The Stables Market is located by Chalk farm road and just north of Camden Town Market and Camden Lock. Camden Stables Market gets its name from its previous incarnation as a stable for Pickfords distribution vans and barges as well as being an old horse hospital where horses injured pulling barges down the canals would come for treatment.
The old stable areas and the catacombs under the railway arches are known under the umbrella term ‘Stables Market’ and together make up the largest of Camden’s popular market spaces. Over 450 shops and stalls are housed here selling a variety of antiquarian and unique items from accessories and jewellery to furniture. Clothing and art pieces for alternative sub-cultures, such as goths and cybergoths are also sold here.
These markets are great places to visit but they can be very challenging to photograph because the light is poor, they are crowded and it is very difficult to get a well composed shot. This should not put you off as there is a great deal of variety to be found throughout the day, (especially for street photographers) – you do need to experiment to see what works best. It also best to arrive quite early on as it does get very crowded.
Because of these difficulties, I chose to visit the market before it opened and then focused on the sculptures around the market and to see its empty form. However I will re-visits these markets in a future post to show them in their more ‘active mode’
London Photo Areas and Routes 