a winter morning at columbia road flower market.

I'm no stranger to a visit to Columbia Road Flower Market. In fact, it's one of my favourite things to do on a Sunday morning afternoon. Having said that, I've never been during winter. For most places, this wouldn't really be a problem, but one of the joys of flowers is that they're seasonal, so I figured that it would be an entirely different experience to the times I've been before.

Usually, when I've been, it's been absolutely packed and you have to queue down the road to see the flowers on one side, only to queue down the other end to get back up the other side. However, clearly the miserable weather had put everyone else off and it was slightly easier to get up and down the road and to cross between the different stalls. It was still a little bit of a sardine experience, but a lot more pleasant than usual.

Obviously, the selection of flowers was in some cases very similar, and in others, entirely different. There were still loads of tulips and roses scattered about, but there were also a huge amount of thistle and lavender compared to usual. Pretty much every time I've been previously, I've picked up tulips. They're my favourite flowers and I can't resist buying a massive bunch. However this time I was taken by the slightly different options available and bought a big bunch of lavender and gypsophila which is still going strong (and made the tube carriage on the train home smell wonderful).

Another benefit of heading to Columbia Road during the winter? You can actually get into some of the shops and pubs which surround the market. Sometimes the pubs are so busy you have to queue for ages and then end up drinking your pint sat on the kerb down the street, or you can't even get close to the shops alongside the market. This time round though we could have had our drinks inside the pub sat down with table service had we so wished.

Having said that, you lose some of the atmosphere that you get during the summer time. It's fun when the market is busy, it feels like a real experience with all the hustle and bustle you get. Yeah, you won't stand a chance of getting into Jones Dairy unless you've been there for hours or camped out since Saturday evening, but you won't be the only one sat on the kerb in the heat either.

There are clearly benefits to going to Columbia Road in both winter and summer. I don't think I'd ever be able to call out which one was the best. But then, who needed an excuse not to visit every Sunday? Not me.

Has anyone else been to Columbia Road?

Annie x