Rainy Day in London- Broadway Market

Saturday June 6 was a mainly rainy day in London.  High of only 16C, though it felt colder.  Our hosts brought us croissants for breakfast and we had a nice chat with them. They had told us about Broadway Market Street, about a 20 minute walk north of the house just off Hackney Road.  It is a street full of cafés, restaurants and shops and it also has quite a large food market on Saturdays and Sundays.  Good for people watching.  We were tired from the previous day's adventures and decided that would be our destination-- checking out the nearby 'hood.

Love this poster for broadband in Benthal Green

Our walk took us by a number of parks.  Surprisingly, London has a lot of green space.

We walked past Ion Square-- parks are managed by the local Councils

A lovely old church en route


Haggerston Park-- managed by Hackney Council

We walked over a small bridge on the Regent's Canal completed in 1820.  It is 13.8 km long.

We found Broadway Market Street and started our walk through the market in the middle of the street.  The street is closed to traffic when the market is held (9:00 a.m.- 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays) A market has operated on the southern end of the Street since 1883.   In 2024, Broadway Market was awarded Best Food Market by the National Association of British Market Authorities.  There are over 150 stalls each weekend, with a two-year waiting list, offering a diverse range of cuisines.   As well as street food, it is also a haven for artisan provisions.  Specialty grocery stores and cafés line the street.

Dalston Melts: Artisan Toasties-- these looked good


We bought some pecorino from the cheese folks

Flowers and grocery store on the street


Baked goods

We stopped for a coffee at Climpson & Sons.  It was just take out, so we got our coffees and stood under the awning with others, trying to get out of the rain.

We had a chat with the Barista


Loved this ad in the coffee shop for Hackney Art Week June 4-14


Stalls lined the entire street-- the paellas looked very good.  We chatted to a man from Argentina who was eating a portion while we were having our coffees.


Another cheese shop

Another look at Broadway Market Street

Buns from home is a small home-made bun shop.  They have delicious vegan cinnamon buns as well as non-vegan options.  We had one in their Covent Garden shop which was very good.  The buns are a reasonably small, manageable size.  We got a few to take back to our place.

Our host had told us that there was a good fish and chips shop on the street.  We decided that fish and chips would be a perfect late lunch on a rainy day.  We stopped at Fintastic Fish and Chips.  A hole in the wall place with friendly staff and great fish and chips.  One portion was big enough to share.

Great staff wanted to be in the picture

Delicious cod fish and chips

As we started our walk back to the house, we noticed an eyewear store with a sign that said Live Eel. F. Cooke Importer--- and at the top of a building there was a sign that said F. Cooke Est. 1862, Trading from this Premises since 1900.  The store next to it was Fabrications, established 2000.

The old and the new-- from live eels to sunglasses

We had hoped to take in some galleries in the 'hood as it is London Gallery Weekend with lots of open galleries and events across the city.  Unfortunately, we would have had to walk a bit further than we wanted and it was pouring rain again.   We had already planned to have dinner at the Airbnb as our hosts are away for a staycation for the weekend.  Chef Allan made a tomato sauce with some ham with our pasta.  We had one of the cinnamon buns with our tea.   A good plan for a rainy London day.


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