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| Walthamstow Market - the longest in Europe |
Today, at the end of what felt like a long week settling our nearly-twelve year olds into their new secondary schools, we walked to our most local market for a potter around. It is just about half an hour walk from my house to the end of Walthamstow Market and we set off at a brisk pace, chatting away about everything and nothing - setting the world to rights with every step.
Walthamstow Market runs down the middle of a long street of shops, so as well as all the market stalls there are shops to explore too. The whole market is gloriously eclectic - if you have a mind to, you can buy:
- fruit and veg
- toys
- phones
- prayer mats
- matches and lighters
- goat meat
- saucepans
- carpets
- herbs
- CDs
- knicker elastic
- jellied eels
- chocolate
- books
- cake tins
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| The last of the summer's strawberries |
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| Stall selling knicker elastic |
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| Market caff |
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| Gill buys fruit |
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| Headscarf mannequins |
After a good prowl around, and having acquired bags full of fabric, ribbon and fruit without really meaning to, we needed a nice sit down and a cup of tea. One of Walthamstow Market's best-loved destinations is L. Manze - a proper, old-fashioned, East End pie and mash shop selling jellied eels, pie, mash and liquor, and good strong cups of tea. You can find out more about East End pie and mash shops here.
Walking into Manze's is like stepping back in time - the tiles, lighting, benches and sawdust-strewn floor are all from another era - and very calming to an addled, modern mind.
Walking into Manze's is like stepping back in time - the tiles, lighting, benches and sawdust-strewn floor are all from another era - and very calming to an addled, modern mind.
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| L Manze - an East London institution |
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| Beautiful lights and tiles in the pie shop |
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| Coat stand and an aspidistra in a brass pot |
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| Booths at Manze's |
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| Beautiful, old tiles at Manze's |
But the best thing? Piling your bags up next to you on one of their benches and settling down to a little china plate with one of their pies, and a cup of good, strong tea on the side. Just what a tired shopper needs.
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| Pie and tea at Manze's |
Hooray for the return of weekday walks! Great idea for a new theme.
ReplyDeleteWhereas if you went to our local market you'd most likely end up in Starbucks.
ReplyDeleteI'm being unfair - there are older cafes there but they're mostly of the Ye Olde Tea Shoppe variety. The market looks pretty similar, though ours is a lot smaller!
I used to live a few minutes away! I so miss the UK!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great day out. By the way, congratulations to you both on your marriage, may you have a long and blissful life together, and you looked amazing in your dress!
ReplyDeleteDo you have a list of markets to visit? I haven't been to Walthamstow market for years. I used to work near Leather Lane market many years ago and there were some nice Italian deli's around there. I noticed an absence of green liquor with your pies!
ReplyDeletewhat an amazing place! have never seen anything like it. So glad you went for pies and not jellied eels.
ReplyDeleteI am putting that pie and mash shop on my list of places to visit when I finally come [back] to London.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of which, I need to ask all my favourite London bloggers if they have been to this place, because I think I need a report ...
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