LONDON

BILLINGSGATE
Trafalgar Way, E14
Tues-Sat, 5am-8.30am, Sun 6am-8am. (020-7987 1118; www.billingsgate-market.org.uk)
Billingsgate, the UK fish market, offers wholesalers a huge selection of fish, from Cornish crab and lobster to eels from New Zealand. It is served by every port from Aberdeen to Penzance, with 54 merchants trading in the market hall. The public are admitted, though not children under 12.

BOROUGH MARKET
Southwark Street, SE1
Fri noon-6pm, Sat 9am-4pm. (www.boroughmarket.org.uk)
Mecca for foodies, who can munch on chorizo-and-rocket rolls as they browse stalls of diver-caught scallops, organic meats and poultry, ostrich and game, fresh-roasted coffee beans, a huge range of cheeses from French and UK producers. There are great fresh fruit and veg.

STOKE NEWINGTON FARMERS’ MARKET
William Patten School, Stoke Newington Church Street, N16
Sat 10-2.30pm (020 7502 7558)
Cooked crayfish from the canals of Norfolk and enormous squashes are just some of the produce available at this farmers’ market where everything is organic, biodynamic or wild.

MARYLEBONE FARMERS’ MARKET
Cramer Street car park, W1
Sun 10am-2pm. (www.lfm.org.uk)
The largest of the London Farmers’ Markets (LFM), this is just off the gourmet heaven that is Marylebone High Street. Italian breads, British wines, sauces and salsas, organic meats, wild, feathered and furred game, oysters, preserves and compotes, Isle of Wight garlic, herbs and salads; you name it, you’ll find it here.


SPITALFIELDS FINE FOOD MARKET
Crispin Place, London, E1 Thurs, Fri and Sun 9am-5am (www.visitspitalfields.com)
On the site of a market since 1638, London’s latest foodie venture has more than 25 covered stalls selling olives, cheese, organic vegetables, meat and poultry as well as freshly baked sourdough and fruit breads by Flour Power City Bakery, specialist pies, organic desserts and continental deli goodies.

SOUTH EAST

CANTERBURY FARMERS’ MARKET
Station Road West
Tues-Sat, 8am-6pm, Sun 10-4pm. (01227 45913; www.canterbury.co.uk)
The UK’s first permanent farmers’ market, selling mainly local produce. Sausages, game, fresh fruit and vegetables. Have lunch in the on-site restaurant, then visit the national fruit collection at nearby Brogdale (it’s apple season, make the most of it!).

WINCHESTER FARMERS’ MARKET
Middle Brook Street car park
Second and last Sun of the month, 9am-2pm. (01420 588671; www.hampshirefarmersmarkets.co.uk)
Representing more than 90 local producers, this is the largest UK farmers’ market and “popular with Rick Stein”. Find venison, game, guinea fowl, ostrich, home-baked bread, crabs fresh from the Solent, smoked fish, water buffalo, Dexter beef, Manx Loughton lamb, preserves, British wine and beer, and local apple juice. All produce comes from within 10 miles of the Hampshire border.

WYE FARMERS’ MARKET
The Green
First and third Sat of the month, 9am-noon. (01233 813303; www.wyefarmersmarket.co.uk)
This community initiative, and the oldest farmers’ market in Kent, is dedicated to bringing local food to local people. Now is the time to choose fresh sweetcorn, pumpkins and squash, apples and pears. A good selection of meat, fish, honey, bread and juices, many of them organic.

SOUTH WEST

BATH FARMERS’ MARKET
Green Park Station
First and third Sat of the month, 9am-2pm. www.bathfarmersmarket.co.uk
Bath was where it all began for farmers’ markets in the UK. Now find Somerset ducks, pâtés and pies, fish and game from the Wiltshire Smokehouse, free-range hen, duck and goose eggs, goat’s custard and ice-cream, wine vinegar and plum juice, yoghurt, cheesecakes and preserve, amid a wealth of local produce.

BRIDPORT FARMERS’ MARKET
Arts Centre, South Street
Second Sat of the month, 9am-1pm. (01258 454510)
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall pilots new River Cottage products here and may be spotted browsing among the stalls of Blue Vinney and other West Country cheeses, hand-made crisps, muesli, home-baked cakes and quiches, pâtés and terrines, smoked fish, jams and chutneys, local cider and ale.

