St Pancras train station, if you didn't already know, is one of London's finest examples of Victorian architecture. Opened in 1868, its lines served the Midlands, Yorkshire and beyond. After many years it fell into disrepair and, incredibly, was almost demolished in the 1960s.
In the last ten years, around £800 million was spent renovating the station, and in 2007 Eurostar trains began running from St. Pancras to Paris and Brussels, taking over the international service from Waterloo station. The station is now known as
St. Pancras International.
But inside the station today you'll find a lot more than ticket machines and rushing commuters. St. Pancras International is home to the UK's first ever
produce market to be located inside a train station. How about that for an accolade?
Everyone is welcome to explore this lively daily market; you certainly don't have to be brandishing a ticket for a trip to France to have a look.
The market's organisers claim to "take all the great attributes of farmers' markets into the beating heart of the city," with stallholders trading in goods such as
Neal's Yard Dairy cheese,
Ginger Pig hams and coffee from the famous
Monmouth Coffee Company.
It's the kind of market where you can grab something tasty for lunch, or do a more considered shop to pick up ingredients to go into the special dish you're making for that weekend dinner party.
You can go there confident that only produce of the highest quality will be on sale – free range and organic meat from
Laverstoke Park Farm, sustainably farmed fish from UK waters, the freshest fruit and veg, the best breads and pastries, and just about everything else you can imagine – and a few things you probably can't.
Open from seven in the morning on weekdays (8am Sat; 10am Sun), it's the perfect place to grab breakfast if you're working in the vicinity or living close by – or catching a train.
You'll be covered for lunch too, with a wide selection of light meals like soups, salads and sandwiches available. And with the market closing at 9pm (8pm Sat/Sun), dinner won't be a problem either – you could even round the day off with a glass of wine or beer from the market before heading home.
