Five Farmers Markets worth a visit this weekend
What better excuse for a weekend drive than discovering the many farmers markets dotted about the countryside.Pack your (preferably) re-usable shopping bags, grab lots of coins and small notes, then check out some of our favourite farmers markets.
Talbot Farmers Market, Victoria
Chances are you’ve never visited Talbot as this small goldfields town, about two hours north-west of Melbourne, isn’t on the road to anywhere in particular. If so, you’ve missed a treat: the main street is dotted with 19th century buildings and shopfronts and it feels just like a country town should. But things get busy on the third Sunday of every month for the farmers market which pretty much takes over the whole town. There’s fresh local produce, pre-cooked treats, quirky country crafts and denizens of the surrounding farms turn out in force.
Newcastle City Farmers Market, NSW
If you live in Sydney it’s worth rousting the kids (or just yourself) for a Sunday drive up the coast to Newcastle for this market. Held at either the showgrounds or the Tighes Hill TAFE college the City Farmers Market prides itself on showcasing fresh food direct from the producer, and when most of it comes from the Hunter Valley, you know it will be good. No doubt you’ll be as busy eating as shopping, with all sorts of cheese, cured meats, pastries and more to go with your Sunday coffee.
Noosa Farmers Market, Queensland
This market is big – and it’s little wonder when the catchment area for its produce is the fertile Sunshine Coast north of Brisbane. Every Sunday the Noosaville footy oval comes alive with fruit and veg growers, seafood sellers, street food, fresh juices – just about anything you can think of to eat, drink and take away. It’s all scattered about under fragrant eucalypts in a festival-like atmosphere (there’s even a bouncy castle for the kids) so get in early and make a morning of it.
Willunga Farmers Market, South Australia
This market in the McLaren Vale wine region just south of Adelaide started with a bang in the summer of 2002 – almost literally as the breakfast barbecue burnt down. Things run a lot more smoothly these days with more than 60 stallholders mainly from the Fleurieu Peninsula and Kangaroo Island presenting a cornucopia of mainly edible delights (garden plants are also sold) every Saturday morning in the Willunga town square. You can get olive oil, local cheese, fresh juice, wine, loads of veggies and even cuts of alpaca for carnivores. McLaren Vale and its glorious wines are minutes away, so the afternoon definitely won’t be wasted.
Margaret River Farmers Market, Western Australia
If you’re a visitor to Margaret River it’s short odds you’ve travelled a long way and on Saturday morning might be recovering from a combination of jetlag, dinner and an overindulgence in the region’s spectacular wines. To clear the head, motor into the town of Margaret River itself and chill out at the market, which has more than 50 stalls. Scrummy takeaways and pastries, some pork or steak for the barby later on, a bottle of boutique olive oil, more shiraz and chardy: it’s all there, it’s all home-grown, fresh and not to be missed.
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