BRISTOL FARMERS’ MARKET
Corn Street
Wed 9.30am-2.30pm, and the Slow Food Market, Corn Street, the first Sun of the month, 10am-3pm. (0117 9224014; www.visitbristol.co.uk)
Recent winner of a Soil Association award, the market offers the usual staples of wet fish and shellfish, buffalo and other cheeses, fruit and veg, hand-made bread, honeys, apple juice and plants and herbs, but with strong emphasis on local, organic and free range. Visit the
Slow Food market for fresh fish and local sausages for Sunday lunch, to be washed down with local beer, cider or perry (an alcoholic pear drink). Or watch one of the regular cookery demos.

CENTRAL

CHELTENHAM FARMERS’ MARKET
The Promenade
Second and last Fri of the month,9am-3pm. (www.cheltenham.gov.uk)
This year named Best Farmers’ Market in Gloucestershire and the Cotswolds by Cotswold Life. Offers organic, free-range meat from traditional breeds, fresh and smoked fish, wines, ciders, apple juice, chutneys, vinegars, fruit syrups and an abundance of fresh produce.

STROUD FARMERS’ MARKET
Cornhill Market
First and third Sat in the month, 9am-2pm. (01453 758060; www.fresh-n-local.co.uk)
Winner of Cotswold Life’s food and drink awards for three years, pipped to first place by Cheltenham this year. All produce from a 17-mile radius. Attractions include ice-cream and cooked-food stalls, Thai snacks, home baking, live entertainment and occasional demos from local chef Robert Rees.

WALES

HAVERFORDWEST FARMERS’ MARKET
Riverside Quay
Alternate Fri, 9am-3pm. (01437 776168)
Free-range duck, guinea-fowl and geese, home-reared meats, organic, rare-breed Oxford and Sandy Black pork, crab and lobster sandwiches, continental salad leaves, bread and locally milled flour, bara brith (a traditional sweet tea bread) and Welsh cakes, Lanboidy farmhouse cheese and laver bread, ewe’s milk cheese, smoked game and all the usual delights.

SWANSEA MARKET
Oxford Street
Mon-Thur 8.30am-5.30pm, Fri 8am-5.30pm, Sat 7.30am-5.30pm. (01792 654296)
Indoor markets are a feature of Welsh towns and this one is housed in a glass-roofed market hall at the heart of a dispiriting shopping centre. Welsh specialities from Gower, such as cockles, hake and laver bread, to handsome Welsh cheeses, keep company with pet stalls, second-hand books and cheap tat. Try salt-marsh lamb, home-made burgers, fresh fruit and veg in season.

EAST ANGLIA

BARSHAM FARMERS’ MARKET
Brick Kiln Farm, Halesworth, Suffolk
Last Sat of the month, 9am-1pm. (01502 575218; www.dmfs.co.uk)
One of the few farmers’ markets held on a working farm. A core of regular producers offer sea fish caught from a longshore boat off Lowestoft (hope for plaice, Dover sole, wild sea bass, if they haven’t got away), dressed crabs and shrimps, lobster, beef, lamb, award-winning ice-cream, yoghurts, chilli chutney, fruit and veg. “Nearly every month there is something different” hints at hit and miss, but a worthy endeavour.

NORWICH FARMERS’ MARKET
Norfolk Showground
Second Sat of the month, 9am-1pm; The Forum, city centre, first and third Sun 10am-3pm.
(01953 681715; www.norwichfarmersmarket.co.uk)
Mighty meaty products — fresh sausages, game, black pudding, cured pork fillets, salami, haslet, lard and Longhorn beef, rare-breed pork, stews and pies, alongside ice-cream, honey and bottle-conditioned beers, plums, beans, potatoes, asparagus in season, potted shrimps, dressed crab, cockles, mussels, whelks, bunched herbs, unpasteurised goats’ milk, yoghurt, cheese, fresh mushrooms and mushroom products and hand-made chocolates.

MIDLANDS

LEICESTER MARKET
Market Place
Tue-Sat, 7am-6pm. (0116 2232376)
Reputedly the biggest covered market in Britain, and with a 700-year history. You will find exotic fare such as plantains, coconuts and breadfruit, lemon grass and galangal, alongside local cabbages and spuds. Butchers’ stalls offer traditional cuts and such rarities as oxtail, lambs’ hearts and sweetbreads.

