Photo: londondrum.comBorough Market dates all the way back to the 12th century (possibly as early as 1014) and for the first 600 years it benefitted from being near the city’s only river crossing. After that it served the waterside warehouses that sprang up around the docks, and for most of the last hundred years it’s been a wholesale market selling fruit and veg to the local shops and restaurants. It’s only relatively recently that it’s been taken over by artisan traders, and nowadays it contains around a hundred bakers, butchers, fishmongers, greengrocers and delicatessens selling everything from sweets, meats and cheeses to pasta, pastries and cakes.
Photo: londondrum.comThe maze of passageways and iron frames is filled with the sound of stall-holders hollering over a rumbling thunder of overhead trains as they clatter into London Bridge. You’ll be dodging vans and pallets, carts and crates as you move through wave after wave of aromas – freshly baked bread, strong Italian coffees, big wheels of cheese – you can tell the fish stall is coming from fifty feet away.
Photo: londondrum.comI’m standing next to a tray of vinegary whelks and winkles and a big bucket of clams that looks like it’s been sloshed straight out of the sea. And I like the way the greengrocer has arranged his vegetables like a flower shop. He’s got an old ship barrel full of cauliflowers with a rainbow table of raspberries, pale pink turnips and deep green olives on a forest floor of nuts.
Photo: londondrum.comIf you want some lunch then you try the Crème Brûlée doughnuts in Bread Ahead, the hot sausage rolls in Ginger Pig, or Maria’s Market Cafe. It’s like a builders cafe with those squeezy ketchup bottles on a checkerboard tablecloth, serving hot buttered toast and five sugars in your tea. You can also try the street food vendors down the side of Southwark Cathedral who sear everything up on a sizzling griddle.
I also recommend… . If you like the idea of having a quick meal at Borough Market, then you might like Leadenhall Market as well
How to get to Borough Market
| Fare zone | Cash | Oyster & Contactless | Travelcard | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single fare | Single fare | Daily cap | One day | ||||
| Peak | Off-peak | Peak | Off-peak | Anytime | Off-peak | ||
| Bus | n/a | 1.75 | 5.25 | 6 | |||
| Train (zone 1) | 7 | 2.90 | 2.80 | 8.90 | 8.90 | 16.60(zone 1-4) | 16.60(zone 1-6) |
| Train (zone 1-2) | 7 | 3.50 | 2.90 | 8.90 | 8.90 | ||
| Train (zone 1-3) | 7 | 3.80 | 3.10 | 10.50 | 10.50 | ||
| Train (zone 1-4) | 7 | 4.60 | 3.40 | 12.80 | 12.80 | ||
| Note: Prices are correct as of | |||||||
London Squire guidebook – Check out my guidebook available to buy at Amazon, Apple and Kobo. I’ve spent the last twenty years visiting London’s landmarks, attractions and hotels and collected all of my reviews, example itineraries, advice about using the buses and trains, and handy practical info into an eBook, along with 650 original photographs
Your comments (6)
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Ask a question, or share your experience of Borough Market
Julia This is a lovely little market that many people don’t know about but I recommend that you give it a visit. It has some of the best food stalls that I have been too. They have some really amazing cheeses, fancy breads and sweets.
Ben It is always very busy and because it is under the railway it has a nice atmosphere that you don’t get in any other street market that I have been to.
Patricia What day is Borough Market?
Craig Hi Patricia. It’s open from Monday to Saturday but only half of the stalls are open on Monday and Tuesday. So you want to try and go Wednesday to Saturday if you can.
JP Is there a car park at Borough Market?
Craig Hi JP. It doesn’t have its own car park, but there’s an NCP car park near London Bridge station. It’s probably only a 5-minute walk -- ncp.co.uk/find-a-car-park/car-parks/london-bridge/
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