Tuesday 18 December 2012

Duck Pond Market



Sunday Riverside Walk





Map of area















There is a wonderful riverside walk along the towpath in Richmond upon Thames. Sunday is particularly special here as besides the charming architecture, the buzzing bars and cafes and the stunning scenery there is always a Richmond Artisan Duck Pond Market. It is situated in Heron Court, an amazing architectural courtyard among the treasures designed by Quinlan Terry and overlooking the riverside. This beautiful area was redeveloped in a sympathetic manner during the 1980s and now looks as though it has been there for ever. The mock Georgian facades on the shops, offices, and restaurants are simply beautiful. It is one of my most favourite places and a lovely way to spend a Sunday with the market, river, pubs, restaurants, cafes, shops and water meadows beyond ... and of course there are the ducks!






Commemoration plaque





Riverside walk












The Duck Pond Markets have a wonderful ethos of 'interesting, locally sourced, handmade, organic' and are weekly full of beautifully produced arts and crafts, tempting food and drinks, and high quality fair trade and ethically sourced goods.

































I appear to have dwelt upon the things to be eaten, don't I?  The chocolates, in particular, were amazing as they could be designed to order. There were masses of varieties to choose from anyway and of course we bought several as gifts. I should love to show you some of the other goodies that we bought but they are destined for friends and relatives so I shall resist the temptation.








Cute soaps
Via google



It was very a very crowded scene and it was very difficult to take pics at one time so some of the photos below have come via google. The teas really caught my eye and could be bought along with some pretty vintage cups and saucers all beautifully wrapped in cellophane ready for a good friend. The stall was crowded so I may just have to return next week!






Teas
Via google


Pretty as a picture
Via google


Colourful venue

Love these

Natty knits


Plushy pals




Sweet treats




One of the very best crafts I found was an amazing lady who bought extremely expensive designer fabrics and made them into cushions with a thick linen envelope back.  Her site can be seen here.
Her company, (Lucy goes to Lapland),  produced some stunning cushions at a really reasonable cost.




Home page
Cushions
Via lucygoestolapland




If you are in the area on a Sunday do go and take a look at this wonderful little craft market and take a walk along the river and feed the ducks. Meet you afterwards in the riverside pub for lunch?









www.duckpondmarket.co.uk














6 comments:

  1. I love Richmond and certainly love the look of this market...may just have to pay it a visit sometime :)

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  2. What a great place for a walk. I don't know Richmond that well, but will certainly bear it in mind.

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  3. Looks like a fun place to visit. Most of our markets like this seem to be up the west end where it's a complete PITA to get to - no parking and a good hike from any station.

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  4. Oooh, this looks lovely. ,you do find the best paces!

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