Cragside House and gardens, near Rothbury, is a truly unique place to visit. The family…
A Visit to Jesmond Food Market
Jesmond Dene Park is an oasis of calm in the middle of the city centre. It is easy to spend a while there wandering though the woodland and visiting Pets Corner. Our last visit to Jesmond Dene was in the Autumn and the trees were full of colour. We took the dog and had a lovely time playing football. I have memories of visiting the Armstrong Bridge Craft Fair which used to take place every Sunday. It was always full of gorgeous paintings and crafts from local suppliers. It was a great place to source presents. Sadly it ended a while ago but recently I learnt that a new market was being held on the Armstrong Bridge. The Jesmond Food Market takes place on the third Saturday of every month from 10am to 3pm. The market brings together local food producers and street food traders and I was interested to see who would be there.
Armstrong Bridge is a stunning backdrop for the market, the ironwork railings and the view over Jesmond Dene Park set off the different stalls. The day was grey and rain threatened but the market was bustling and busy. We decided to stroll from one end of the bridge to the other and find out what was there before buying anything. There was plenty to choose from and the smell of food cooking soon made us hungry.
There were plenty of bread stalls to choose from with a range of artisan bread and gorgeous looking pastries. The Zen Baker displayed some gorgeous crusty loaves which would be perfect with a bowl of home made soup. The Sugar Down Bakery had a range of tempting looking pastries which would make a special Sunday breakfast. I was spoiled for choice and could easily have bought several of these pastries.
The perfect partner for crusty bread is cheese and chutney and luckily both were to be found. The Northumberland Cheese Company had samples of their cheese made from cow, goat and sheep milk. They are really tasty cheeses and they would make a perfect addition to any cheese board.
Chutney is also a welcome addition to cheese and bread and Northumbrian Preserves have a lovely selection to choose from. From red onion marmalade to plum chutney, there is bound to be something you will like. The only problem is deciding which one to buy.
I did end up buying some sausages from the Norththumberland Sausage Company and have to highly recommend them. We tasted their pork and pickled onion sausages on the stand which were really tasty. I bought some Northumberland sausages from them and these made a gorgeous Sunday breakfast. Two packs of sausages for £5 is great value considering they are really good quality. I was also tempted by the range of products on offer from the Northumberland Smokehouse and and range of wines and mead on offer from Spirit of Northumberland but my son was getting hungry. We went to investigate the food stalls.
We were spoiled for choice for food, many of our favourites were there. We watched the folk from La Petite Crêperie make crepes on large griddles. We have passed them in the Grainger Market but still have to pay them a visit. By all accounts the crepes are amazing.We were also tempted by Longhorns, we loved the food in their restaurant when we visited. They have recently opened a new restaurant in Jesmond and we hope to visit soon.
My son decided he was going to try a sausage from The Feathers Inn. They had two types on offer, lamb or deer. He went for the deer sausage with mustard and a gherkin. We had to wait a while as they cooked, the lovely smell making us more hungry. It was well worth the wait, a really tasty and unusual sausage.
As we walked along the bridge we had noticed large queues forming at Di Meo’s who were serving gelato. We had to treat ourselves to a cone.
The ice cream was gorgeous, full of flavour and delicious. Served in a sugar cone it was the perfect treat to end our day.
As we left it started to rain but that did not dampen the enthusiasm of the people visiting the market. Umbrellas were pulled out, plastic sheeting used to cover produce and everything continued as usual. We had a lovely time visiting Jesmond Food Market and have pencilled the date in our diary to visit next month.
North East Family Fun says
I’ve heard fab things about this market – really must visit next month. I think the only problem would be deciding what to buy!!
Dragons and Fairy Dust says
I was spoiled for choice, could have spent a fortune.
Cheryl @ Madhouse Family Reviews says
This looks amazing – the pickled onion sausages sound a bit strange so I’d be intrigued to try those ! Great price for quality sausages too 🙂
Dragons and Fairy Dust says
I thought they sounded strange but they were lovely. I had to keep trying the tasters
Dannielle Lily says
I’m putting this on my calendar! I’ve just moved near to Jesmond and am excited to discover my new turf 🙂
Dragons and Fairy Dust says
Jesmond is fab, there is so much to discover in the area
Katie Jane says
I’ve always wanted to go but never found the time. Thanks for sharing.
Katie x
http://www.katiejaneonline.com
Dragons and Fairy Dust says
Hopefully you will be able to pop in next month. It is definitely worth a visit
Fiona says
I’m so glad there is a date for the next market because this looks awesome and I want to go! Writing it down in my diary and hopefully I’ll be able to attend the next one 🙂 Those ice creams look amazing, I might have to check out some of these businesses in case they don’t always go to the food market when I’m there
Dragons and Fairy Dust says
It was fab, so much to try I was spoiled for choice. Definitely recommend the icecream
Galina V says
What a variety of food stalls! I love food markets, always great fun to browse around.
Dragons and Fairy Dust says
There was so much there, I was spoiled for choice. Going to go back next month with big bags and buy lots