How to visit the city in the Summer: Treasure hunting Islington - Camden Passage
Laura MarianiShare
ThePeopleAlchemist Edit: Explore the City in the Summer - Camden Passage
It is week 3 of my Summer in the city edit -special Islington Edit - the intimate travel blog to explore parts of London like a Londoner and this week is the turn of Camden Passage, an enchanting alley with treasures in every corner ( ok, give me some poetic license here, I am after all an Islingtonian ..)
Camden Passage has ranked alongside Portobello, Kensington Church Street, and Spitalfields since the 1950s as one of London’s leading antique locations, and now the area has added also many new shops, restaurants, cafes, and market stalls. This is a place where you find something original & quirky at every stall:
fashionable contemporary clothing, modern designer jewellery, Japanese art prints, together with specialist antique, silver ware, vintage clothing, and retro shops which provide the backdrop for market stalls selling affordable collectables, vintage clothes and objets d’art that find their way into antique shops and homes all over the world.
And in between shopping and wandering you can pause for a coffee or two or a spot of lunch in the various eateries, recommendations below.
Camden Passage has three separate market areas :
Camden Passage Market, eclectic vintage /retro clothes and pictures, one-off pieces, and collectables.
Charlton Place Market, a covered area with antique and collectables markets on Wednesday and Saturday and
Pierrepont Arcade Market, another covered market area, and Antique Market days open on Wednesday and Saturday with a book market on Thursday and Friday. Plenty to see and buy, make sure you take your time to browse around, you don't want to miss THAT collectable and do a 'Del Boy' ;-).
Recommended this week:
Food and drinks
CrepeAffaire, a buzzing place, right in the middle of Camden Passage where you can et super scrumptious, freshly prepared crêpes and galettes (including gluten-free) at any time of the day. Fancy a Nutella anyone?
The Camden Head, a traditional pub in a Grade II-listed building, and a nice beer garden where you can enjoy the sunshine and watching people go by whilst enjoying a nice pint. The Camden Head is also London's only FREE professional comedy club, 7 nights a week with regular TV headliners (TimeOut). Drop-in and have the best night of your life!
Kipferl, a Viennese Coffee House and Kitchen with traditional Austrian cakes, coffees, sausages, and other savoury specialities - very chilled and relaxed vibe with a couple of tables outside, just in case you want to people watch.
Moxon's Fishmonger fresh fish daily from Newlyn and Plymouth in Cornwall, Brixham in Devon, Peterhead, and Loch Duart in Scotland, Scalloway in the Shetland Islands, Newhaven in Sussex and from Billingsgate market - because I believe in buying fresh and supporting small businesses.
Shopping
The Japanese Gallery was established in 1978 and specialises in Japanese woodblock handprints from antique to contemporary pieces. ( they also offer to advise and help in authenticating for museums and auction houses).
Paul.A.Young, amazing artisanal chocolates at forefront of British chocolate scene, truly yummy. Please do not enter "just to browse", let go and enjoy it: the amazing, rich chocolatey smell will draw you, you will want to taste a few samples and then, that's it.
An honourable mention, not in Islington but definitely worth a mention is Platform pop-up concept store in Marylebone Village, featuring a collective of independent designers (mostly women) committed to slow fashion and ethical production, working with small factories in limited runs. They have gorgeous clothes, bags, jewellery, and scarves and they are closed for the season this Sunday, 23 June, so hurry up - go and visit!!!
Sounds like the perfect weekend, non? The nearest underground station is Angel Underground on the Northern Line.
Let me know once you've been, I'm sure you'll love it.
#youcreateyourownreality #smashyourceiling #lifestyledesign #lifestyleedit #followme #like #share
