The Enigmatic Charm of Camden Town (Part 1) / 神秘而富有魅力的卡姆登市集 之一

London attractions are not only confined to the usual attraction's such as Big Ben, London Eye, Tower Bridge and the British Museum. There is another facet to experiencing the vibrant life of London city living and that is visiting one of it's many varied market venues. From flea markets to antique markets to popular food markets and farmers markets. The list just stretches on and on. I find each market to have it's own individual character and offer something new to suit every one’s personal tastes.

In previous posts, I have written about the world famous "Portobello Market" and "Borough Market", both of which are fabulous in their own and unique way. Today, I wish to bring all my Steemian compadres to busy old Camden town and it's incredibly varied and eclectic mix of markets, vintage shops, tasty street food, musical outlets and all things punk and goth.

Camden Market started out as a collection of attractive crafting workshops located next to Camden Lock in the early 1970's. Over the years, it expanded all the way from "Camden Town Tube Station" to "Chalk Farm Tube Station". The market totals over 1000 stalls offering a spectacular range of merchandise, including vintage and fashionable clothes, jewellery, designer bags, antiques, arts and crafts. Catering for a whole plethora of diverse products for it's huge crowds. In fact, it draws in millions of visitors each year and is considered one of London’s most popular and trendy attractions.

There are three main market areas: Buck Street Market, Camden Lock Market and Stables Market. At first, they appear to blend in together with the throngs of crowds and retail shops lining the streets. Though I assure you, they are separate, lol!

So let begin this exciting journey into the exploration of one of London's most popular tourist destinations.

Camden Buck Street Market

Camden Town can be easily accessed via Camden Town Station (using the underground) or Camden Road (using the overground).

Once out of the Camden underground, I could immediately feel a different cultural vibe side of London. Actually unlike anywhere else within this sprawling city. There was a very alternative sense of fashion, replete with punks, rockabillies and goths emblazoned on people’s funky outfits or on available merchandise in shops. No wonder people say Camden Market has long been London’s most iconic alternative culture utopia!

A short walk up the road from the Station, I came across an outdoor Camden market which sells mostly budget jeans, second-hand clothes and cheap records (Beatles) etc. You will find the cheapest souvenirs here (though it does make you wonder if there's some rare collectors edition tucked away somewhere that's worth thousand, lol). I found the exact same fridge magnet I bought in central London early this year, was about 40% off here. What a bargain! If you are a tourist, this place is great for purchasing memorabilia and gifts at the best prices possible.

It was actually quite a lot of fun to wander through the alleyways and explore the hidden gems Camden Market has to offer. I could probably spend a day here and never tired of it, lol. My favourite has to be all the handcrafted products of offer. A vintage camera chain necklace caught my attention and following on from a bit of haggling (it's my day job after all, lol), I got it for just seven pounds. Such a great find! It certainly made my day and there was so much more to check out, lol.

(Quite an assortment of t-shirts to choose from here. All as British as you can get!)

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(I just love these antique-looking lockets.)

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Camden High Street

Strolling down Camden High Street, you will see shops on both sides and the collective giant shop signs, is definitely a local landmark of Camden.

(Many shops had these types of fantastic artwork painting above them.)

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(I especially loved the large "3D" models protuding from certain shops. Check out that dragon below!)

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Camden is also famous for its many shoe shops. This is, after all, the spiritual home of "Doc Martens" (an extremely well known British brand of footwear).

There were some truly stunning pieces of artworks decorated the streets of Camden. Many of which have themselves become major tourist attractions over the years!

I still can't get over the varied mixture of styles, both old and new, that you won’t get anywhere else. If you are a seeker for "unique, creative and out-of-the-box" fashion, then Camden is the place to go. You will find so many young, upcoming and talented designers selling their jewellery, bags, clothes, home furnishings and much more. I also love the quirky shops that cater for amusing posters and pictures as well as a variety of hip-hop street wear, punk clothing, and lots of other "leather-based" goodies, lol.

So many places to buy such fascinating and rare products. In fact, one stall that particularly attracted me was one called Namaste that was filled with mosaic lamps, rainbow stripes, beads and beautiful embroidery. Very colourful indeed. They are fair trade clothing and imported accessories all the way from India and Nepal. As I mentioned, something for everyone.

There are many more stalls featuring exquisite artwork that I'd not ever seen before. Can’t wait for my next wait to this spellbinding place !

Camden Street Arts

Bursting at the seams with culture, Camden is also renowned for its intriguing street art that portray celebrities, fashion, British culture and many more cultural themes. I found graffiti appearing on walls, shop doorways and even on the sides of residential buildings. Not too sure how the owners feel about that though, lol!

Really love the way the graffiti artworks were created using an assortment of different colours, textures and styles. Each one offering up it's own personalized messages. Below are some of the dynamic pieces that I found really stood out from the crowd.

(The message contained within this painting is just beautiful.)

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(These revolving blocks could create some really freakish individuals, lol.)

A Much Needed Coffee Break

After walking around all morning and soaking up the lush Camden’s atmosphere, I felt like need for an all-important coffee break and rest. I wandered into Hawley Arms fo the first time ever. And it actually turned out to be a very cool bar.

The main part of the bar is decorated with rock n roll memorabilia, but not so much as you find it all up in your face. The atmosphere was really chilled. In fact, it had an almost lazy, relaxing feel all around with big comfortable sofa chairs and a warm fire place. Just the ticket!

Apparently, this was the pop sensation Amy Winehouse’s local pub. I was quite impressed with their drinks menu too. They included Abbot Ale, a guest ale hand-pull, fine bourbons and a dozen strong wine list. The food selection covered the usual pub classics like fish and chips or pies from Pieminister. And all for about a tenner. Finally to top it all off, there's live music on the first Monday of every month (and the occasional gig too). Another great find in the heart of Camden!

