Low on prices and high on diversity – Sian Killean recommends Walthamstow street market.
Having grown up in the area herself, my mother warned me to expect high crime and a uniformly white working class clientele. But on a recent visit Walthamstow street market – reputedly the longest in Europe – offered neither of these. I was pleasantly surprised to find a friendly, mixed crowd and a rich mix of merchandise.
Yes, there were traditional Cockney blokes who might have been part of Ron Todd’s extended family (the father of the late Transport and General Workers’ Union leader was a Walthamstow stallholder 60-odd years ago). But they were hawking their fruit and veg alongside vendors of Indian food, Polish food, and fabrics from all over the world.
All the way down the mile-long stretch of red-and-white striped stalls, everyone seemed to be getting on well with everyone else. Even the Villagers (middle class incomers who have colonised Walthamstow ‘Village’) were made welcome!
I welcomed the rock-bottom prices, especially vegetables at ‘£1 a bowl’ – about half as much as in supermarkets.
For four quid you can eat (vegetarian) for a week!