Edinburgh markets - Farmers, Grassmarket, Tron Kirk

 

While in Edinburgh recently I enjoyed visiting some of the markets around the Royal Mile.  The one I spent most time at was the Edinburgh Farmers Market.  It must have been going some time as I remember buying a Christmas tree there about 25 years ago.  It is still is worth a visit.  I loved all the fruit especially the different varieties of apples and the lovely Perthshire raspberries.

The market is on Castle Terrace on the other side of the Edinburgh Castle from the Royal Mile.  It is always impressive to see the castle from the side the enemies would have seen with steep cliffs to climb up to the castle, no doubt with Scottish soldiers ready to shoot them down.

One of the first stalls I saw was this bakery.  I had some delicious sweet poppyseed slice and bought a pastry and some pretzels.  I wish I had also bought some bread.

The bread at this Japanese stall were so cute.  I could not buy the lion bread because it had meat in it but I bought one of the cute pineapple breads that was in the shape of turtles.  It is called pineapple bread because of the criss cross on the bread which forms the turtle shells. 

I also bought a garlic cheese bread.  My expectations were fairly Western but this was garlic cheese bread as I have never had it before.  I had to wait for it to warmed in a little oven.  On top was a cheese crumble.  The bread was sliced in half and filled with a slightly salty, slightly sweet, whipped fluffy cream cheese.  It was very nice but quite rich.  I ate half of it at the market but was too full for more.  

When I saw vegan sausage rolls at the next stall it was probably best that they were old sold at room temperature because I did not have room for it but at least was able to take it home for later.

These Scottish Tablets from Campsie were lovely and fresh.  I liked the sign that said "Have you tried Scottish Tablet? Our version of fudge but tastier."  The woman selling the fudge was lovely.  She was as sweet at her tablet.

I admired all the knitted garments on this stall.  Though it is mostly food, there are a few other crafts on offer.

These coloured beeswax candles at the honey stall were gorgeous.

And I cannot remember what this stall was but there was quite a queue.  Perhaps it was for coffees.  That always seems popular at a Farmers Market.  I was really pleased we could get there when we were in our holiday apartment in the West Port.  It is a short walk to the market and we had a fridge an an oven so I was able to buy food to eat later.

Our apartment in the West Port was also just a hop skip and a jump to the Grassmarket.  This gave us a different view of Edinburgh Castle.  It loomed over the buildings like a malevolent force.  (Probably felt protective to some of the folks further back in history.  I loved the name of the dog accessory stall here called Bark and Hare.  (A pun on the infamous Edinburgh grave robbers, Burke and Hare, who incidentally lured their prey to their West Port lodging to murder and sell to the medical establishment for teaching.)

We wandered around the stalls while on our way to Candlemaker Row.  We admired the goods but didn't purchase.  While there are a few food stalls for those who wanted lunch or a snack, most stalls are more about crafts.  I loved the puffin fabrics and glazed crockery

Perhaps one of my faovurite stalls was the one with the little badges.  It was from a beautiful store in the Grassmarket called Purple Glamour.  These badges were so cute.  Sylvia had brought a few ghibli badges at Camden Market in London so she did not need to be tempted by these.  I loved the badge with the cat reading "To Kill a Mockingbird."

We also visited the Makers Market at the Tron Kirk on the corner of the High Street (Royal Mile) and the Bridges.  It had really beautiful items for sale hand made by talented local artists.  Sylvia bought some coasters and we both bought tote bags.  There were many other pictures and items I would have loved to purchase but it was pricey and we were trying not to have too much to pack in our luggage.

I loved the old stone walls inside the Tron Kirk.  It is a beautiful old church with a spire that is one of the landmarks of the Royal Mile.  It was closed in 1952 and sat abandoned when I lived in Edinburgh.  So it is nice to see it being used for such beautiful crafts.

Edinburgh Farmers Market
Castle Terrace, Edinburgh
Open Saturday, 9am to 2pm
https://www.edinburghfarmersmarket.co.uk/

Grassmarket Market
Central Reservation, Grassmarket EH1 2JR.
Open Saturday, 10am to 5pm.
http://www.stockbridgemarket.com/grassmarket.html

Tron Kirk Market
by Scottish Design Exchange
122 High Street, Edinburgh EH1 1SG
Open daily 10am-6pm
https://www.scottishdesignexchange.com/pages/tron-kirk-market-royal-mile