Well, seeing as it was too early for any alcohol-based drinks at this time, I just stuck to my smooth tasting coffee for now. But it's a venue I will definitely be returning to for a good night out with the girls.

And there was still so much to see in this great town buried within the heart of this great city...

(To be Continued)

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伦敦必去景点除了大笨钟，伦敦眼，塔桥和大英博物馆等名胜以外，最不能错过的是这里的周末露天市集。走过市集，才能深入了解伦敦当地人的生活文化。伦敦的市集有很多，而且各有主题和特色，如二手市集，复古和食物市集等等，应有尽有，一定有你喜欢的。

在之前的帖子里，我向大家介绍过著名的Portobello和Borough市集。他们各具特色，很受欢迎。今天我要带Steemit的朋友们去最繁华的老卡姆登镇(Camden Town)。它是由多个不同的市集组成，应该算是伦敦规模最大，花样最多的综合露天市集吧。这里除了各种复古纪念品和街头美食，也以另类的服饰，前卫文化和青少年叛逆，朋克摇滚的风潮而闻名。

卡姆登市集是从20世纪70年代早期在Camden Lock旁边的一些工艺作坊发展起来的，如今它已从卡姆登镇地铁站扩展到Chalk Farm地铁站。市场总共有超过1000多个摊位，销售的商品包括复古潮流服饰，名牌手袋和古董等，应有尽有。每到周末，这里绝对是人山人海。它每年吸引数百万游客，被称为伦敦最受欢迎的时尚景点之一。

卡姆登有三个主要市集：Buck Street 市集，Camden Lock市集和Stables市集。三个市集距离很近就像是连在一起，但其实各自是独立的。

不多说了，现在让我带大家一起来逛卡姆登市集吧！

Buck Street 市集

卡姆登镇位于伦敦东北处，交通便利。大家可以乘搭地铁到Camden Town 站，也可以选择地上铁前往Camden Road站。

刚出地铁，我就能感受到与伦敦其它地方不同的文化氛围。这里除了观光游客，还有很多打扮“超级夸张”的英国人，有满脸满身刺青的，或是头发梳得很夸张的，也有很多黑色皮衣皮裤，都充满朋克前卫感。难怪人们说卡姆登是伦敦最具代表性的混搭风格市集，呵呵！

没走多远，我就来到了Buck Street 露天市集。这个市集是由大大小小不同风格和建筑集结而成，主要销售二手衣服，饰品和纪念品等。这里卖的纪念品比伦敦中心的专卖店便宜多了，还可以讨价还价！建议需要买手信回国的朋友可以来这里看看哦，呵呵。

我最喜欢闲逛市集挖宝 ，所以在这里呆上一天我都不会累，哈哈。手工制品是我的最爱，一条复古式项链带老式相机链坠吸引了我。经过讨价还价，我以7镑的价格买了下来，好开心哦！

卡姆登主街

沿着卡姆登主街逛，你会看到两排都是商店街，最有特色的就是他们满街奇形怪状的立体街招，从一只只挂在楼房上的巨型波鞋到电眼巨龙，简直是语不惊人誓不休的感觉！这里绝对是卡姆登的地标。

英国知名的鞋类品牌“Doc Martens”就是出产在这里，所以卡姆登镇也以其众多的鞋店而闻名。

沿着街道继续往前走，淋漓满目是更多的手工制品，二手衣服，首饰以及古董，吸引了众多的游客。如果你是独特，创意的时尚追求者，这里就是天堂！非常多年轻有才华的设计师在这儿摆卖相当富有创意的珠宝，箱包，衣服和家居摆设等等。还有各式怀旧的海报和照片，以及朋克街头服装和皮革制品，真是应有尽有。有一家店名叫Namaste特别引起了我的注意。店里满是迷人的马赛克灯饰，五彩的珠子和美丽的刺绣。据说商品都是从印度和泥泊尔进口过来的，很有特色。 正如我所说，这里品种齐全，总有一样是你喜欢的，呵呵。

街头涂鸦艺术

丰富多彩的卡姆登镇也以它的街头艺术而闻名，是许多艺术家聚集的地方。街头涂鸦都非常有创意，描绘名人，时尚，英国文化以及跟政治等主题，出现在街道外墙上，商店门口或是住宅楼两旁，到处充满了艺术气息。

我本人好喜欢这些涂鸦作品尤其是它的创作方式，使用了各种不同颜色，涂料和风格，创作出一件件超有个性的艺术作品！以下是我个人精选，希望大家喜欢。

咖啡时光

逛了一整个上午，走得有点儿累了，于是决定喝杯热热的咖啡，放松一下，这才是休闲娱乐的意义嘛！我们走进附近一家看起来很酷的酒吧，名叫Hawley Arms。

酒吧内全是摇滚纪念品的装饰，与卡姆登镇独特的文化气息很相符。舒适的大沙发和暖暖的火炉，让人有一种非常轻松惬意，甚至慵懒的感觉，哈哈！

据说，这也是流行音乐名人Amy Winehouse常来的酒吧。让我大开眼界的要数他们的饮品系列，有Abbot 麦酒和种类繁多的啤酒，优质波旁酒和来自世界各地的葡萄酒等等。菜单也是酒吧经典，像炸鱼薯和馅饼，都是10英镑左右，挺划算的。

另外，这里每个月第一个星期一都会有现场音乐表演。哈，又发现了一个和朋友相聚的好地方，太棒了！

（未完待续）