Got a free Saturday morning on your hands? Then have a butchers at Maltby Street Market, if you've not been that way before.
Mr H & I cycled (Yes, cycled. On an actual bike. Each. And both ways) there the other weekend. Whooshed past a million tourists just as Big Ben struck 12 noon (major bonging) and managed not to either fall off or get the bikes nicked either.
It's not that far from Borough Market (about 3 mins on a bike) and is a really lovely little alleyway thing where the stalls are mostly in railway arches. Some of which are other businesses entirely during the week (clock the smoked whole salmon stall, with fish hanging from a coat rack, in the front of the wood store) and some of which are fantastically quirky little enterprises – like the gin emporium in what seemed to be a wooden-chair-legs-hanging-from-the-ceiling shop. Which had a great local gin, served 5 ways including the classic with a thick slice of pink grapefruit in a jam jar.
Throw in some oddball shops (we liked the one which sold everything from ALOHA in giant lights to a church pew and ceramic bathtubs) and the usual smattering of olive stalls, hummous bods, venison baps and the like – and that was pretty much it. It's not massive but it was lovely – had some top notch Spanish ham and a beer in one, and finally cruised back on our bikes homewards…
Check out the pix – you'll have to rotate them because I still can't! x