Tipped

Christmas Wednesdays

October 29, 2009

If you've never been before, you must head down to Columbia Road for their Christmas Wednesdays shopping extravaganza! The shops, which are usually only open on a Sunday, are open on Wednesday evenings throughout December. Columbia Road is home to a mass of lovely little independent retailers, selling everything from jewellery and vintage clothes, to antiques, toys, cupcakes and furniture. Expect honest, traditional service from the shopkeepers, and the cobbled streets and period shop fronts make for a charming backdrop. Last year there was live music, mulled wine and mince pies on offer, in my opinion it's the perfect way to warm up on a winter's evening, and avoid the high street Christmas crush!
www.columbiaroad.info

Tags: columbia road, christmas, Shopping

Feast for the Senses

June 15, 2009

Sweet market. Best to get in early, as it tends to get too packed to move late afternoon. For £20 a clever shopper could walk away with two huge armfuls of plants or cut flowers.

A photographers dream. Also great for taking video as the sounds of East Ender market stall people ("three for a fivah") and street buskers is magical.

Recommended route:

Start the morning with cup of coffee at Taste of Bitter Love (Hackney Road), stroll down Horatio Street toward the market.

Make a booking at The Marksman Pub on Horatio Street (www.marksmanpub.com) for a perfect Sunday lunch... really the only worthwhile place in the area.

Keep walking to enjoy your coffee in the outdoor courtyard before you get to the actual flower market. Great for people watching!

Great shops along the entire street - open only on Sundays. It pays to get to the market early so as to actually be able to step into the shops with your bundle of flowers :)

Tags: flower market, columbia road, bethnal green, East London, Coffee, sunday lunch, Sunday Roast, photography

Best Flowers, Best Prices...

March 08, 2009

We just picked up 50 Dutch Tulips for £10. They'r all perfect and beautiful. It's pretty fun to listen to the guys who work the stalls.

Tip: go to the coffee kiosk just off the side street by the Royal Oak, they make great coffee and use Square Mile. I heard today the guy just won Best UK Barista.

Tags: flowers, coffee, squaremile, flower market

20 mins from the centre of the City

February 11, 2009

Lost what to do on a Sunday morning?

Then head to Columbia road flower market, check out the flowers, the totty (if not with the wife or partner) and the sellers, you catch yourself some breakfast or lunch, no chain cafe's or restaurants here just fresh tasty food, and of course there are the flowers themselves.

There are load's of little shops and eating places and the Bar opens at 6.30am...

Enjoy.

Tags: Sunday, morning, flowers, breakfast, home made, fresh air, early bar

Three bunches a fiver!

September 23, 2008

After the Borough Market, the Columbia Road Flower Market is my number one place to take folx from out of town. Enter from the Ropley Street end to really appreciate the diamond-in-the-rough-end-of-Bethnal-Green feel to this magical collection of flower stalls, frou-frou homewares shops and dreamy cafes and pubs. And if you really want to nab a bargain, be like the locals and turn up after 1.30pm when all the flowers drop to half price. Calls of "Three bunches for a fiver, ladies!" will get your heart racing, if, like me, the idea of filling your house full of beautiful and very cheap flowers really ticks your tock. And if the excitement gets all too much, grab yourself a cupcake or three at Treacle. The shops linng Columbia Road really deserve individual postings... the sorts of places you wish you had unlimited dough to spend in. But if you're happy to window shop and head home with armsful of roses for a tenner, then this is the place for you.

Tags: flowers, market, homewares, cupcakes

Flower heaven

April 07, 2008

This market is one of my favourites in town, 2nd actually after Borough. To hear the banter beeing shouted in the thickest of thick east London accents between the stalls makes it worth the trip alone. Every Sunday morning the road gets filled to the brim with flowers and plants for both in & outdoors. It tends to get rather packed so get there early to beat the crowd.
Dont miss the eclectic little shops with arts and crafts that gets a bit hidden away behind all the plants.

Top tip, go on a really miserable, grey and cold rainy day for proper bargains!!!

Tags: tourist free, flowers, market, cafe

Burly Men Selling Flowers

October 17, 2007

I knew that there were going to be lots of flowers here. I mean, it is a "flower" market after all. I didn't realize (1) how crazy busy it gets, and (2) how funny it is to have burly guys hawking flowers. It just makes me giggle. One flat of petunias, a fiver, just for you. Everything seems to cost a fiver, which means that you should probably try to drive a hard bargain. A few more flower pot sellers would complete the experience, but the selection is sadly lacking. However, if you buy pots, then you have to somehow lug them home. Getting a Phalaenopsis home on a crowded bus was challenge enough.

Tags: flower market, plants & flowers

Flowers Galore

September 01, 2007

This is a great way to spend a Sunday morning (and also a good option for visiting relatives) although it does get very busy, so elbows at the ready. Flowers, indoor and outdoor plans, and a lovely selection of east end wheeler dealers. Have a laugh at the banter between them as they jostle for your business "3 fer a pound daaarling! Luvely Jubbley!" The central flower path is lined on each side by small independent shops - you can get anything and everything here from eclectic furniture, super cheap crockery, perfume, soft furnishings to fresh bagels and hot pies. The flowers are dirt cheap and the selection is vast, although the quality is sometimes variable, so check before you buy.
After you've had enough of the hustle and bustle, it's only a hop skip and a jump down to Brick Lane/Spitalfields where you can rest your weary body and your dahlias in one of many cafes.

Tags: flowers, market