Camden Town Market, London

I have been to Camden market twice now and I loved it both times.

If you're not very savvy with getting around London, Camden is not at all hard to get to. You can literally walk out of Paddington station and after probably a 3 minute walk you arrive at a river with canal boats that go to Camden Market (and also London Zoo which is nearby!).

It's a lovely journey to the market on the canal boats, especially when it's sunny. It's really relaxing and it's great when you go past the Zoo and see all of the birds etc. It just doesn't feel like you're in London!

Of course if you want to get there quickly and not waste any shopping time on a relaxing canal boat ride, you can just take the tubes. You could also drive there but I wouldn't recommend this as the traffic is usually quite manic and it would be very hard to find a parking space, so to avoid this you could either go by bus or taxi - or you could walk! Anyway, onto the actual market..

Sadly there was a fire a little while ago, so some of Camden market's charm has been lost but the damage is hardly noticeable and it's still great. There is literally a stall for everyone. I went last month and off the top of my head here is a bit about the main stalls I can remember...

Jewellery stalls
There are loads of jewellery stalls to suit every taste. I didn't get time to browse through all of them but I remember there being lots of costume jewellery at amazing prices, such as rings in a shop with a very Indian theme for around £1.99. In the Indian shop there was also an amazing range of scarves - some that you could wear and some that were so large they could fill a wall and act as a wall hanging.

There is also quality solid silver jewellery at quite high prices - but worth it for the quality.

Food and drink stalls
There is a huge range of food and drinks so this is great if you have fussy kids with you! I went to a chinese stall where they fill up a pot with a massive amount of chinese food (the kind you would find at an average takeaway) all for £3.99 - a fab price for London I think. The food was just slightly greasy, but still very nice!

Vintage clothing
Camden is a haven for vintage collectors! I had so much fun browsing through all of the vintage. There's everyting from stunning broaches and classy fur coats to lace up boots and little clutch bags. There's also loads of hats, sunglasses, jumpers, shorts, jeans and most importantly amazing vintage dresses!

I loved looking at the dresses because they just hold so much history to them and you can picture women in the 1950s prancing around in them and going to dances or whatever they did! It's a little bit creepy in a way.. but very interesting. One thing I have to say is that some of it seems overpriced for what it is, for example some of the faux fur coats were about £60, which you would pay on the highstreet for a brand new one.

Gothic clothing
There is loads of rock, gothic, emo and grunge clothing available. I personally wouldn't wear this clothing but it's so interesting to look at all of it and see all of the crazy people with their even more crazy style!

Fish pedicure thing!
There are loads of novelties and interesting things such as the latest fish pedicure craze! I didn't have time to have one as I was on a major shopping mission, but next time I would like to go for two days and I might give it a go. I think it will be quite relaxing in a weird kind of way!

What I bought
I bought loads of things both times that I went using birthday money! Last time I bought an 'I heart London' hoodie which I think would have been £15 on its own but was two for £20 so I got it for £10 as my friend bought one too. Last time I also bought a dress, an owl pendant/necklace, two vintag-y rings and a silk square scarf. I'm sure there was more too but I can't remember. I just have to add that I've washed the hoodie and dress numerous times and there's been no shrinkage or colour fading.

This time I bought a black sheer blouse which is lovely quality and was only £15, another ring with a swarovski crystal in it and it's sterling silver for £20, a pair of sterling silver earrings for a pound (!) and lots of little purses and scarves and necklaces which I am saving as gifts for people (I can't remember all of the prices, but the purses were 89p each!).

Summary
There is so much more at Camden that I simply cannot fit into this review without rambling! So overall I would definitely recommend Camden if you want an interesting day out - it's just so refreshing to see loads of handmade, one-off items rather than the churned out clothing you see on the highstreet. It's also nice to be out in the fresh air, but there are loads of inside areas if it's bad weather.

The only real problems I have are that sometimes some things seem a little over priced and that really if you want to see it all you will need more than just a day there! Just when you think you've seen it all you discover a whole new alley way ful of stalls! Anyway, apart from that, it's brilliant and highly recommended - 5 stars. You have to go there at least once in your life!

Hope this was helpful,
LouiseVictoria

Also on Dooyoo under the same name!