LUDLOW LOCAL PRODUCE MARKET
Castle Square
Second Thurs of the month, 9am-2pm. (www.localtoludlow.org.uk)
Already spoilt rotten with Michelin-starred restaurants, residents of this gastronomic hotspot have a wealth of choice at their farmers’ market, served by small- scale producers operating within 30 miles of town. Old apple varieties, home-grown King Edwards and sunflower seeds, Shropshire honey, organic fruit and vegetables, free-range duck, goose and quail eggs, smoked goods (butter, cheese, meat, fish, fruits, nuts and seeds), rare-breed pork, game, fishcakes, pâtés and chowders, speciality sausages and terrines, cheesecakes, Greek-style yoghurt, ice-cream, hand-made chocolates, Staffordshire oatcakes, flans, pies, lasagne, 30 varieties of scotch egg, including a veggie version, samosas, kebabs, salads, olives, pickles, preserves, wines, cider, bottled beers, liqueurs, and more, and more, and much, much more.

STRATFORD-UPON-AVON FARMERS’ MARKET
Rother Street
First and third Sat of the month, 9am-2pm. (01608 664659; www.warwickshirefarmersmarkets.co.uk)
About 90 producers are registered with this robust market in the old market area of historic Stratford. All produce, including baked goods, beers, Gloucester Old Spot pork, wild boar and local cheeses, fruit and veg, and plant seats, must come from within a 30-mile radius.

NORTH EAST

BARNARD CASTLE FARMERS’ MARKET
The Cobbles
First Sat in the month, 10am-3pm. (www.teesdalefarmersmarkets.co.uk)
Homely local fare — scones, biscuits, cakes and fruit pies, marmalade, tea loaves, jellies, chutneys quiches, game pie, traditional sweets and fudge, cow, goat and sheep cheeses, fresh trout from the River Lune, home-made organic soups, rare-breed sausages and pork products, venison, home-grown herbs, mustards and pickles, hedgerow fruit jams and jellies.

HEXHAM FARMERS’ MARKET
Market Place
Second and fourth Sat of the month, 9am-1.30pm. (0796 3426932; www.northumberlandfarmersmarkets.org.uk)
“England’s favourite market town” (according to Country Life magazine) provides an historic setting for about 30 producers to show off such specials as local oyster mushrooms, Northumberland hill lamb, hand-made chocolates and fudge, beef, poultry, eggs, cheeses, bread and gluten-free baked goods, soups, salads and veg, all of which are grown or reared within 50 miles.

NORTH WEST

BURY MARKET
Murray Road, Bury
Wed, Fri, 9am-4.30, Saturday 9am-5pm. (0161-253 6520)
Go there for meaty Lancashire specials such as black pudding, brawn, tripe, locally reared pork
and pork pies and suet “rag puddin”. A thriving mixed market, but food fights its corner.

ORTON FARMERS’ MARKET
Orton, 2 miles from the M6 (jct 38)
Second Sat of the month 9.30am-2.30pm; and at Pooley Bridge, 5 miles from jct 40, last Sun of the month, 10.30am-2.30pm, April-September. (015396 23303; www.ortonfarmers.co.uk)
All produce is local, from the fell-bred lamb to the rare-breed beef. Try Weardale organic soups, ewe’s milk ice-cream, home-made butter and cheeses, hen and duck eggs, home-grown, organic vegetables and herbs, pickles, chutneys, chilli sauces, toffee, fudge, herb jellies and delectable damson liqueur.

SCOTLAND

ABERDEEN COUNTRY FAIR
Belmont Street
First and last Sat of the month, 9am-5pm.(01224 649000; www. aberdeencountryfair.co.uk)

A crafts and farmers’ market, typically featuring local specialities — from Angus beef to fish freshly landed at Aberdeen and Peterhead, to local fruit and vegetables, cheeses, breads baked to traditional recipes, and Speyside whisky.

EDINBURGH FARMERS’ MARKET
Castle Terrace
Every Sat, 9am-2pm. (0131-652 5940, www.edinburghcc.com/farm_market.htm)
The very model of a great farmers’ market, in a stunning setting. Features up to 60 specialists, from Inverness to Northumberland, with all stallholders primary producers: they rear it, grow it, make it, bake it. Carroll’s Heritage Potatoes (Red Duke of York, Witchill, British Queen, Edzell Blue), Highland beef, Auchtermuchty venison, wild boar, ostrich, hog roasts, Black Isle organic beer, fruit wines, hand-made chocolates, gourmet crisps, grains and porridge, a veritable cornucopia.

NORTHERN IRELAND

BELFAST CITY FOOD AND GARDEN MARKET
St George’s Market Hall, East Bridge Street
Sat 9am-3pm. (0289032 0202; www.belfastcity.gov.uk)
Local farmers’ market meets the wider world. Shop to the sound of live music and choose from freshly landed fish, local pork and beef, wild boar, venison, pheasant, organic fruit and vegetables, cheeses, tapas, crèpes, and Caribbean fare.

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