4 good reasons to shop on Saturday Market

Noise, bustle and brightly coloured awnings.  Don't you just love it when you stumble across a really great market?  We blogged a couple of weeks ago about how much we love Columbia Road flower market in London and I remember that before we moved to Beverley, we'd drive over to spend the weekend with friends and rave about the market.  Now I think we probably take it for granted.  We scurry past on the way to work on a Saturday morning, occasionally stopping to pick something up but never really strolling and soaking it all in.

So this morning, we made an effort to see it with fresh eyes.

The plant stall was looking particularly smart, perhaps due to the fact that Spring has finally arrived.

The really helpful guy in charge gave us some advice about looking after the beautiful bright orange Fritillaria Imperial 'Aurora' we bought for £3...

... there was a tempting yellow thing that will apparently grow in water (maybe one to spruce up our pond?)...

... plus a whole row of  veggies...

... and cheerful looking spring flowers.

Thierry from T C Patisserie started his business on Beverley, Cottingham and Pocklington markets before opening his cafe on Lairgate which he runs with his wife Nicky.

Thierry, a formally trained patissier, makes all kinds of cakes and other goodies.  The market stall is usually packed with croissants, pain au chocolate and other temptations.

The Blending Room is another local foodie success that started life on Beverley market and you'll still find them there every Saturday.  Based in Hull, they are small batch coffee roasters and sell a range of high quality coffees and speciality teas.

The photo's courtesy of Maru Market who will also deliver The Blending Room's products direct to your door.

My fourth and final market recommendation is Ford Framing.  I tend to forget that they come to the market because if I need a frame or a mount cutting, I normally call into their shop at North Bar Within where they also sell original paintings by British artists.

But the market stall is packed with ready-made frames in different shapes and sizes and if they don't have what you want, you can order it to pick up the following week.

There must be 50 stalls on the market (that's a complete guess) so making just 4 recommendations doesn't really seem fair but it could turn into the longest blog post ever otherwise.  But I will give just a quick reminder of everything you can get on there - meat, bread, olives, fish, flowers, cheese, hardware, pet stuff, sweets and a whole lot more.  Plus the joy of browsing and just enjoying the market.  That's got to be worth an hour on a Saturday morning.