Stalling Tactics: New and old street markets in North East London
Part of the AoU's Summer of Walking programme, taking place in South East London
The AoU's Summer of Walking, part of our 20th anniversary celebrations, is a programme of tours curated and led by our members, bringing together urbanists across the UK to explore interesting, alternative, or just plain great urbanism by foot. Click here to see other tours taking place this summer.
Keep an eye on the AoU newsletter, where more tours will be announced and reminders sent out.
Date: Saturday 9 August 2025
Time: 09:30
Location: NE London (Walthamstow to Hackney)
Curated by: Andrew Bailie
Distance (approx): 9km
Duration (approx): 4 hours
Please check your booking confirmation for info about the meeting point for this tour.
About the tour
This walking tour will explore a mix of old and new street markets in North East London, travelling from Walthamstow to Hackney.
Walthamstow is home to Europe's longest street market (approx 1km long). There we’ll visit new small businesses being built in the husk of vacated commercial properties. Then the tour will journey to Ridley Road in Dalston, via Hackney Marshes. Ridley Road is one of the most contested development sites in London, where we hope to meet with some of the Save Ridley Road activists and stop by Gillett Square. From there we’ll move down through London Fields to Netil Market and end in Broadway Market.
About Andrew
Andrew Bailie is a Board Director of the AoU and the founder of a startup growing the co-operative housing sector. He completed an MSc focusing on the spatial distribution of food markets in London. In 2023, he undertook a travelling Churchill Fellowship researching the social impact of markets across North and South America. He lives near Ridley Road Market and visits Ararat Bread as often as possible.
Please note: All refreshments are provided at your own expense unless otherwise stated.
Thumbnail photo by Jim Linwood
