic on the narrow stretch of pavement between the wall and canal. And it was quite windy, as you can see from my lion mane hair!
Houseboat life might be interesting for a while, simple, pared down to the basics.
Boots for planters and such.
And with a pretty view!
All in all, a beautiful place to spend one of the first days of real Spring in London!
Little London Observationist 