Displaced Beachbums

There are several markets that combine to make up Camden Market in London and we started at the Inverness Street Market:

Camden Market is off of Regents Canal, which was built in the early 1800s and  was instrumental in the development of the market area.  Unfortunately, once shipping became too expensive along the canal (1860s to 1870s), and other forms of transportation were used, the area was in disuse for many years. Thankfully, it was redeveloped in the 1970s and gets approximately 100,000 visitors each weekend.

The area in and around Camden Lock was redeveloped into an arts, crafts, clothing and a very yummy food market.   There are tables where you can sit along the canal after grabbing a bite to eat from vendors serving foods from countries such as Peru, India, Jamaica, Thailand, Turkey, Mexico, Spain, Poland, etc.

Getting to the market was half the fun ~ we took a bus and got off at the Camden High Street stop.  The High Street has interesting, creative  artwork on the buildings.

and the Union Jack Boot…

There’s a cool comic book store:

A great place to get Halloween outfits is from the Victorian/Gothic/Pirate clothing store:

There’s so much to do in Camden and, even during the day, it has a vibrant, edgy feel to it. The market is open 7 days a week, everyday except Christmas Day, from 10 am to 6 pm but not all vendors are there on the weekdays.  The tube stop is Camden Market but it’s a very busy station on the weekends.  So much so that on Sundays, Camden Market stop is an exit only from 1 to 5 pm.  If you want to catch the tube from Camden Market, it’s a short walk (maybe 10 minutes) to Mornington Crescent.

There is also a beautiful towpath which follows the canal.  From Camden, it goes towards Regents Park/Paddington or toward Kings Cross/Thames.  Originally, the towpath was used by the horses pulling the boats along the canal but now it’s for runner/walkers. There’s also a Regents Canal Museum behind Kings Cross Station.The photo below shows John and Logan on the path under Chalk Farm Road.

It was a fun way to spend a Saturday morning and my only regret is we chose a Thai Restaurant on Camden High Street that turned out to be awful. Next time, I’m getting something from the food vendors at the market!