Flowers Aplenty

As a Londoner, you have many great privileges but one really does stand above all else and that is, The Columbia Road Flower Market

Every Sunday from 8am – 2pm Londoners and tourists alike bustle themselves off to the North East side of London to purchase beautiful blooms for their kitchen tables / dining room centre pieces / herb gardens, the lot!

So one final time before the big move back to Ireland, I dragged Himself out of bed bright and early and off we went!

What I love most about this market, is that colour is positively bursting from every corner of it – it envelopes you and even though you are there to buy flowers anyway – the colour, the hustle and bustle atmosphere, well, it all just makes you want to buy MORE

For starters, I did my usual – a full tour of what’s on offer before choosing what will come home with us – once the loop was complete, I made a beeline back to these stunning Hydrangeas which just couldn’t be left behind!

Like everyone else who bought flowers early on, I spent the next 45mins trying not to hit anyone in the face with them – which is actually quite difficult when you’re only 5ft 2″ and have them resting on your shoulder!

We strolled and wandered, hopping in and out of peoples way and generally just enjoying the ambiance

Until I found the most stunning pale pink roses – HAD to buy them – I just had to!

Swamped with flowers we decided we could ignore the rumbly bellies no longer, so we stopped into one of the local cafes

Where we got some coffee to go, along with…

one of the largest doughnuts ever!

Were they as good as these ones? Well, honestly – no, but! They were very nom in their own right!

There are some great spots for sit down breakfast too, although you’ll have to be quick, the best ones pack out early and people are hard to shift as most are prime people-watching locations, so that, coupled with great food and coffee on tap…well, in all fairness, would you move?!

Top Tip: Some of the stalls will be ready to go around 8am but the majority of the market really are only setting up at that time as, contrary to popular belief, they don’t all arrive at 4am to set up! So if you want the full effect, show up at 10am but do be prepared for crowds! If you’re literally going for your blooms, I’d get there at 8:30am as they’ll have a bit of everything out, just not the full quantities

We made our way towards some of London’s finest public transport, ready for ourselves and our purchases to be whisked back to the West to enjoy the rest of the day in the comforts of our own home, made infinitely better by the addition of dreamily scented flowers