A taste of Borough Market, London

We lived in South East London for some time, twelve years in all. London Bridge was our gateway to central London but located just a stones throw away from there is Borough Market. It’s changed a lot since we moved to Surrey in 2010 and if you’ve not been before, you really must pay it a visit. I got to experience it again recently albeit briefly, thanks to a travel and street photography workshop. A small group of us had an incredible day being pushed out of our comfort zones. From freeze framing London buses and capturing strangers to a lot of camera tinkering. One on one time with the photographer was invaluable and she quickly recognised the kind of images I love to create. Taking in Borough Market was certainly one of the highlights location wise.

Borough Market is a renowned food market where you can find exceptional British and International produce. It’s a haven for anyone that cares about food provenance whether it be chefs, restaurateurs or you and I. The food quality is quite outstanding and the smells are just superb. When you arrive you may find yourself spinning round in a circle just to take in the enormity of it all. There are traders specialising in bakery, confectionery, charcuterie, dairy, drinks, fruit and vegetables, meat, poultry and game, seafood as well as spices, preserves and condiments. There are a whole host of cafe’s, bars and restaurants in the area too. Having arrived at lunchtime, it was difficult to decide what to have with so much choice available. I opted for shredded duck in ciabatta which was so good I wished I’d taken some home!

One of things that strikes you about Borough Market are the people. There’s a wonderful community feel among the tradesmen and women with everyone we spoke to hugely knowledgable. They have fascinating stories to tell too. It was nice to just stop and listen to what they had to say about their background and the heritage of their produce without rushing from A to B. Many of the stallholders are producers and others import but have intimate knowledge of the source of their products. The visitors to Borough Market are real mix of locals grabbing a bite to eat and tourists who’d come to admire the impressive stalls. They’d come to the right place too, I lost count how many times we said wow at what we saw.

I loved it at Borough Market and it was nice to be back on an old stomping ground. It would be great to head back and not only explore further but purchase a little food to take home, it’s far too good not to. The full Borough Market is open Wednesday to Saturday and the lunch market Monday and Tuesday. You can read more about it here.