London's famous markets : Camden

Prologue :

It is inevitable that you will get Singaporean mates or friend of a friend coming down to stay for a few days when you are in London. For the past 7 years, we were play hosts to countless friends, bunking on the sofa or inflatable bed. That bed was the honeymoon bed for two couples at least! We don't mind the slighest at the constant parade of guests ~ nay, this was the chance for us to get them to transport essential rempahs or spices from Singapore. My newest project is to document the wonderful places that we enjoyed in London.

What is London without its markets? There are plenty of markets to choose from; some mediocre mostly visited by locals in search of daily essentials while others are that little bit more special and known the world over. Who can forget references to London's famous markets like Portobello, shown in its full glory in films such as Notting Hill or Borough Market, the focal point of gourmands and foodies akin to Melbourne's Victoria Market?

The first ever market that we went to when we came here was Camden. And I was hooked. Gothic clothes stores cheek by jowl with vintage clothes stores, alternative medicine with tatoo and piercings, coffee chains with falafel stores, bean bags sofas and Indonesian carvings next to old antiques. The range of merchandise is staggering and when you mixed it all together, the atmosphere is electric.

On weekends, it can get so crowded that the Tube only allows outgoing passengers. Exit from the station and you are on Camden High Street with shops selling tshirts galore and bongs. Across the road, next to the Superdrug store is The Works, a great discount bookstore worth a nip into.

Walk down Camden High Street and check out the amusing decorations on the store fronts.

Also the famous Electric Ballroom, the infamous venue where bands as diverse as Sid Vicious and the Vicious Kids to Catatonia had played.

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There are small markets to the left and right but don't be fooled. Go the big Camden Lock Market right at the end. The entrance is right under the bridge as shown in the main picture above - you can't miss it.

Camden Lock market is a warren. I absolutely love exploring the two sides. It has changed a lot from how it looked 7 years ago but what hasn't? From the orange juice stall at the entrance, you can veer to the right - towards the food stalls. Beyond the food stalls are more shops and the "antique" or second hand clothes shops.

Go through this tunnel with its majestic-looking chandelier .....

..and you will find Cyberdog fashion store extraodinaire for the hard partying house music, techno loving groovers out there. With its strobing lights, loud music and smoke machine with a bar right smack at the entrance, I am sure many a tourists would have thought it is nightclub in full swing. Wander it and you'll find a store with many bizarre clothes and fashion accessories that are designed to glow or pulsate in the dark. A black tight t-shirt with a LED display on the chest is the tamest thing you can get.

The range of merchandise available has grown over the years that I have been there. No longer will you find just purveyors of second hand winter coats (cheaper in summer) or German Army uniforms. You'll be hard pressed to find genuine antiques too but there are a growing number of furniture and furnishing stores.



.. so yes, you can get Indonesian and Thailand produced furnishings right in the middle of London. The Thai store is amusingly called Farang, although I do not know how many English people would understand that it is Thai for caucasians.



I simply love this retro looking table and chairs, complete with the fake shrubbery. I wish I can magically teleport this to Singapore, along with a Smeg fridge which I covet so much.

You can spend a good few hours browsing through the shops. Retrace back your steps, stop to have a hot drink, lunch or a quick bite of freshly fried doughnuts and you can explore the other side of Camden. From the entrance, it is the fork to the left, into the courtyard. The stalls here sell anything from new Pop-Art print bags, to Orgasmatron head massager and on hot summer days, they sometimes sell strawberries with cream or chocolate.



Here's the barges that ply along Regent's Canal. Walk up the stairs to the indoor market where again you will find a cornucopia of goods on sale. I personally thought the lovely large prints of London sold at one of the stalls there are a wonderful souvenir but not cheap though.




..view of the shops in the indoor market from the first floor. The strings of fairly lighst are a festive touch for the Christmas season. So have a lovely time in Camden. You may not buy anything in the end but revel in the atmosphere.


Camden Market
Camden tube station on the Northern Line

Tips :

For families, it is advisable to go there earlier in the day to avoid the crush.

For those you wandered in later in the evening, the food stalls will reduced their prices to £1.50 per portion instead of the usual price of £4.50.

I have had mixed results from my visitors when I bring them. I once brought a family with makcik and pakcik (aunt and uncle) who were far more used to clean, sterile Singapore shopping centres. They spent a total of 5 minutes at the second hand clothes stores complaining of the "smell". They were happier in the souvenir shop, buying fake Chelsea and Man Utd beanies and magnets which you could find elsewhere in London. To each its own.