It’s almost the first thing we do when we travel somewhere new – find out when and where the local market is happening.
Even if we’re not self-catering, we still enjoy wandering in and out of the stalls, awash with colour, aromas and exciting new delicacies to try.
France is, in our experience, one of the best countries for markets, but the UK’s beginning to catch up with more and more farmers’ markets becoming established, boosting local economies and giving something back to their communities.
A perfect example of this is in the Surrey village of Ripley where on the second Saturday of every month you can find a wide array of seasonal, locally farmed or produced goods, speciality foods, crafts and plants.
All gathered together on the village green.
It grew, as so many great things do, from a small idea when a few local people suggested a market not just for fresh food but also as a focal point for village life.
Volunteers
Step forward Sally Erhardt and several other volunteers who began to put the plan into action.
‘When I moved here I loved the place but was disappointed to find only a small store selling very limp veg and no local produce at all. Guildford and Cranleigh were the only nearby places with markets, and they were a long way to go.’
‘Many older folk in the village struggled to even get to a supermarket. I first became part of the neighbourhood befriending scheme that helped local people get to appointments and shopping trips, but then realised we could do more right here.’
Several meetings, dozens of flyers, signs and lots of hard work by a band of volunteers and the market became a reality.
‘We had no idea what would happen when we launched in June 2005. It was a hot summer’s day but to our surprise 35 stallholders turned up. We had racing driver Damon Hill open it and the roads were gridlocked!’
It hasn’t always been that easy. There were downturns due to the economy in the late 2000s and tougher restrictions on highway signage made it harder to promote. But some of those first stall-holders are still there, plying their wares on that second Saturday of every month.
Variety is key
‘We set up using the FARMA guidelines and try to stick to them even though we’re no longer members. We like to make it easy for the stall-holders and keep the rules as relaxed as possible. It’s sometimes hard to find locally grown produce, when I first moved here farms would sell their crops at the side of the road but that doesn’t happen so much nowadays.’
But there’s still a great selection – bread, fresh veg, locally roast coffee beans, jams, meat, cheese, beer and hot snacks.
Sally says people think farmers markets are a bit pricy and maybe a little ‘gentrified’ so they work hard to embed their market in the local community.
‘Every Christmas we give everyone in the village who’s over 60 a voucher to spend here between January and March. This encourages them to try us out and gives the market traders a bit of extra income in the quieter months. Our egg lady sells lovely free range eggs for the same price as in the supermarket and the veg keeps for weeks in the fridge, it’s picked at just the right time and hasn’t had to travel far.’
Community benefits
And one of the key factors in the market’s success is that the profits, though small, don’t go into an anonymous company’s coffers but are ploughed back into the community.
So far the market’s helped fund repairs to the church clock, expanded the village school and donated to the rebuilding fund for the village hall.
Today, the market is still run by a strong team of volunteers, some of the original crew and many new recruits. And Sally’s sure the market is here to stay.
‘We’re careful to provide a balance of what shoppers and stall-holders need. I could fill it up with endless cupcake stalls or jam-makers but that wouldn’t be fair to the traders or customers. Most of the people who come regularly are older but we’ve started to see young people and families here too, so hopefully everyone’s realising a local market is good for all of us.’
As we leave, bags bulging with coffee, eggs, bread, a goat cheese to rival anything from France, some really tasty strawberries and a new style of beer, the team of volunteers is still hard at work, chatting to everyone, promoting the next event and encouraging us all to shop local whenever we can.
More information on Ripley Farmers Market
For news of special events see their website
Founder Sally Erhardt received the ‘Pride of Surrey’ award from Surrey Life’s Food & Drink Awards 2017 and the market was a finalist in the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2019.
Where to next?
• Crumbs Brewing
• UK’s best food festivals
• 10 things to do in Anjou
There is a very good farm shop in this village selling fresh locally grown fruit, vegetables and meat. I don’t know what this lot are going on about. The farmers market sells nothing useful at all and is mainly novelty dog beds and gin! Go to the Ripley farm shop. It’s open seven days a week and is very reasonably priced.
Thanks for letting us know about the farm shop, we’ll check it out next time we’re up there. We’re always interested to hear other people’s thoughts about the market and shopping locally.